Energy is the motor that is driving the economic downturn. Since 1973 a certain political party has obstructed virtually every attempt to become energy independent. They have been aided and abetted by the media and the Greens.
Had our politico's had the balls to run over these obstructionists we'd be pumping oil out of the 2 trillion barrel reserves in the Green River watershed, Alaska, off the coast of Cali, in the Gulf and natural gas beneath the Great Lakes as well as wind power in the middle of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. Nuclear power plants would dot the country, we'd probably have a high speed elevated electric train system criss crossing the country, recycling nuclear waste would not be against the law. We would not be distilling our food into alcohol. There would be no energy crisis, energy would be cheap, we'd be beholden to no tinpot dictator or tribal feudalist imam. The Middle East would be no trouble for anyone except each other.
People seem to have forgotten that America was built upon inovation and hard work. Freedom tends to inspire that. The only thing that has happened is that America has devolved into more and more socialism, nannyism and a propensity to give up in the face of challenge. You only have to look at the auto industry to see that it's a fact. You could look around in many other niches and see the same facts.