Foreign Oil Addiction

Pete du Pont, former Governor of Delaware and former U.S. Representative from Delaware, says in this WSJ article that it is a misnomer to say that America is addicted to oil. Rather, he contends, “America is addicted to opportunity.” He says that “oil and its products help us seize [opportunity].”

Du Pont also explores the reasons for our increasing dependence on foreign oil. He discusses potential viable alternatives to foreign oil dependence. He then discusses how government (including presidents and congresses) over the past 25 years has consistently worked against these alternatives and has worked to increase government control over domestic energy production, increasing costs and stifling innovation.

Du Pont concludes, “[T]he political establishment's thinking … makes government control--not oil--the addiction that is misdirecting our national energy policy.”