The United States depends on foreign producers for more than half of the oil it consumes. Much of the world’s oil is produced by OPEC—the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries—which has the ability to manipulate supplies and prices worldwide. Former U.S. president Bill Clinton argued, “The nation’s growing reliance on imports of crude oil and refined petroleum products threaten (sic) the nation’s security because they increase U.S. vulnerability to oil supply interruptions.” Many Americans worry that energy shortages could seriously disrupt America’s new high-tech economy. Moreover, concerns about energy dependency have only deepened in recent years—U.S. reliance on foreign oil has increased from 35 percent in the 1970s to 56 percent in 2000.

One solution to America’s energy dependence is to increase domestic production...