Being the Change I Wish to See

America is extremely dependent on imported oil for the basis of our economy. We use 25% of the world’s oil, but we only produce 3%.

History

We faced an oil embargo back in the 1970’s and saw first-hand how disruptive interruptions in our oil supplies can be to our economy, national security and our lives. Prices went through the roof and there were significant shortages. There were long lines at gas stations. Americans woke up for a short period of time to the realities of what oil shortages can do to us.

Unfortunately, we went back to sleep during the Reagan years because we worked out our shortage problems with new import partners and the guarantees of big oil companies to make sure we had plenty of cheap oil for decades to come. In fact, oil was so cheap that it nearly put U.S. oil exploration and production out of business.

We invested in refineries and end-uses of oil instead of investing in alternative sources of energy. We should be 30 years into serious research, development and technology programs that eliminate our need for oil as an energy source. But we’re not.

Today

Scientists estimate there are only about 60 years of oil reserves left on Earth that we know of if we use it at the rate we’re using it today. We cannot continue to ignore the oil problem. We must start acting to change our energy sources and make them viable technologies for centuries to come.

Changes this huge won’t happen over night, but we must make significant strides to reduce the amount of energy we are using right now through conservation to help bridge the energy gap between oil and new technologies.

Two of the best bridges we can build very quickly are switching to natural gas and clean coal technologies to make both liquid and gas fuels. I will post links to articles I write concerning alternative energy on this page.

In the meantime, we must conserve as much energy as possible. Here are several energy conservation tips you can use in your home, when you drive and at work: