Hormuz Is the Proof: American Energy Is National Security

Gas is $4.29 because a war half a world away choked the world's oil. The answer isn't to apologize for American drilling. It's to do more of it.

By Clara Hughes

Every American who filled up this week knows the number. AAA's national average for regular gasoline was $4.29 a gallon on Sunday. A year ago it was $3.06. That is a punch in the gut for every family, every retiree on a fixed income, every small business with a truck. Nobody at Altas is going to pretend otherwise. But Americans deserve to know why it's happening. And once you know why, the lesson is obvious. The world's oil got choked. Ours didn't. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Middle East oil production shut in by disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz peaked at 10.9 million barrels a day in May. It was still about 4.8 million