The boom in oil and gas production, along with a shift to alternative sources, continues in the US, yet it doesn't seem that the general public (including myserlf) fully grasps this.
One more data point to put this in perspective, in December China passed the US to become the worlds largest importer of oil. This was the first time the US did not lead the in this category..in 40 years. In this same month North Dakota, Ohio and Pennslyvania produced 1.5 million barrels a day, more than Iran exported.
While this hasn't exactly been an obscure story, it's impact is still far from being appreciated.