Furthermore, society currently needs oil. The United States and numerous other countries are working on ways in which we will lessen, and possibly eliminate, our reliance on oil. However, until that happens we need to continue using the resources that are currently available. Mankind is a very intelligent species and is able to create ways to improve our reliance on fossil fuels. Based on current trends it appears we will someday soon be using more “green”…
The United States is a fossil fuel hungry nation whose economy, markets, and transportation is highly dependent on the abundance of crude oil and petroleum. Although there is roughly 85.9 billion barrels of undiscovered technically recoverable crude oil currently in the form of oil shale located beneath our soil, we still rely on imports from foreign countries. With a crude oil and petroleum product net import of 7,270 thousand barrels per day the United States is one of the top importers of foreign oil (Petroleum & Other Liquids, 2013). According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, EIA, the United States receives its leading imports of oil from Canada at a rate of 2,815 thousand barrels per day, Saudi…
Politicians talk about the US decreasing its reliance on foreign sources for Energy, but the impact of this plan is never addressed. The reality is that decreasing dependence on foreign oil means increasing dependence on new oil drilling in the US and in places that we have previously deemed protected from the harmful impact of drilling, it also means an increase in coal mining, fracking and other action harmful to our environment and to people’s health.…
He points out that “The phrase “energy independence” has become a prized bit of meaningful-sounding rhetoric that can be tossed out by candidates and political operatives eager to appeal to the broadest cross section of voters” (488). He then describes Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and how he states that foreign oil has a lot to do with global warming. Bryce brings up all of the Democratic and Republican candidates that have talked about energy independence in their stump speeches, saying how much we need energy independence and how much it would benefit us. Then, Bryce changes directions and goes into what he believes. He states that “Energy independence is hogwash. From nearly any standpoint—economic, military, political, or environmental—energy independence makes no sense” (490). Bryce then states that we all need to realize that our world is becoming more interdependent, and that we will continue to get more interdependent as time goes on, so we must simply just accept it. He writes that “the U.S….is married to fossil fuels” (491). In all, Bryce basically says that it is inevitable that we are going to have to depend on other countries for most of our energy sources because covering the Earth’s surface with windmills and solar panels simply wouldn’t compare to the amount of energy that is provided by other…
He goes on to explain that two thirds of the world's oil is in the Middle East, primarily Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq. With their high volume of oil, the Middle East supplies large quantities of oil to other countries, as well as, America. For instance, China is second to the United States in their dependency on foreign oil, who imports half of their petroleum from the Middle East. As both countries continue to need more and more oil, America could eventually become a threat to China and possibly other countries who will also need more imported oil. The potential for future world crises could come from the need for oil. That is why there is an urgency to create other alternatives before the issue ripples into a massive world war. China has already taken steps to gear their country toward alternative means by setting fuel economy standards. America needs to follow suit and do the same and focus on the research needed to determine the best possible alternatives to foreign…
* Oil is a highly sought-after commodity. Despite advancements in "green," sustainable technology, oil continues to be used around the world for powering cars, trucks, planes, machinery and equipment, as well as for heating homes and buildings. As former House of Representatives member Bob Barr noted in 2008, lessening or lifting federal oil-drilling barriers on Alaskan lands would "provide Americans with a more secure source of energy over the short term" and help drive down high oil costs for consumers. In addition, the development of new oil-drilling sites would generate new employment opportunities for people in the area.…
In addition, President Obama said “The drilling of natural gas could give 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade” (Obama State). If there are 600,000 jobs given, then 600,000 families will not be in poverty. An amazing prediction suggests that “there is enough fossil fuel left to last 100 years” (Non-Renewable). When all the fossil fuels are pumped out of the ground, the fracking industry will eradicate, and there will be no jobs for the people working for the fracking companies. “In the past 16 years the United States has relied less on foreign oils” (Obama State). The U.S. has been producing more fossil fuels, so the United States relies less on foreign oils. However, fossil fuels will not last forever, but while it is still available it will always be…
In the speech that President Jimmy Carter preached he regarded plenty of important things, but one of the main ones was the issue with the energy. 0n his speech he says that one thing he has been asking himself is “why hasn’t the nation been able to resolve the serious energy problem?” (109) The whole nation is responsible for this issue and just like the President addressed saying that” it wasn’t only the gasoline lines or energy shortages, deeper even than inflation or recession” (109), it was way more things that came along with an energy problem. The president knew he couldn’t fix this problem on his own, he knew that he needed the entire nation to help him and fix this problem. He thought as a good idea he would go and listen to what America had to say. He got different answers some were positives, negatives, different religions and believes but that was the controversy here that not everyone thought the same and everyone had their own different opinion. He didn’t give up and kept listening, one lady caught his attention she said “The big shots are not the only ones who are important, Remember; you can’t sell anything on Wall Street unless someone digs it up somewhere else first.” (110)…
of recoverable natural gas. Now why is America purchasing it from other countries? Also the United States can be drilling for oil in the Outer Continental Shelf instead of dumping money into Venezuela and countries in the Middle East. McCain wants to go after these domestic sources of fuel America relies on while alternate fuels and vehicles are being developed. Obama has no plans of where or how to get fuel for America until…
It is not easy question regarding whether America should attempt to drill its way out of dependency on foreign oil or to push hard for alternative energies. Many considerations need to be examined; environmental concerns including global warming, employment, big business, and monetary issues including the trade balance, foreign policy, and special interest groups.…
I personally think we need to go the long way to become energy independent. For the U.S., oil dependence represents a serious national security threat. While the United States is drilling more oil than it has before, consumers are not seeing the lower prices at the pump. Still, the idea of “energy independence” has continued in American political discourse, leading some to believe that the U.S. can solve its energy problems by producing more oil, which is not the…
The United States is 42% independent on energy but the remaining 58% comes from foreign countries (EIA, 2008). What is interesting is that 49% of the oil imported into the United States comes from the western hemisphere, not from the Persian Gulf (EIA, 2008). The United States only receives 16% of its oil imports from the Persian Gulf (EIA, 2008). The Largest foreign source of oil for the United States is Canada and Mexico (EIA, 2008), but it seems any negative news from the Middle East raises gas prices. This is disheartening considering gas prices have gone up 104.8% in the last year (EIA, 2008).…
At the turn of the twentieth century, the United States used coal, oil, and wood as a natural resource to produce energy. Around the beginning of the twenty-first century, those same energy resources are routine today as they were a hundred years ago. The U.S. has refined our ability to use new sources of energy that we have discovered over the last hundred years. However, “Annual consumption of petroleum and natural gas exceeded that of coal in 1947 and then quadrupled in a single generation. Neither before nor since has any source of energy become so dominant so quickly” (“Peacock”). With time the population’s need for more energy was in high demand.…
One common practice that America has been using a lot of is drilling and fracking. Drilling in America is something that has been done for years. Finding and using oil has been part of what has made America grow in strength and in resources. And while the country currently isn’t completely energy independent it is a goal of the country to produce more oil than is imported. Oil is one of the main contributors of CO2 into the atmosphere. It pollutes the air and is used for almost everything. It is used to power vehicles and it is used to fuel the transport of other fossil fuels and resources. Food is made with the power oil provides by powering the equipment that grows crops. The crops then need to be transported wherever it needs to…
Energy is very important, especially for the people of the United States. It has become an integral part of our lives and we have grown dependent on it. Therein lies the problem, however, because the more we use it, the less there is. We have to find alternative forms of energy before it is gone and we are left high and dry. Not only is our sources decreasing, it is also polluting our beautiful world. Reducing the use of energy and finding alternatives is our only choice when considering the future of America. Cheap gas may sound great right now but once it is gone, it is gone for good. We cannot be selfish and only think of the now, we must look to the future and preserve our resources so that our grandkids will have a good life. We have made…