Dec. 21, 2006: Good Question: Can We Be Energy Independent?

President Bush has said that "America is addicted to oil". However, our politicians, from Bush to John Kerry, are obsessed with the idea of "energy independence."

WCCO
Good Question: Can We Be Energy Independent?
Reporting with Ben Tracy
Dec. 21, 2006
http://wcco.com/energy/local_story_200004510.html

(WCCO) Minneapolis President Bush has said that "America is addicted to oil". However, our politicians, from Bush to John Kerry, are obsessed with the idea of "energy independence".

They allude to a day when we no longer rely on foreign countries for our oil and other energy needs. It is a phrase first used by Richard Nixon in 1973. Back then we imported 35 percent of the oil we used each day. Today we import 60 percent.

"It's a bipartisan failure," said Michael Noble, executive director of Fresh Energy in St. Paul. "Every administration Republican and Democrat going back to Richard Nixon has fundamentally failed this country in reducing our reliance on foreign oil."