U.S. Energy Policy is 'Shortsighted' and 'Self-indulgent'

"American energy policy is nothing if not shortsighted and self-indulgent. By the early 1970s it was clear that we faced a long-term oil problem because (a) the country inevitably depended on imports and (b) two-thirds of global oil reserves lay in the Middle East -- where politics and instability made a catastrophic loss of supplies a permanent danger. What did we do? Well, Congress took some sensible steps in the 1970s. It created gasoline efficiency standards for vehicles and a Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). But low oil prices in the 1980s and 1990s led to backsliding. The SPR wasn't adequately expanded, and drivers flocked to SUVs, which are governed by less stringent fuel mileage standards. Americans preferred cheap gasoline to long-term prudence....The hallmark of U.S. energy policy is a steadfast refusal to confront choices."

Thanks to Richard Layman