An article:
I don't know whether the shale boom is going bust or not, but "energy independence" is not a realistic policy goal absent a dramatic shift to alternative energy sources and increased conservation.
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-04-22/is-the-u-s-shale-boom-going-bust
It's not surprising that a survey of energy professionals attending the 2014 North American Prospect Expo overwhelmingly identified "U.S. energy independence" as the trend most likely to gain momentum this year. Like any number of politicians and pundits, these experts are riding high on the shale boom -- that catch-all colloquialism for the rise of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling that have unleashed a torrent of hydrocarbons from previously inaccessible layers of rock.
But this optimism belies an increasingly important question: How long will it all last?
Among drilling critics and the press, contentious talk of a "shale bubble" and the threat of a sudden collapse of America's oil and gas boom have been percolating for some time. While the most dire of these warnings are probably overstated, a host of geological and economic realities increasingly suggest that the party might not last as long as most Americans think.
I don't know whether the shale boom is going bust or not, but "energy independence" is not a realistic policy goal absent a dramatic shift to alternative energy sources and increased conservation.
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-04-22/is-the-u-s-shale-boom-going-bust