FACT CHECK: Bachmann energy claims oversimplified

WASHINGTON — America's energy future can't be unlocked as simply as Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann makes it sound when she depicts the nation as the "king daddy dogs" of energy. Even if environmentalists folded and Washington regulators got out of the way, much of the energy is too expensive for companies to develop.

"The radical environmentalists have demanded that we lock up all our energy resources," she told a town hall meeting in Florida. "President Bachmann will take that key out of the door. I will unlock it."

America's energy riches rest primarily on coal, and that resource is already unlocked. Bachmann was correct recently in citing estimates that the U.S. has more potential oil trapped in shale than Saudi Arabia does from all its sources. But those supplies are trapped by the economics of the industry, not overzealous regulators.

A look at her recent claims about energy and how they compare with the facts:

BACHMANN: With untapped oil reserves in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska and off the nation's coasts, oil shale in Western states, and rich natural gas and coal deposits, "the United States is the No. 1 country in the world for energy resources," Bachmann said. "We are the king daddy dogs when it comes to energy."

THE FACTS: A March report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service backs up Bachmann's claim about energy resources, with some important qualifications, including the fact that the fossil fuel with the largest U.S. supply by far is coal. Bachmann cited the report in her town hall meeting Saturday in central Florida.

The report, using data compiled by the federal Energy Information Administration, says the United States has the highest total endowment of fossil fuels in the world, taking into account known reserves of oil, natural gas and coal. The U.S. has the equivalent of 973.1 billion barrels of oil in fossil fuel energy. Russia is next, with 954.9 billion barrels of oil equivalent. China is next with 474.8 billion barrels.

But coal accounts for more than 90 percent of the U.S. total. The U.S. share of the world's proven oil reserves is less than 2 percent.

Without counting coal, the United States would fall below at least eight countries, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, Venezuela and Qatar.

Bachmann's claim that "radical environmentalists" are keeping the United States from tapping its energy resources is harder to evaluate. While lawsuits and government policies keep some known reserves, including Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, off limits, experts say other factors, such as drilling costs and well productivity, can have a greater effect on production.