Here's an interesting factoid for you: America's reliance on imported oil has been falling. According to API's Monthly Statistical Report for June, imports fell 7.6 percent during the first half of 2009 as compared with the same period a year earlier. This drop was on top of two consecutive annual declines in crude oil and oil product imports in 2007 and 2008.

This means the United States is less reliant on other countries for oil these days; but hold the applause because this isn't necessarily good news. Imports have been falling largely due to weak domestic demand during the recession. In June, total imports of crude oil and oil products totaled 11.3 million barrels per day, the lowest for the month since 1999.

When the economy recovers, it's likely that imports will recover as more ener... more »

Last Friday, the Richmond, Virginia, area was the scene of two rallies against the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill and the administration's health care plan. One occurred in front of Sen. Mark Warner's office in Chesterfield County; the other was held in downtown Richmond on East Franklin Street where Sen. Jim Webb's office is located. Virginia Petroleum Council Executive Director Mike Ward shot video of the downtown demonstration and reported that approximately 200 people held signs and marched on both sides of the street between noon and 1:00 p.m.

In an op-ed from yesterday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Robert W. Watson, emeritus associate professor at Penn State University, talks about the importance of increased energy development--specifically the shale gas that rests in the Marcellus Shale formation.

He says:

"Marcellus Shale development promises enormous economic benefits to Pennsylvania and raises important environmental, economic and land-use issues that should be robustly debated. But such development is not new. It is not unproven. It is not unsafe."

For more information, read the full op-ed.

As we've noted several times on this blog, the costs and job losses that could be caused by the House-passed climate bill are quite large--almost too large to fully comprehend. Therefore, API has produced a series of brief papers that break down the bill's impact on a state-by-state basis.

Here's an example: Indianais ranked #7 in total carbon dioxide emissions. Under the Waxman-Markey bill, Indiana could lose 42,000 jobs in just a few years in addition to the jobs that already have been lost due to the recession. If these jobs were eliminated today, the Hoosier state's unemployment rate would climb from 10.6 percent to 11.9 percent.

Check out the potential impact of the climate bill on your state.

The House-passed climate bill is one of the most complicated and costly bills ever considered by Congress. At more than 1,400 pages, it's even longer than War and Peace. Yet, there's a portion of the U.S. economy that is being short-changed by the measure--transportation, one of the most vital sectors of the economy and the American way of life. Our transportation system of roads, trains, buses, cars, trucks and airplanes makes it possible to get to work, to school, to church, vacation, and perhaps most importantly, to attend the most important milestones in our family's lives--births, graduations, and weddings.