The Hill News

The world has changed since the Macondo blowout in the Gulf of Mexico a year ago that cost the lives of 11 rig workers and resulted in the biggest oil spill in the nation’s history. Not only has the federal government tightened its oversight of offshore drilling, but the industry itself has implemented numerous additional safeguards to ensure a major blowout won’t re-occur. At the same time, political unrest in Middle East and North Africaâ€"with attendant jumps in oil and gasoline pricesâ€"has thrust energy security into the public consciousness.

This isn’t the first time our economic and energy security have been put at risk by political unrest in far-away places. But perhaps this latest spike in oil prices can be a true “Sputnik moment” for moving ahead with a sensible national energy policy that focuses on developing our domestic potential. Unfortunately, both the public and politicians appear confused about how to achieve greater energy securit! y.

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