Americans Support Ban on Russian Oil and Increase in Domestic Production
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has exposed much of the West’s reliance on foreign oil produced in hostile nations. Recently, the average US price for a gallon of gasoline surpassed $4, the first time since 2008. In step with other economic sanctions, President Biden announced an Executive Order on March 8th banning the import of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas and coal to the United States.
In a nationwide poll, Americans overwhelmingly supported President Biden’s Executive Order to ban oil imports from Russia. Ninety percent of respondents supported the ban for the time being, while a third of respondents held that the ban should be made permanent.
Similarly in the recent national survey, a majority of Americans, 53 percent, would also support an increase in domestic energy production. Craig Stevens, spokesman for Grow America’s Infrastructure Now and a former senior advisor at the U.S. Department of Energy, said in a press release Tuesday that, “with rising energy prices across the country, and the stark realization that U.S. consumers could end up paying for Russia’s war against Ukraine, Americans want to know that their energy is homegrown, or sourced from allied nations.” Perhaps the best example of domestic energy operation is the Dakota Access Pipeline, which has transported about 570,000 barrels of crude oil daily for more than the past four years. The poll found Americans support the continued use of the pipeline by a 5 to 1 margin. Similarly, statewide support for the Dakota Access Pipeline was overwhelming, 83% to 12%, according to separate a mid-February poll of North Dakota residents.