Source: flickr.com

Earlier this month Texas Senator Ted Cruz gave a speech on American energy at the Heritage Foundation. Senator Cruz waxed poetic on oil and gas production and criticized big government for standing in the way of an even brighter future. While environmentalists had a field day criticizing the Senator's speech, there are two very real truths that American's need to understand. The first is that the United States -- from a regulatory stand point -- is one of the best places on earth for oil and gas development. The second is that market forces are almost solely responsible for our current energy boom -- the government is a non-factor.

In this video, Fool.com contributor Aimee Duffy discusses how market forces have driven oil production in the United States over the past five years, and why government is not likely to be the detriment to growing production in this country any time soon.