US is now Net Energy Exporter!

If you’re scrabbling around for good news, chew for a moment on this chart.  For the first time since 1949, the US exported more energy than it imported (primarily to Latin America).  Admittedly, some of this is because our economy is depressed, but it’s also because of dramatic strides in energy efficiency, and also new sources of domestic energy supply (a North Slope sized oil discovery in North Dakota and the shale gas explosion in the northeast and Texas).

Moreover, according to the Wall Street Journal, it’s likely to continue for a while.  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203441704577068670488306242.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories

So we’re not irrevocably tied to the Middle East for energy supply.  There is actually a lot of good economic news just now, but this is really stunning.