Having to pay market prices isn't the end of the world; the U.S. is a wealthy country, so we can afford it more easily than a lot of others. (It would, of cour

Having to pay market prices isn't the end of the world; the U.S. is a wealthy country, so we can afford it more easily than a lot of others. (It would, of course, hurt poor people the most.) I think restrictions on exports are a good idea, but based on climate rather than protecting cheap domestic fuel. I mean, why do we sell coal to China when we know we're eventually going to be paying the externalized cost of CO2 emissions when they burn it, just the same as if we burned it here? Better to restrict sales (especially to countries we aren't getting along well with) except in situations where it makes sense strategically (i.e. selling to Europe to counteract the leverage Russia has because they can turn off a substantial portion of their natural gas supply).