Voters who are concerned about national security issues should also be concerned about America’s energy security. Modern society cannot function without abundant, affordable, and uninterrupted energy sources to power the technologies that make modern life possible. Like it or not, this is an inescapable fact.

No development in this century has contributed more to increasing the level of energy security in the United States. hydraulic fracturing — or “fracking” as it has come to be called — is through horizontal drilling. The combination of these two underappreciated drilling technologies has enabled American drillers to extract oil and natural gas from vast shale formations that have been considered inaccessible for more than 150 years. (Related: David Blackmon: Biden-Harris administration’s EV enforcement campaign isn’t going that well)

The U.S. oil and gas industry was considered a moribund business in the 21st century.^cent The century has dawned. Suffering from low commodity prices and a steady decline in accessible conventional resources, the United States has become dependent on foreign imports for its oil needs, and as domestic gas fields become increasingly depleted, liquefied natural gas (LNG) ) seemed destined to become necessary. The country’s level of energy security has rarely been lower, and its oil supply chain has rarely been out of control.

The shale revolution of the past quarter century has completely upended that previous status quo. Today, America is the most powerful producer of oil and natural gas the world has ever seen, and a net exporter of both major goods. Additionally, as S&P Global Vice Chairman Daniel Yergin — Bestselling author of “The Prize” and “The New Map” — wrote in the Wall Street Journal These days, US energy is also important to many key allies.

“Japan and South Korea have become dependent on U.S. energy exports, which have proven essential to diversifying supplies and strengthening security,” Yergin said. “Losing that contribution would make them even more vulnerable, reduce U.S. credibility, and likely turn them toward imports from Russia.”

Yergin also points out that America’s shale production, which accounts for far more than half of its oil and natural gas production, also helps boost its geopolitical influence. “One of them.” Vladimir Putin“Some of his miscalculations in the invasion of Ukraine were that he could use energy to crush the European Union supporting Kiev,” says Yargin. “His strategy failed because large LNG supplies, supported by increased exports from Norway, compensated for the loss of Russian gas. Almost half of the European Union’s LNG supplies in 2023 will consist of LNG from the United States. Most of it is processed from shale gas, with the United States being the largest supplier.

Clearly, constraints on LNG supplies imposed by the U.S. federal government would seriously undermine Europe’s energy security and weaken NATO’s ability to achieve its goals against the Russia-Ukraine war.

US influence in the global LNG market has already been weakened by the Biden-Harris administration’s weak and unreasonable “pause” on LNG infrastructure licensing, which has already been in place for 10 months, and climate warnings. Harris supporters in the industry want to make it permanent. It is clear that if a ban on hydraulic fracturing is imposed by President Harris, the United States will quickly fall back into the ranks of the 20 countries.^th century established itself as a minor player in the world energy market.

Unfortunately, Harris’ campaign claimed in August that she had changed her mind about her repeated ban on fracking. supported in her time In the U.S. Senate, the candidates themselves remain resolutely insensitive on the issue. So voters have no way of knowing what direction she will ultimately take once she is safely in the Oval Office in January.

“A ban on hydraulic fracturing is misguided and destructive to the United States and its allies,” Yergin wrote. “Repeated and irrelevant debates on this topic need to be discussed in light of the central fact that shale has become critical to the U.S. economy and global energy security.”

Of course he’s right, and voters who put national security first have an easy way to ensure America’s energy security remains on Election Day. Whatever else you think about Trump, there is nothing insensitive about it. his position on Maintaining the legality of hydraulic fracturing and thereby maintaining America’s strong levels of energy and natural security.

This is not difficult.

David Blackmon is an energy writer and consultant based in Texas. He spent 40 years in the oil and gas business, specializing in public policy and communications.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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