I’m sure you have often heard politicians utter the mandate (or threat) to “Drill, Baby, Drill!” This is related to the U.S. and its energy production, and the insinuation is that the embattled and over-regulated energy companies have been so badly hamstrung that the oil they are allowed to suck out of the ground is a pitiful trickle, and our problems would all be over if they’d just be allowed to, ya know, do their thing.

The reality, however, is that oil is absolutely roaring from our soil and sands, and the notion that energy companies are somehow being held back is a bit disingenuous.