by Adja Roznic

Created on: January 15, 2009

As President George W. Bush put it in his 2006 State of the Union address, "America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world." The next year, in his 2007 State of the Union address he stated that importing from those unstable parts of the world "leaves America more vulnerable to hostile regimes, and to terrorists-who could cause huge disruptions of oil shipments, raise the price of oil, and do great harm to our economy."-Our dependence on foreign oil has left us in economic ruin and with vast national security concerns. In addition, it also is quite detrimental to our environment.

United States oil production peaked in the 1970s, when the United States was producing enough oil to be self-sufficient. However, currently the United States has to import about two-thirds of its oil. As stated in the Washington University Journal of Law and Policy, "over reliance on oil has the potential to wreak havoc on the US economy, and in many ways has already done so." The negative effects will only become worse. This is because 40% more oil will be consumed by 2030, as supply and discovery dwindles. Because a decrease in supply and an increase in demand, the price will rise. The Department of Energy has linked high oil prices with many negative effects on the US economy. Such negative outcomes include: the transfer of spending from domestic goods to foreign oil and decreased purchasing power of US national income due to trade imbalances.
However, alternative fuels are mainly domestic products. Their use improves our economy by creating jobs in manufacturing, distribution, conversion, and servicing sectors. By reducing our oil imports, we can keep the billions of dollars we export annually to oil-rich countries, in the US. This mandate will be beneficial to our economy.

Our dependency on foreign oil also poses vast national security risks. 30% of our imported oil comes from nations that have been or may soon be hostile to the interests of the United States. High oil prices resulting from strong demand from the US gives dangerous countries added resources to take actions inimical to American interests. A report by The Council on Foreign Relations gives examples of exporting countries such as Iran, Russia, and Venezuela using their control over enormous oil revenues to adopt policies that oppose US interests and values. The US will become more involved in world conflict as oil-related tensions are likely to intensify as countries such as China

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>