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OPINION

How fracking insulates USA: Our view

The Editorial Board
USATODAY
Gas prices are faling.

There is much news these days from the world's major energy producing regions. Almost none of it is good.

Iraq, Libya and Syria are in turmoil. Russia, the world's largest exporter of natural gas and the second largest exporter of oil, is bullying Ukraine and by extension Western Europe. And Iran's nuclear program may yet provoke a market-roiling conflict.

Amazingly, as all this has transpired, U.S. gasoline prices have been stable, even falling. The domestic economy is picking up steam. And the stock market has hit all-time highs.

Go figure. Perhaps the markets are in denial and Americans are in for an ugly surprise. They were blindsided in 1973 when an Arab oil boycott led to higher prices and long gas lines, and again in 1979 when the Iranian revolution led to a second oil shock.

But there are legitimate reasons why things would look relatively good here while so much of the world burns. First among them is a U.S. energy renaissance that has left the nation far less dependent on Mideast oil.

The Energy Department projects that domestic crude oil production will average 9.3 million barrels a day next year. That's a 43% increase just since 2012, and a near doubling from 2008.

Recent discoveries, meanwhile, have made natural gas so abundant that it could easily last more than a century at today's consumption rates.

Neither of these fortuitous developments would have happened without new drilling techniques, most notably hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," a process of using pressurized water, chemicals and sand to extract oil and gas from tight rock formations.

To many environmental activists, fracking is the new evil. The process does, to be sure, pose problems. The immense amount of water it uses can strain local resources. The waste water it creates needs to be disposed of properly. And anyone living near a well can easily feel put upon by production-related commotion.

But the events of this summer — or, more precisely, the lack of events — show what a boon fracking has been, bolstering the U.S. economy while insulating it from the unpleasantness abroad.

The increased oil production between 2012 and 2015 amounts to about $100 billion in annual revenue flowing into wages and dividends at home rather than going abroad, often to regimes that don't share American values.

Abundant and cheap natural gas, meanwhile, has sparked a modest uptick in manufacturing after years of decline. A 2011 study by the accounting firm PwC for the National Association of Manufacturers predicted that abundant gas would produce a million manufacturing jobs by 2025. About a third of that job growth has already taken place.

It's nearly impossible to overstate what a positive development this has been. Yes, the Middle East, North Africa and the Persian Gulf pose many dangers. And, yes, climate change is in desperate need of attention. But the U.S. can address these issues on their own terms. In the interim, the push to add new oil and gas supplies needs to continue. Not only does it hold down prices and add jobs, it also eases security threats emanating from both the Middle East and Vladimir Putin.

USA TODAY's editorial opinions are decided by its Editorial Board, separate from the news staff. Most editorials are coupled with an opposing view — a unique USA TODAY feature.

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