Essay on Energy Crisis

We will first look at the United State's roles in the world oil chain in order to more fully understand what the stakes are in this war of dependency. America holds 2% of the world's oil reserves, contributes 8% to the production of oil and consumes a staggering 33% of the total world consumption [3]. This is an amazing amount for just one country alone to consume. If we look at how economics are supposed to work we will find that supply needs to equal demand. Our supply does equal our demand currently, but is largely imported. Right now America is only supplying 8% of the global production, while taking a massive third of the total consumption. Our supply comes almost completely from overseas, meaning that major oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia or Iraq, control a major role in our economy. This is a major weakness to the US as we will have little control over this precious resource and we are at the hands and will of the suppliers. Below is a chart showing the breakdown of America's uses of oil by sector.

The energy crisis is nothing new. For too long America has put off and ignored a critically relevant and ever-growing problem; a problem that is at the heart of ongoing issues, which include the condition of our environment, the downturn of our economy, and the state of our national security. For the past thirty-five years, promises have ben made, plans have failed, and the problem still remains. Said President Richard Nixon, in his State of the Union Address in January of 1974. “Let this be our national goal: At the end of this decade, in the year 1980, the United States will not be dependent on any other country for the energy we need to provide our jobs, to heat our homes, and to keep our transportation moving.” Something needs to be done. America needs to turn to a new, healthier and more efficient source of energy.

Benjamin Sovacool explains in his article that over the period of twelve years, the United States shale gas production increased 24.5 times the amount it produced in 1998. From 0.2 trillion cubic feet to an enormous 4.9 trillion cubic feet. Natural gas is also a huge financial benefit to North America. Before this drastic increase of fracking and natural gas production, the United States imported a clear majority of its oil and energy sources from the Middle East. This caused the middle east to obtain a control over the United States economic situation. For example, the 1979 oil embargo caused by OPEC (organization of petroleum exporting countries). According to Kimberly Amadeo, their decision to increase oil prices by a meager ten percent, caused oil rationing in the United States and worsened the already declining economy at this time. Since the increase in fracking and natural gas production, the U.S. has become decreasingly reliant on imported energy sources. Richard Janson denotes, that the impact of this influx of cheap gas has had many positive impacts on not only the economics of the energy industry, but foreign policy and the United States domestic policy. With the downfall in the need for imports for energy and the rise of hydraulic

Currently, the United States is the largest importer of crude oil in the world, while it is only the 3rd largest producer. In 2013, while we imported 7.7 million barrels of oil a day, we only produced 7.5 million (Dakota Access). It is critical that we produce more and import less so we can be more self-sufficient in energy production and focus on our country’s economy, to benefit the American people.

At the beginning of the year the President of the United States announced that the United States was in the middle of a nation wide energy crisis. The President gave many solutions including using more solar and wind energy, nuclear power, and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The President told the American people that they would have to watch their energy use and conserve as much as possible. Gas prices reached $2 per gallon in the Midwest for the second straight summer, and California continued to be hit by unprecedented power woes that forced rolling blackouts. The price of crude oil rose sharply, from around $10 a barrel to a peak of $37. The

Our dependence on foreign oil and natural gas has created a vulnerability affecting our national security and economic stability. Up until this past decade there was an appreciable decline in our oil and natural gas production in the US and we were tied to world market price fluctuations. Oil prices and natural gas prices rose and fell based on OPEC’s and other large oil and natural gas producers’ production and pricing decisions. Beginning in 2005, things began to change in the US oil and natural gas industry. New technology called hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” made it possible to extract oil and natural gas from geological

I.analysis: It is likely that, with the rate of consumption of energy as it is, the equilibrium point of energy use and input costs will peak earlier than predicted, causing a disproportionate slide into debt. This will prove a serious economic disadvantage in the future as the national rate of production may plummet without a sustainable energy source. The US may not be able to compete with other fast-moving countries or even be able to profuse enough for their own nation’s needs.

Our society has faced two major energy related problems since the Industrial Revolution. The first is where our future energy resources are going to come from. The United States both consumes and produces an immense

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

Continued investment should be encouraged in order to develop the best technology in energy for the future. Continued investment will allow for new and exciting developments that will improve the energy industry in the long run. It will assist the industry in satisfying the growing demand and need for sustainability. There are a number of political and legal factors that are significant to the energy industry. For example, laws and government regulation on energy use could potentially affect the demand for domestic energy and thus lead to a shift in prices. However, with an increase of clean energy use, the demand for energy will not change dramatically due to laws and regulations, instead, the future prosperity of the globe will improve.

The United States needs to continue working toward ending our dependence on foreign oil but it won 't be easy and will take some time. Currently 25% percent of U.S. oil comes from foreign countries, which is on the decline (U.S. Energy Information Administration, n.d). Our

Oil is one of the most important natural resources known to mankind. For most societies in the world, oil is the principal natural resource that fuels their economies. Then why, in this great age of communication and technology, do we need to be concerned about a natural resource like oil? Simple. Nearly 98% of everything you have or do is in some way related to crude oil. Heat for your home, gas for your car, 2 liter plastic bottles for pop, and petroleum jelly are just a few examples of products created from crude oil. The United States has the greatest standard of living in the world, as well as the largest economy. Why? Because we have always tried to maintain control over the supply, as well as price, of oil. Over the last 10 years, the U.S. economy has undergone the largest economic expansion in history and cheap oil has fueled this unprecedented growth. (Faulkner)

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 U.S. was supposed to be the world’s new swing oil producer, able to nimbly open and close the taps in response to market forces, thanks to its bounty of shale fields.” In the past a barrel of oil has been one hundred dollars, recently it has dropped to thirty dollars. Though some wells can be profitable at low prices it puts a serious strain on the oil industry as explained in this article.

With American population expected to increase by approximately fifty percent over the next fifty years, some sort of energy reform is needed (Lehrman 2). The most commonly proposed idea is for America to stop relying so heavily on fossil fuels, and to turn its focus onto renewable sources of energy, such as solar power and hydroelectricity (Energy Information Administration). If the United States could realize the benefits of renewable energy, then much of the world’s energy problems could be solved.