Dependency on fossil fuels and solutions for new power sources

Dependency on fossil fuels and solutions for new power sources

The United States of America is undoubtedly one of the most powerful nations on the globe , and most would agree that it is surely No .1 . Yet this giant nation with enormous wealth and economic potential remains vulnerable to fluctuations in the oil price that can send shock waves through its economy . Dependence on oil remains the Achilles ' heel of the US economy . Although the US has sizeable resources in the Gulf of Mexico , they are by no means sufficient to feel the

needs of the powerful industrial sector while also suffering the consequences of wasteful heating system in the Northeast using heating oil . Dependence on oil is one of the greatest risks inherent in the American economic system , one to which the government and society should definitely try to seek solutions

Being dependent on the supply of oil that comes from foreign powers America has to respond to international pressures by adjusting its policies so as to get access to reliable supplies of this commodity . Any instability in nations supplying oil may seriously affect the American economy , a factor that has to be considered by American presidents in their decision-making . Today , after the Iraqi campaign , strikes in Nigeria , upheavals in Columbia , the global oil market remains as highly politicized as it was in the heyday of resource nationalism two decades ago , when oil occupied the attention of Western governments and the press (Morse 1999 :1

In the 1970s , the oil embargo and the ensuing conflict between the Western world and the Arab nations that have vast oil resources . The sharp rise in the oil price in the 1970s and the shock it sent through the US economy is proof that dependence on oil gives extra trumps to other nations that are political rivals of the US , giving them power to manipulate the American economic situation . Anyone interested in the effect of oil on politics would do well to remember the oil-price spikes and the following recessions of 1979 and 1973 (Oil Dependence Considering oil as an important factor in decision-making , the US can overlook other goals such as promotion of human rights or peace in the world

Oil dependence does not only have a negative effect on big policy-making . By directly affecting the economic cycles , oil serves as a weapon that punishes all consumers (Oil Dependence . When oil price rises , all US consumers will bear the burden . The most immediate manifestation of consumer dependence on oil price is the constant complaint one can hear about the staggering gas price

The costs born by consumers are not only limited to gas for their vehicles . The costs of transportation go into all products that are sold in the US . In the American economy , transportation is 97 percent oil-dependent , and as of 1991 although oil use for purposes besides transportation has dropped 20 percent since the mid-seventies , vehicles have boosted their demand by about the same amount (Gray 1991 :36 This means...