Why is americas dependency on foreign oil a ';problem,'; and how do we fix it?

i remember people asking this exact question back in the 70's...i hope we aren't asking it again 30 years from now.Why is americas dependency on foreign oil a ';problem,'; and how do we fix it?
It's a problem because you have to go to war in Iraq (twice) and sell your soul to Saudi Arabia to keep the tap running. And even then OPEC can put the screws to you at any point.





How can you fix it? Basically you can't. You can try to be efficient, try drilling in the US (which is done as much as possible) and you can try other sources of energy but at the end of the day oil is so much cheaper, even at $125 a barrel, that there isn't enough incentive to work on making the other sourses feasible. Until oil gets so expensive that those other sourses are cheaper, there is no fix. But that's going to be a very hard path to take.Why is americas dependency on foreign oil a ';problem,'; and how do we fix it?
It's a problem because we are paying WAY too much for oil and we have our own supply that we barely even use. The quick and easy solution is to increase our production in the Gulf of Mexico and Texas, as well as Prudhoe Bay in Alaska. We have the solution here on our own soil to our energy crisis as well as our economic woes. By increasing production, we would increase the number of jobs available and make it cost effective for the workers to be able to drive to and from their jobs.
Methods:





1- Use alternative fuels; scrap oil powerplants and replace them with nuclear: they're cleaner, much more powerful, and tech today makes them much safer than back when we built most of the ones we have now.





2- The main reason for the oil being so pricey right now is because of Russia, India and China trying to interfere with our oil contracts in the Middle East for the construction of their militaries.





3- Just as a statement, anyone that thinks we invaded Iraq for oil needs to get a clue. We are BUYING it from them; it's the foundation of the country's economy. If we were going to invade a country for oil, it'd be Canada. There's more oil in Northern Canada than any other location in the world right now.





4- Stop driving SUVs and switch to sedans. Hybrids are not going to help you much, because while you may not need as much gas, they're more expensive and batteries for them are so expensive that it's actually harder on your wallet to go with a hybrid.





5- Most European countries are 100% dependant on foreign oil, which drives the price up. Examples are France and Germany, neither of which have any oil territory. The USA on the other hand, produces quite a bit of oil, but not enough for an economic superpower.
The fact that it is a problem was adequately proved during the 1973-74 OPEC embargo which essentially crippled our economy for a short time - leading to long lines at the gas pumps, wage and price freezes and plenty of violence.


We fix it by becoming self sufficient - researching and using alternate energy, drilling for more of our own oil, tightening up EPA CAFE standards and ultimately not being at the mercy of countries that basically don't really like us much.
I don't think that we depend on their oil as much as people think we do, I think our gov chooses to purchase foreign oil in order to conserve the oil we have here in the US as if we're saving it for a rainy day or the future. Sort of like lets try to use theirs up first so that in generations down the road they'll depend on our oil fields. However the way things are going with flex fuel, hybrids, solar energy we may be just wasting time on conserving the oil that's here in the US.
What most people do not realize is the USA imports most of its oil from Canada. It comes in by pipe line, not by ship. Alberta Canada can furnish the USA with all the oil it needs. They also have the refineries there to process the oil into the products needed; something the USA has not built a new refinery in over 20 years. Ontario Canada has built several.





Alternative fuels such as those produced from corn actually cost more to produce than that from oil. It requires more diesel to plant, raise and harvest the corn than it does to use oil. This is true of all alcohol based fuel.





The oil companies will continue to raise prices and making huge profits because they know they have the general public over a barrel and has no choice but to pay. The government of the USA does not buy oil the oil companies do. The government has taken all the controls off the prices the oil companies can charge. Until these controls are put in place again the oil companies are free to charge anything they wish.





There is something more sinister behind these high prices created by inflation. It is to drive the USA into a depression that will cover the world. It is not going to be pleasant believe me! But keep watching your sports and watch the USA go down the tube and then you will wonder what happened but it will be too late!
I can't stay quiet any longer about the politics of this land. I have been contacting my senators and congressman about a couple of issues, and they were very glad to hear from me. Here are the 2 issues:





1. The senate is voting soon on the Supplemental Spending Bill for the Iraq War, and Diane Feinstein put in an amendment to grant amnesty to 1 million ILLEGAL immigrants because the produce is not getting picked in time. Our economy is in so much trouble, and there are lots of LEGAL citizens that need the money and would be willing to work in agriculture. There are plenty of youth that need good, hard-working jobs to earn them the money they need for college, cars, etc. Feinstein's amendment is very inappropriate. Once you start the amnesty policy, there will be no end. I just saw a presentation on how excessive immigration will undo our country in many ways...too far to mention.





2. Our country has lots of oil reserves in many states and out in the surrounding oceans. We have the technology to drill for it in a responsible way to conserve the environment. The Dakotas, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah have oil shale that can be successfully developed for oil, and the Energy Policy of 2005 directed the BLM to lease these lands to those willing to develop the shale oil. Now a moratorium was imposed as part of the Consolidated Appropriation Act of 2008 to NOT allow the BLM to lease land for shale oil development.





It is my opinion that we should be calling our representatives and letting them know we will not vote for them if they don't allow us to glean our own oil resources in our own land and help our own people and our economy. To go begging to Saudi Arabia for more oil is humiliating and unnecessary. This is the biggest transfer of wealth in the history of the world to take our money by the billions and give it to countries that are not friendly to us and then prohibit our own people from providing for themselves.





I have sent this out to many in different states. If we each do our part, and spread the word, something can be done about this situation. We the people are still in charge if we will take the responsibility. I had a very good experience calling my representatives, both Republican and Democrat. Their phone numbers were in the phone directory.





Thanks for reading, and I hope you will take action.
Become independent like Argentina and grow sugar cane to make ethanol, and more ethanol is produced from sugar cane than corn. They do not rely on any country for fuel. After the last gas crisis their government decided to do something about it. Make more flex cars to use the fuel. We still however need to be resourceful and keep the fuel consumption down as best we can.
We are at the whims of those who provide the oil, such as OPEC. More then that, the short term fix is to drill for our own oil, build new nuclear plants and new oil refineries in this country, the long term fix is to develop alternative energy sources such as clean burning coal and solar power.
The dependancy is not really a problem in itself. The price however is. We have more than enough oil right in this country. Our own govenment wont let us get at it. We need to get people to wake up to that fact, then we can do something about it. Our own pain has to become great enough...
Because most of the oil is coming from parts of the world that is controlled by religious fanatics who want to instill their ways and we are funding them. Find alternative sources of energy would be the best answer but finding other sources of oil would help.
Solutions, price controls, nationalization, peace with Venezuela , less consumption, releasing the surplus oil supply, drilling in environmentally safe areas,all the things that Bush refuses to do
It's a problem because our nation runs on oil and can now be held hostage. We fix it by doing research into alternative sources of energy in the long run and by drilling here in the US in the short time.
Nationalize the oil and just pay the oil companies to get it out of the ground for us. We are so dependent on oil that it should be part of the commons. We need to fallow Brazil
We are at the whim of those who have the oil. We fix it by using our own oil and developing valid alternative fuel sources.
We fix it by building new oil refineries.
Operation Iraqi Liberation : OIL
Cause it is expensive.





Stop buying it.
no its not.





what, do you want them digging a 10 mile hole in new york city?
1 - It's not.





2 - We don't and we won't.