American energy independence was a hot topic towards the tail-end of 2019 before the global coronavirus pandemic, but the oil price war threw a monkey wrench in the works. Depending on whom you ask, the United States is on the cusp of becoming–or has already become–a net oil exporter . It’s an energy utopia that practically all modern presidencies, from Nixon during the oil crisis of the 1970s and Bush during his famous state of the union address in February 2006 , to Obama and, more recently, Trump have frequently extolled. Even for those of us who have little interest in the political demagoguery and ivory tower jousting that is rampant among political circles, there’s a broad agreement that America should reduce its dependence on imported oil. Of course, the country has been able to achieve its net exporter status, thanks to the second shale boom, which more than […]