Should energy independence be a high priority in the US?

Yes

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by Catherine Fuller

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Energy independence should be a high priority in the United States both for reasons of national security and energy conservation.

National Security

The United States has long been reverenced as one of the most powerful nations, if not the most powerful nation in the world, but imagine for a moment that the power were to shift and that the new power of dominance was not our alley but our adversary; and what if that new world power were to "black list" the United States? Think about it, there are a lot of powerful countries that do not like us so much. We may have a large military, but we have a fragile economy. One long oil embargo at just the right time could send us into a tailspin.

Energy Conservation

We need to become energy independent for the sake of energy conservation. Remember when you moved out of your parent's house? The sky was bluer the grass was greener and you learned to eat leftover food and turn off the lights. The same thing would happen to Americans if we had to depend on our own resources. We would suddenly become aware of what we were using.

We would stop driving so many large vehicles and buy hybrids. As the owner of a small construction business, I have been tempted on many occasions to purchase a larger, more powerful truck but I never have. It is amazing how many places you can go and how much weight you can hale in a Chevy S-10. Now that the price of gas is soaring, it is a relief to have a small vehicle to fill up. Large vehicles have their purpose, but there are far more than necessary on our roads.

Many Americans could get by on far less electricity than they use. If we had to depend on our own resources people would cut off their lights, turn up the air-conditioning and "go green." Since the economic down turn, I have noticed even large department stores are conserving electricity. Many large stores are only using half of the overhead lighting in the buildings.

The only argument to consider against energy independence is that we could destroy the land, but this is something we need to consider whether we use our national resources or anyone else's. Yes, if we drill for oil in Alaska, we are going to change Alaska, but isn't this really the reason to learn not to use so much energy to begin with. The United States, as a whole is a wasteful society and we have to change. Perhaps if we have to depend on our own natural resources we will finally stop using so many of them. Depending on our own natural resources for energy would make us less vulnerable to other countries while forcing us to learn to conserve.

www.alterna tiveenergy.com

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