September 23, 2014 2:55 PM

Bearse: Energy as a Force for Good

From the right: Our conservative columnist argues that President Obama is playing small ball with energy policy when he could be using it to lead America and the world forward.

If you have driven the back roads to Corpus Christi through the Eagle Ford Shale, you know the energy business is booming. It’s like driving in Honduras, where potholes serve as an obstacle course and windshields get changed as often as your oil.

Outside of the perils of driving, the shale boom is making life better in parts of South Texas, North Texas and West Texas. It’s transforming family incomes, and transforming American energy.

Led by Texas, the United States has now surpassed Russia as the largest producer of natural gas. This is truly a national phenomenon. As one expert put it, the Marcellus Shale is bigger to Pennsylvania than the invention of the blast furnace. North Dakota has more trailer towns than Mobile-homa, and everything that goes with it (knife-fights and “self-employed models.”)

The United States now has a recoverable oil supply larger than Saudi Arabia and Russia. This is a big deal for a nation that for too long has been dependent on the whims of Middle East mullahs. We don’t have to continue to place our national security in the hands of hostile energy powers that hate us. We can now meet our own energy needs, and supply the world. All we need is a president with a vision.

Eric Bearse is a speechwriter, political consultant and public relations specialist. He can be reached by e-mail at eric@ericbearse.com. His full column can be found in today’s R&D Department.

By Eric Bearse