Fracking, the North Dakota Boom, and U.S. Energy Independence Introduction: Over the past three decades, energy has been a perennial issue in U.S. politics, economics, and the media . The main concern surrounding this topic is the idea of ​​energy independence and how the United States should proceed in the future. Energy independence refers to the goal of reducing the United States' dependence on imported foreign oil and other foreign energy sources. This desire aims to maintain energy dependence at the national level so that the United States can avoid dependence on unstable countries and be detached from the global distribution of energy supply. There is currently speculation that the United States may not be too far from this goal. America's dependence on foreign oil has declined every year since 2007. In 2010, the United States imported less than 50 percent of the oil the country consumed – the first time in 13 years – and the trend has continued in 2011 (Zhang .) Experts credit new technologies with the reason that in several years the United States will once again become the world's largest oil producer, and perhaps two decades away from full energy independence. Hydraulic fracturing, fracking, is the "leading" technology of this technological revolution. Fracking is a more economically feasible way to drill for oil or gas in harder-to-reach geological formations. Over the past decade or so, the combination of hydraulic fracturing with horizontal drilling has opened up shale deposits across the country. It has brought large-scale natural gas drilling to new regions that may not have had accessible deposits in the past. These areas have benefited greatly from the addition of this industry to their local economies. Some are… middle of paper… fogs, arguing that other, cleaner energy sources are more effective at creating jobs and at lower costs. Conclusion: Fracking has contributed to positive economic impacts and a closer sense of energy independence for the United States. The oil- and natural gas-rich areas beneath North Dakota have grown to contribute a large percentage of these resources to overall U.S. production. The fact that the United States has the potential to achieve full energy independence could not only be huge for the country in a global context, but also extremely beneficial for citizens. Less dependence on foreign exports could mean a healthier future for the country. The energy security potential of fracking, balanced with the environmental risks, makes it important that it is not a yes-no question, but rather finding a solution to satisfy it in a broader context.