U.S. Oil Dependency
By
Demarcus Pringle
Saginaw Career Complex
2102 Weiss Street
Saginaw, Michigan 48602
(989) 399-6150
Five Pages
Mrs. Cheri Wilson, Advisor
Historical Review
The first successful oil well was built by James Miller Williams in North America on a deposit located near the present-day towns of Oil Springs and Petrolia. The Tripp brothers first recognized the beds in 1851. After failing to develop their find, Williams jumped on the chance to purchase the wells. In his first two years, Williams pumped fifteen hundred m³ of crude oil. He then began the first integrated oil company; exploring, drilling and refining the oil into finished products. "The Canada Oil Company," he decided to call it. These fields supplied ninety percent of the oil consumed in Canada and Petrolia for the next fifty years. By the turn of the century, it began to slow down. As the Petrolia oil rush hit a plateau and came to a standstill in Canada, those who worked the drills found their skills in high demand around the world to as many as eighty seven countries. Thus, the great oil fields in the Middle East, Gobi Desert, and South America were created.
As time progressed, the United State's dependency for foreign oil has tremendously grown and is showing no sign of ceasing anytime soon. You may even say that America is addicted to oil. Our thirst for this natural resource has created a major rise in fuel cost. Oil peaking is going to happen, but the timing is uncertain. We, as a country, must lessen our demand for oil and ease our reliance from outside sources for oil before we are forced to rely on something that is in such a high demand. Our economy is shaped by the availability of low cost oil, once oil peaking has occurred. Not only will the U.S economy be hit, but the global economy will be affected as well.
United States Imports and Fuel Pricing
The United States is the greatest country in the world, and its demands are many. To run a great country, you need great transportation. For great transportation, you need a way to propel the vehicles; this creates our great need of oil. We are the world's major oil consumer, with a per capita consumption of 28 barrels a year, compared to only two barrels a year for a Chinese citizen. Though we are the greatest country in the world, our natural resources are not many. Needing oil, we look to the ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
United States Imports and Fuel Pricing
The United States is the greatest country in the world, and its demands are many. To run a great country, you need great transportation. For great transportation, you need a way to propel the vehicles; this creates our great need of oil. We are the world's major oil consumer, with a per capita consumption of 28 barrels a year, compared to only two barrels a year for a Chinese citizen. Though we are the greatest country in the world, our natural resources are not many. Needing oil, we look to the outside sources to get what we need, creating our reliance on other countries. The demand for oil is predicted to be one hundred and twelve million barrels per day by the year 2020. Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates are the major oil producers in the world. Statistics emphasize the fact that the United States is more dependent than ever on imported oil. Being dependent on these countries for oil, we do not fully control how much our citizens pay at the pump. Worldwide supply of crude is down and demand is up. Hurricane Katrina and Rita made the issue even worse, damaging many refineries. As oil peaking approaches, the price of oil will continue to show volatility as traders, speculators, and other market participants react to supply and demand events.
Alternatives
The United States has never seen a problem that could be as catastrophic as this before. If we are to end our reliance on foreign oil, the result must be abrupt and revolutionary. January 31, 2006, President Bush addressed the state of the union. Energy production was the theme at many of his addresses, but it was time he took a shift. Mr. Bush now spoke of decreased consumption and greater efficiency. He spoke of funding research for clean energy and an alternative vehicle called the hybrid vehicle. "Keeping America competitive requires affordable energy. And here we have a serious problem: America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world," said Bush. To remain the dominant country we are today, we must begin to use an alternative vehicle. To thrive once again, we must leave oil behind us and press for the future. Just as Bush, I also feel the best way to break an addiction is through technology.
Hybrid vehicles are the future of vehicles, not only in America, but worldwide! Many say we should just use less oil, or produce more of it. But I say we have based our whole lives on a non-renewable resource that may be exhausted in our life time. It's time for a dramatic change. Will it be hard to convert a country to another method of fuel? Yes. Will it cost us more money to purchase these vehicles? Yes. Will we be gaining more than we lose? Yes. A hybrid vehicle does have its drawbacks: however, it will not only end our reliance for foreign oil, but it will also end our support of terrorism and repressive regimes, by purchasing foreign oil.
Hybrid vehicles are already on the market, but many are not sure what they are. They are actually not very new. One considers a vehicle to be a hybrid when it combines two or more sources of power. By combining two propulsion systems and their associated energy storage units, they use two methods of propulsion instead of one, decreasing the use of oil. In the 1900's, inventors were tinkering with combinations of the electric motor and the gasoline engine. The ideas became dropped very soon as the gasoline-fueled vehicles became more reliable, easier to start, and the gasoline was more readily available. Once concern for oil was aroused, development of the hybrid vehicle picked up again.
Automakers are beginning to see the good side of more fuel efficient vehicles. Recently, at the Detroit car show, General Motors Corp. unveiled its first major hybrid vehicles. Daimler Chrysler introduced what it's calling the "cleanest diesel on the planet." And Ford Motors Co. unveiled an Escape sport-utility hybrid concept that's capable of running on up to 85% ethanol, a corn-based fuel difficult to find at filling stations in most of the country. Their tag line is, "Live green, go yellow." This was a big risk for each of the companies due to the recent volatility in the oil market. Though most of the vehicles will not even be available to purchase for years to come, it is a big step towards the future.
Global and United States Economies
"We must also change how we power our automobiles. We will increase our research in better batteries for hybrid and electric cars and in pollution-free cars that run on hydrogen," said President Bush. One day, we will all have hybrid vehicles, and for one to have a hybrid vehicle, we must have gas stations that will accommodate these vehicles. Hundreds of millions of dollars will be spent on the conversion of the gas stations, but I feel that money should not play an issue because what we are dependent on now will soon come to an end. Though hydrogen does use oil to be produced, it isn't the only way to produce hydrogen; there are many ways. Solar power, nuclear power, and even geo-thermal power, though a large amount of electricity must be used.
Despite the advantages of hybrid vehicles, Americans are just not sure about them. Most likely, they will be pushed aside because of improvements in gasoline emissions. The future of hybrid vehicles is uncertain, but one thing is certain. World peaking is going to happen, with our reliance on outside sources for oil production. Our economy is destined for a disaster. It will take a tremendous effort from everyone to change the economy. It will not be instant or automatic. It will take time and will be a slow transition going from one to the other. It is cheaper to just keep getting oil from other countries, but the day is coming and we must be ready. The United States is depending on more outside sources for oil production. It has caused a major rise in fuel costs in the United States. Bush also commented, "By applying the talent and technology of America, this country can dramatically improve our environment, move beyond a petroleum-based economy and make our dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing of the past."
Works Cited
Gibson, Dick. "Some Interesting Oil Industry Statistics" 1997-2006. http://gravmag.com/oil.html. (13 Nov. 2005)
Lundegaard, Karen. "Detroit Stuck in Neutral". The Wall Street Journal. 26 January 2006.
McKinnon, John D. "Bush Aims to Cut Energy Imports, Ease War Anxiety." The Wall Street Journal. 01 February 2006.
Parry, Ian W.H.and Darmstadter, Joel "The cost of U.S. Oil Dependency." http://www.rff.org/rff/Documents/. (1 December 2005).
Porter, Adam. "US Report Acknowledges Peak-Threat." http:www.english.aljazeera.net. (9 March 2005).