US Energy Crisis Building In Slow Motion

There is a crisis brewing in the US energy business.  Normally, the Minerals and Management Service, a branch of the Department of the Interior, auctions off leases to drill for oil and gas in places like the Gulf of Mexico, one of the largest and most prolific energy producing areas in the entire world.  Since Ken Salazar, Obama's Interior Secretary, has taken over, the lease sales have had a cloud over them as Salazer's rhetoric has been confusing at best.  But even more troubling is the interference of the courts.  Some courts are now weighing in on whether or not these lease auctions should stand and from what I can tell, the basis for overturning decades old practices between a multi-billion dollar industry and the federal government is simply a few judges dislike of hydrocarbons.  The crisis is building.  The oil and gas industry is having the rug pulled out from under them, or at least it looks that way so they are bound to be gun shy on making investments.  Environmentalists love this, but the reality is not so pretty.  Energy investment will plummet and prices are hyper sensitive to small imbalances between supply and demand.  With enough under-investment, prices are certain to skyrocket in time.  And then the only option is massive importation of energy, the US can't ramp up to cure the imbalance in the short term.  Alternatives are a joke, don't count on them no matter how much money the Democrats throw at our green future.  Unless this gets resolved, in the end, we'll import more energy. There is only two ways to import energy, via pipeline or via tanker.  Take your pick, there are ways to invest in either.