Analyzing Our Dependence on Fuel Oil

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As we talked and read about the oil topic in class, I first thought that oil was just the black stuff coming out of the ground. I then thought “how can I write an entire essay on just oil?” However, as we started talking, I realized that oil is really all of nature’s resources and these resources are slowly being destroyed. Nature is a resource that has been here for as long as people have. We use trees for paper, the rivers and lakes for drinking water and power, and oil for factories and everyday things we come in contact with. It is impossible to go about normal life and NOT encounter something made of oil and nature. One of the most critical problems facing many countries today is our dependence on oil for fuel. The United States is especially dependent on foreign oil. Oil is so vital to our economy that wars have even been fought over it. This is a major problem for the U.S. because of our “American dream” lifestyle. We use oil for heating, transportation, and electricity. The U.S. depends on foreign oil so much that when something threatens our supply, the prices skyrocket. For people in general, the prices for oil and gasoline have been very high lately. People have no choice: either fill up your car and pay the extreme amount of money or don't drive at all. The only exception to this is if you own a smart car; however, smart cars are not very popular. The U.S. may be in trouble when it comes to oil, but there are ways we can solve this problem. One way is to try to find alternative energy sources. We should research hydro-electric power, nuclear power, solar power, wind power or other possibilities. With an alternative energy source, we would not have to cut out oil completely, but we would n... ... middle of paper ... ... of these changes, the federal government would have to pay for some of the research costs. This idea is not, however, a good friend of the government. The Reagan and Bush administrations both were against this when it came up over the past 30 years. Current options such as drilling offshore and in the Alaskan wilderness as well as FRACKING will provide only a short-term solution and harm the fragile eco-systems. No longer can the people of this world take a reliable source of energy for granted. The world community must plan ahead to ensure a smooth transition from oil power to some other source or face a total chaos and a drastic change of any world order that might exist. These changes must also have the support of a large number of the population for them to work. This energy crisis must be solved by all of us, not some of us…..for reasons stated earlier.

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