Energy Security: Energy Independence

energy independence: At the heart of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine is the question of energy independence and energy security. We ve witnessed this before in previous violent conflicts whether in the Middle East, Central Asia or North Africa. Energy wars are real and they will continue to dominate our geopolitical agenda for the coming years unless the United States and its allies decide to act, according to CNN. To be clear, when it comes to energy security and energy independence, anything thats got a valve on it and has to be transported thousands of miles across borders decreases a countrys capacity for stability. That pipe whether carrying oil or gas is a target for acts of sabotage, political and physical. In 2009, for example, Russia turned off the spigot to gas exports to Ukraine, leaving the country out in the cold in the dead of winter. The Keystone XL pipeline in the U.S. is proving similar in serving as a political target, whether erroneously or accurately and Editors note: Russ Carnahan was a U.S. Representative from Missouri and a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He is now a partner at Carnahan Global Consulting, a consultancy that also advises firms in the energy sector . Michael Shank is associate director for legislative affairs at the Friends Committee on National Legislation, the advocacy arm of Friends Quakers in the U.S . The views expressed are their own. In discussions with our European Union counterparts in Berlin and Warsaw in the past month as part of a U.S.-E.U. transatlantic dialogue on, among other salient topics, the annexation of Crimea energy was very clearly at the core of this conflict. There was also consensus that the present moment couldnt be a more historic opportunity to ensure an energy transition happens and soon lest more wars be fought, more territories acquired, or more people literally left out in the cold. The urgency of this effort cannot be overstated. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.