1. U.S. has become less dependent on foreign fuel
Decades of dependence on Mideast oil prompted U.S. alliances with regional monarchies that 9/11 organizer Osama bin Laden opposed. But that dependence is shifting. Domestic production of natural gas as an alternative fuel, led by technological changes in extraction, is at its highest in decades. That growth seems poised to continue whether or not Washington approves the controversial Keystone XL pipeline carrying Canadian oil from tar sands