America’s Dependence on Foreign Oil

1087 Words3 Pages

The United States has had several scares throughout its history in terms of oil, most turn out to be over exaggerations of a small event. However, these scares highlight a massive issue with the U.S. and that issue is the U.S.’s dependence on foreign oil. Why does it matter that our oil should come from over seas? In a healthy economy this probably wouldn’t be as relevant, but the U.S.’s economy is not exactly healthy at the moment. There are 4 things that I would like to address: what the problem is, how it affects us, what some solutions are, and what solutions I feel are best. Every year the demand for oil grows, and the amount the U.S. produces decreases while the amount of oil America imports increases. In 1994 the oil imported from OPEC members was about 1,400,000 thousand barrels in 2008 it was about 2,200,000 thousand barrels. The amount of American oil imported from non-OPEC members was roughly 1,700,000 thousand of barrels to 3,000,000 thousand barrels. According to eia.doe.gov the U.S. imported roughly between 4,000,000 and 4,500,000 thousands of barrels of oil in 2010. All this boiled down means that the U.S. imports more than half of all its oil. And at the current rate the U.S. spends roughly $13 million dollars on oil per hour. Furthering its impact on our economy the NRDC found that roughly 1/5 of our trade deficit stems from imported oil. Every day the U.S. loses $390 million to foreign oil, money that could be spent on the United States’ infrastructure, or helping to get the U.S. out of its recession. This is money that is most likely not going to be reinvested in America and will only further our deficit. Another problem outside our spending is the fact that we are importing from some highly unstable nations... ... middle of paper ... ...>. "Just How Reliant Is the US on Foreign Oil? | GDS Publishing." Oil and Gas News | GDS Publishing. Web. 26 May 2011. . "Oil Imports and Exports - Energy Explained, Your Guide To Understanding Energy." Web. 26 May 2011. . OPEC : Home. Web. 26 May 2011. . "United States Oil - Exports - Economy." Index Mundi - Country Facts. Web. 26 May 2011. . "U.S. Crude Oil Imports." Web. 26 May 2011. . U.S. Energy Information Association. "U.S. Total Crude Oil and Products Imports." Eia.doe.gov. Web. 26 May 2011. .

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