I'm nearing the end of my time in the US. Watching TV coverage of last week's Democratic Convention and this week's Republican gathering (the first night of which was dull), it's striking how much ad space is being consumed by the issues of energy independence and the transfer of American wealth to oil exporting nations. It's a massive debate here (and what a contrast with the UK). There are ads from the clean coal industry, T Boone Pickens on his energy plan (endlessly), advocates of 'clean electricity' and of 'clean natural gas'.
And then there are the ads on the energy issue from the presidential campaigns:
