We Worked Hard For 250 Years
June 26, 2026
250 years.
That’s the milestone birthday America is about to celebrate in just a few short days. There’s no shortage of things to say about celebrating the endurance of our great nation and the independence that we as Americans all hold so dear. But, that’s not what we’re going to talk about today.
Today we’re going to talk about the other side of American independence — the practical side.
This country isn’t just built on big ideas like freedom and individuality. It’s built on real, tangible
things like hard work, common-sense ideas and a simple dedication to never giving up.
And, there’s no greater illustration of the American dedication to hard work and our give-‘em-hell attitude than our achievements in energy independence. The United States has established itself as an energy superpower. Abundant American energy resources like natural gas, coal and nuclear power and the ability to innovate can power our nation for centuries to come.
There’s a lot of energy in that accomplishment
In 2024, the U.S. only imported 17% of its energy supply from foreign sources — the lowest amount in nearly 40 years. That means the U.S. has halved its energy imports from other countries, mostly due to increased domestic energy production, since imports peaked in 2006.
Imports from the OPEC countries decreased a whopping 77% during that same time. This is proof positive that “Drill, Baby, Drill” and “Build, Baby, Build” aren’t just catchy slogans. They are policies that work for American families and businesses.
The U.S. has remained a net energy exporter now for several consecutive years—meaning we are producing record amounts of energy that exceed our domestic consumption. In fact, U.S. primary energy exports have been steadily increasing since 2002. Primary energy sources includes coal, coal coke, crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas, biofuels, and electricity.
We changed the way the world works
U.S. energy dominance not only powers our country but also supports our allies across the globe — making us and the rest of the world a safer place. The point where “primary energy imports” and “primary energy exports” cross on the graph above represents a noteworthy victory for Americans. For years we were reliant on foreign oil and other energy sources. Many Americans have grown up watching us fight wars in the Middle East and waiting in lines at the gas stations back home, while we were held hostage by a dependence on untrustworthy foreign nations to meet our energy needs.
But, in 2018, the U.S. surpassed Russia and Saudi Arabia to become the world’s top producer of
natural gas AND oil largely because of the hard work and ingenuity of the American energy industry. Now, we produce more than enough energy to fuel America and her people with affordable, reliable and clean American-made energy. But, not only that, now we can also export energy to support our allies around the world—creating a safer world both at home and abroad.
In December 2020, we reached a benchmark in our country’s history many thought we’d never
see again. For the first time in 35 years, the U.S. imported no weekly crude oil from Saudi Arabia. By November 2024, the U.S. had reached a new record of crude oil production in the lower 48 states. As a result, not only do we have the oil resources to support our own nation, but we are now setting records year after year for exporting oil to our allies around the world.
The surge of American natural gas and its contribution to our growing energy freedom is even
greater. The U.S. has been the world’s top producer of natural gas since 2011, when it overtook
Russia, and it has been a net exporter since 2017. The U.S. is now the top producer of natural gas in the world. Energy expert Robert Bryce even goes so far as calling us a “natural gas superpower.”
In 2023, we produced more natural gas than Canada, China, Iran, Norway and Qatar combined.
As a result we have now become a top exporter of natural gas as well. In 2023, the U.S. was the
largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by volume in the world. This has been especially
exceptional in Europe where the U.S. is now the top source of natural gas — providing stability
at a time when resources from Russia and elsewhere have been anything but.
Let’s keep going for another 250
When you step back and consider the work that has gone into all these accomplishments, it is truly mind-boggling. In just a few short decades, the American people have literally changed the world on a grand scale and changed all our daily lives for the better. But, we’ve reached a funny point in our American history where there are actually people that believe all of the above is a bad thing. The green-at-any-cost crowd and their climate cult mentality genuinely want us to go backward in the name of saving the earth.
The irony of that is that American ingenuity has already made huge strides to protect our earth and our environment BECAUSE of our pursuits of energy independence. American energy is among the cleanest in the world. Emissions and other pollutants have consistently dropped for decades. And, the U.S. is a world leader in emissions reductions because of our use of traditional energy sources like natural gas for power generation.
On the other hand, wind and solar energy remain dependent on resources monopolized by
untrustworthy governments like China — a country that pollutes and burns more coal than anywhere else in the world. We cannot sacrifice our energy security to our enemies for politicized, greenn schemes.
So, this week, as we rightfully celebrate the huge accomplishment of 250 years of freedom to pursue the American Dream, we also need to celebrate — and embrace — the practical work that
underlies our American ideals. Our independence didn’t just happen—we worked hard for it. And, we’ve been fighting to keep it and advance it every day since that hard won victory.
Happy Birthday, America! Now, let’s see what we can accomplish for the next 250 years!