FACT CHECK: Bachmann energy claims oversimplified

By MATTHEW DALY,
Associated Press – 1 day ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — 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:

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