The Ukrainian Energy Connection

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Exodus 13:11-14

11 "And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 that you shall set apart to the LORD all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the LORD's. 13 But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 14 So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What is this?' that you shall say to him,'By strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

NKJV

The purpose of history is to teach us.  This is why in the above passage, God told the people of Israel to dedicate all their first-born animals and sons.  This tradition would give them an opportunity in the future to tell their children how the Lord miraculously delivered His people from Egyptian bondage. 

Examples from history teach us what we should do by pointing out the great accomplishments of people from the past.  For example, the great accomplishment of landing a man on the moon taught us what we as a nation can accomplish when a leader with a bold vision leads us.  However, we also learn what not to do from mistakes of the past.  During the Cold War, Eastern Europe lived under the oppression of the Soviet Union while the rest of the world lived under the threat of a nuclear apocalypse.    

One would think that the lessons learned from the Cold War would have caused the world to raise a major red flag when Russia recently invaded the Ukraine.  However, many nations, especially those in Eastern Europe and the European Union (EU) seem to have a lassie faire attitude concerning this event.  This leads us to ask the question, are they just oblivious to history or is there something else going on. 

The United States and many countries in Europe have implemented policies restricting the extraction of fossil fuels in their countries.  I find it interesting that they want to restrict the extraction of fossil fuels within their borders in the interest of saving the planet but offer little resistance to the purchase of these fossil fuels from other countries.  We must question their logic for if the extraction of fossil fuels damages the planet, does it not damage the planet in the country from which they are purchasing the fossil fuels?

This warped environmental logic explains why the nations in the European Union and even some in our own nation have such a lassie faire attitude about the events in the Ukraine.  The truth is that Europe has a dependence on Russian energy and fear Putin may shut off the pipeline that supplies much of their energy.  (1)  Once again, history provides us an example of how failure to institute policies promoting energy independence can place a nation’s national security at risk.  This is the same lesson our nation should have learned during the oil embargo in the 1970’s.  (2)  However, just as Europe has not learned lessons from the Cold War and risks its national security due to its lack of energy independence, our nation too did not learn from the oil embargo and risks its national security with its continued dependence on Middle Eastern oil. 

The situation in the Ukraine does however present an opportunity for the United States to bolster its economy by lifting the ban on U.S. oil exports as a counterbalance to Russia’s petro-influence.  (3)  The lifting of this ban would not only cause Russia to lose its iron grip on the EU but would be a genuine stimulus to our stagnant economy.  All one has to do is look at the current oil boom we are experiencing in North Dakota and Texas and imagine what would occur if this boom were experienced in much of the rest of our nation.  (4) (5)  In fact, five other states are set to have their own oil boom (6) something the lifting of the current ban on oil exportation no doubt would accelerate.    

History seems to repeatedly be attempting to teach us that dependence on foreign oil, especially from nations that either used to be, or currently are our enemies is unwise and places the national security of our nation at risk.  It also stifles potential economic growth for our nation at a time when there are record numbers of people on foodstamps, (7) people that have given up looking for work evidenced by a shrinking labor participation rate, (8) and people going on disability just to survive after exhausting all of their unemployment.  (9)   

It is time that our nation learned the lessons history is repeatedly attempting to teach us and end our dependence on foreign oil, which threatens our national and economic security.  It is time that our nation transformed from the world’s greatest oil importer into a leading exporter of fossil fuels.  Then stand back, watch, and enjoy the economic boom and increased national security that will result. 

1. Kennedy, Bruce. Ukraine crisis highlights Europe's dependence on Russian energy. www.cbsnews.com. [Online] CBS Money Watch, March 4, 2014. [Cited: March 11, 2014.] http://www.cbsnews.com/news/does-russian-oil-trump-possible-european-sanctions/.

2. Trumbore, Brian. The Arab Oil Embargo of 1973-74. www.buyandhold.com. [Online] Freedom Investments. [Cited: March 11, 2014.] http://www.buyandhold.com/bh/en/education/history/2002/arab.html.

3. Helman, Christopher. The Ukraine Crisis Is Bolstering America's Oil And Gas Boom. www.forbes.com. [Online] Forbes, March 10, 2014. [Cited: March 11, 2014.] http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2014/03/10/the-ukraine-crisis-is-bolstering-americas-oil-and-gas-boom/.

4. Brody, David. Oil Boom! North Dakota Sees 'Black Gold' Rush. www.cbn.com. [Online] CBN News, January 31, 2014. [Cited: March 11, 2014.] https://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2014/January/Oil-Boom-North-Dakota-Sees-Black-Gold-Rush/.

5. Kashi, David. Texas Is Having Another Oil Boom And Its Production Could Outpace Iraq, Iran and Kuwait In A Few Years. www.ibtimes.com. [Online] International Business Times, September 13, 2013. [Cited: March 11, 2014.] http://www.ibtimes.com/texas-having-another-oil-boom-its-production-could-outpace-iraq-iran-kuwait-few-years-1405348.

6. Briodt, Blaire. The Next North Dakota: 5 States About to Go Oil Boom. www.thefiscaltimes.com. [Online] The Fiscal Times, December 2, 2013. [Cited: March 11, 2014.] http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2013/12/02/Next-North-Dakota-5-States-About-Go-Oil-Boom.

7. Meyer, Ali. Record 20% of Households on Food Stamps in 2013. cnsnews.com. [Online] CNS News, January 21, 2014. [Cited: March 11, 2014.] http://cnsnews.com/news/article/ali-meyer/record-20-households-food-stamps-2013.

8. Economic Policy Institute. Shrinking labor force explains drop in unemployment. www.epi.org. [Online] [Cited: March 11, 2014.] http://www.epi.org/news/shrinking-labor-force-explains-drop-unemployment/.

9. Gongloff, Mark. Rise In Disability Rolls Helps Explain An Unemployment Mystery. huffingtonpost.com. [Online] Huff Post Business, May 8, 2012. [Cited: July 18, 2012.] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/03/social-security-disability_n_1474621.html.