From KCRW in Santa Monica and PRI, Public Radio International, this is To the Point.

America's oil boom, the economy and the environment.

Hello again, I'm Warren Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues Americans care about most. When the president and Mitt Romney talked about energy independence

during the recent campaign, it had the sign of an unattainable promise. Now, the

International Energy Agency says the U.S. will surpass Saudi Arabia's oil production in just five

years and be all but energy self-sufficient soon after.

That means new jobs and economic growth, but renewable fuels and increased efficiency will

also have to be part of the picture. If they're not, there could be drastic consequences for

the environment and for climate change. On reporter's's notebook later on BP admits to felony crimes resulting

from the Gulf oil spill. First, here's the news. Support for To the Point comes from the members of

KCRW and from the Public Radio International Program Fund. Hello again. Oran Alney, back with

To the Point. America's boom in oil and natural gas is being compared to the tech

boom of the 1990s with the unexpected capacity to create new jobs and accelerate economic recovery.

But it's already bad news for the environment and lifestyles in many places, and it could drastically

set back efforts to cope with global warming. We'll report more about that later on. On reporter's notebook,

the admissions of federal crimes for the Gulf oil spill two years ago will cost BP $4.5 billion

in fines and other penalties. First, this news update, alarms sounded today in Tel Aviv, but incoming

rockets from the Gaza Strip fell in open areas near the port

city of Jaffa and another community. The Israeli army has called up the reserves. Joel Greenberg

is Jerusalem correspondent for the Washington Post, and Joel, good to have you back on our program.

Good to be back.

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