New York Times Publishes Yetiv’s Op-Ed on U.S. Energy Boom

September 07, 2012

Steve Yetiv, University Professor of political science at Old Dominion University, published an op-ed in The New York Times on Sept. 4, arguing that the energy boom in the United States is unlikely to significantly lower oil prices for Americans.

In the op-ed, "Is the U.S. Energy Boom a Mirage?," Yetiv said that the energy boom itself is real, but urged leaders and citizens not to think that it can replace green approaches and initiatives to our energy future, especially given the urgency of climate change.

Yetiv wrote that the United States produces 1.6 million more barrels of oil each day than it did in 2008, thanks to new discoveries and the reclamation of "tight oil" using hydraulic fracturing technology.

While arguing that "the boom would mean far more if America alone used its own oil resources," he added: "But oil is a global commodity."

Yetiv said that because oil is traded globally, "a supply disruption or development anywhere in the world affects oil prices for all consumers. Even if the United States were to import little oil because of a homegrown energy boom, Americans would still be vulnerable to global events that raise the price of oil."

The full piece is available here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/05/opinion/is-the-energy-boom-a-mirage.html?_r=1&ref=economy.

The op-ed, timed to coincide with the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, has been reprinted in several publications and wire services, including the Huffington Post, The Dallas Morning News and The Atlantic Wire.

Yetiv's New York Times op-ed follows a dozen other pieces he wrote for national newspapers in the past two years or so, including recent commentaries in The Washington Post and The Christian Science Monitor. Yetiv has published more than 250 op-eds and has appeared on various news outlets, such as NPR, CNN and CNBC, as well as non-American media.

He is the author of six books, including "Explaining Foreign Policy," "The Petroleum Triangle" and "The Absence of Grand Strategy." He has won two Choice Outstanding Academic Book awards from the American Library Association. His high standing as a scholar and a teacher brought him the 2012 Outstanding Faculty Award, which is sponsored by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV).

Yetiv was recognized by SCHEV for his "superior performance in teaching, research and service."