Case Study: How To Lessen The United States Fossil Fuel Dependence

The U.S obtains more than 84% of its energy from fossil fuels including oil, coal and natural gas. This is because people rely on it to heat their homes, power industries, run vehicles, manufacturing, and provision of electricity. It is apparent that the country’s transportation industry highly depends on conventional petroleum oil, which is responsible for global warming, thus threatening economic opulence and national security. Apart from that, increasing consumption of fossil fuels have elevated health problems in the state, destroyed wild places, and polluted the environment. After conducting Environmental Impact Assessment, projections showed that the world energy consumption would increase by more than 56% between 2010 and 2040. However, fossil fuels will cater for more than 80% of the total energy used in 2040. Sadly, it will be a trajectory to alter the world’s climate, as well as, weaken the global security environment. Importantly, the rate at which the US relies on fossil fuels needs to reduce since it has adverse effects on the planet’s supplies. The society needs to realize that fossil fuels are nonrenewable, thus taking millions of years to form (Huebner, 2003). Notably, the country can reduce dependency on fossil fuels by practicing energy conservation and efficiency,

Petroleum has been a mainstay of the United State's economy for almost a century. However, oil has now been recognized as a strong catalyst for global warming, it is becoming scarce and therefore, an expensive necessity to America's economy. In the recent years many universities and scientists have looked for alternatives to oil in the form of renewable energies. These renewable energy sources would be cheaper in the long run, more efficient and environmentally clean. America as a whole must look into these new forms of renewable energy to determine if they are a practical alternative to the use of petroleum as an energy source. If we do not try to find a clean and efficient alternative to fossil fuels, I am concerned

At the dawn of the twentieth century America’s future looked bright, Industrialization in addition to transforming America had brought with it advances in medicine, science, and technology. Production of everything from food to pharmaceuticals grew at an unprecedented rate throughout the twentieth century. Through the use of fossil fuels the developed world, especially that of the United States was able to sustain larger economies, populations, food surpluses and money surpluses. However when world production of oil peaked in 2005 (Ruppert), meaning the end of cheap, abundant crude oil that had fueled everything for so long. Thus began the recession of 2008, and through our politicians claim it ended in 2009 it remains clear that whenever the economy begins to gain momentum, the increase in fuel use retards its growth, all because the price of oil control our national and global economies. All the while we as Americans continue to live in our oil fantasy thinking the end of cheap oil will never happen and that there shall always be oil.

As we continue to consume fossil fuels on a scale never seen in human history, we are faced with the nagging but not imminent question: what is going to happen when we run out? It’s the same question any addict asks themselves, and the way they respond can affect the rest of their life. It is impossible to forget 2008: gasoline rose to nearly $4 a gallon, the stock market plummeted, millions lost their jobs, and Americans and foreigners alike responded in a way that only the fear of spending more money can motivate.

The “U.S. became the world’s top producer of petroleum and natural gas” in 2013 (Energy Infrastructure). “Capital spending in the infrastructure that moves and transforms oil and gas into everyday products … has increased by 60 percent between 2010 and 2013” (Energy Infrastructure). The rise to become the top producer has led to the decrease in “U.S. oil import dependence” and the “rise of U.S. product exports” (U.S. Oil Import Dependence). The increased exportation of oil and gas by the U.S. has allowed both of these products to become large moneymakers for the United States. Although we will probably never “completely eliminate our need” for oil, we can reduce our petroleum consumption and the damage we inflict on the environment (Reduce Oil Dependence Costs). By decreasing the “dependence on oil” in new vehicles, there has been a

In contrast to the United States becoming 100 percent self sufficient in oil we need to invest in the foundations of technologies that could completely wean us off of oil, and other natural gases. While a self-sufficiency in oil is great because it decreases our dependency on other nations as well as helping to stabilize an otherwise erratic economy, it can only last for so long. Oil, a natural gas, cannot be created

The United States must re-examine many policies previously accepted as reasonable, especially its own national energy policy. As the largest overall and per capita energy consumer in the world, the U.S. needs to decide upon a reasonable source of energy for the foreseeable future, especially since its energy needs will increase dramatically during that time. With political instability likely to remain the norm in the Middle East, oil continues to be an energy source of questionable reliability; in addition, current estimates of worldwide reserves suggest we may in fact run out of oil entirely in the next fifty years. Natural gas reserves are in fairly short supply too, and costs limit its

America the beautiful, land of the greed and the home of oil. Along with being a major superpower comes an insurmountable thirst for fossil fuels. Imperialist ideals and the corporate oil empire can bring stability and jobs but heavy costs also arise. Numerous solutions have been tried, but without fixing the underlying problem more issues are inevitable. Our over-consumption has an incredible effect on our reliance on foreign oil. OPEC, the Organization of the Oil Producing Countries, has supplied Americans with a constant flow of both oil and jobs. Nevertheless, progression comes with high cost to our environment, in addition to pulling us into international involvements. Increasing the United States’ domestic oil production was just a

The United States is in an energy crisis. We rely almost solely on crude oil for most of our “gasoline” needs, meaning our fuels. The issue with our current reliance on crude oil is, plainly, that it is running out. We don’t currently have enough crude oil production in the US to support our current demand, so we are forced to import oil from overseas. And, we import a lot of it. With a gas demand of roughly 134 billion gallons per year, there exists a large risk relying on a fuel that is unsustainable and imported from overseas. Our country has the capability of greatly reducing our dependence on foreign oil, perhaps to the point where we would not have any need to import oil from overseas. With the use of our own crude oil, natural gas, and other alternative fuels, the United States can become nearly completely self-sustainable in terms of fuels. Moreover, becoming self-sustainable can have an effect of reducing geopolitical tensions particularly with regard to relations in the Middle East, the world’s largest producer and exporter of oil.

The multi-billion dollar gas industry is seeking to expand its production across the nation, in light of new technology making extracting natural gas much easier. A Healthy alternative to the fossil fuels we so frivolously use is now more critical than ever. In 2011, the United States used 18.83 million barrels of raw oil daily, and in 2010 19.18 million barrels of petroleum products and biofuels. In 2010 and 2011, that was nearly 22% of the world’s oil supply. (U.S Department of Energy)

The Industrial Revolution sparked a need for large sources of energy. Human and animal labor could not provide the power necessary to power industrial machinery, railroads, and ships. The steam engine and later the internal combustion engine provided the bulk of the energy required by the industrial age. Today most nations are still heavily reliant on energy that comes from combustion. Usually coal, petrolium, and natural gas are used. Some hydroelectric, wind power, and nuclear fission sources are used, but in the US they accounted for less than 20% of the total energy consumption in 1997 (1). Many experts are worried that natural resources such as coal and petrolium are being depleted faster than they are being replenished, which could

As the world population rises, we are using more and more energy and it is depleting faster than ever. Our fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) will not last forever and at some point we will have to switch over completely to renewable energy sources. While most of the world still uses non-renewable energy sources, the future will rely on renewable energy and its applications. Right now, over 90% of the world still uses fossil fuels and developing countries even burn wood to generate energy. At the rate we are using our fossil fuels, they will not last us far into the 22nd century. Additionally, big consumers of fossil fuels like China, U.S., Russia, and India are creating large amounts of pollution and it is only increasing. For instance, India has major issues with pollution because of heavy traffic (which releases more fuel emissions into the air), the burning of biomass (wood and other organic matter), and runoff into lakes and rivers. Right now, our biggest goal should be to figure out how to implement more forms of renewable energy in our own society. We should start using renewable energy in America because: it is more environmentally friendly, opens up the job market, and improves the health of the public.

In today’s society fossil fuels are the primary source of energy for most of the industrialized world. Utilizing fossil fuels has been very important to the industrialization development throughout the world. Industrialization in many parts of the world, energy has been needed at a much higher density then before and fossil fuels have fulfilled that need. Coal, gas, and oil are the three major sources of fossil fuels in the world. Despite other means of energy such as wind power, hydroelectric power etc., fossil fuels are still the main source of energy across the continent. Fossils fuels are critical to the function of society. “Fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas) are the dominant source of energy today and will be for decades to come.” (Everett, B. October).

For many years, humans have relied on oil and other fossil fuels to provide energy. Unfortunately, though, we have begun to realize that these fuel sources are not only terrible for the environment,

America needs to free itself from oil dependency. Every day billions of dollars are spent on resourcing oil from other countries. The United States consumes around 20 million barrels of oil every day. In the 1970’s when the energy crisis happened, oil prices skyrocketed and the supply of oil ceased, efforts shifted to find alternative sources of power. Although many people believe alternative fuels are being researched and developed for environmental reasons such as reducing our carbon emissions, they are actually becoming integrated into our lives from an economic standpoint. Hydrogen, Electric, and Bio-fueled cars are all excellent sources of