The drive for energy independence

We are a nation known for independence, with a history of fighting for national and personal freedoms. Yet, we are clearly dependent on the world to enjoy our life in the fast lane.

We currently import 58 percent of all oil consumed in the United States, and that number is going up, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Much of it comes from members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The EPA says that price spikes and manipulation by OPEC cost our economy about $7 trillion between 1979 and 2000, with each major price shock being followed by a recession. It might not be a bad idea to ease our dependence on these guys…

And over the last two years, as any driver well knows, elevated gas prices have hit Americans at the pump. Collectively, we are spending $500,000 a minute for oil imports, according to the Consumer Federation of America (CFA). The Senate recently passed a bill to raise average fuel economy to 35 mpg by 2020. However, together, we can reduce the national fuel consumption today.

In a previous blog post, we touched on the savings if we conserved just one gallon a month. Most drivers could do that with limited compromise. Let’s take the exercise further: If each motorist saved four gallons a month, we couldn’t eliminate imports from OPEC, but we could reduce our consumption by almost 10.5 billion gallons of gasoline annually. To put that in perspective, that would be enough to reduce our oil imports from either Venezuela or Saudi Arabia by half, and it translates into more oil than we have imported from Iraq in any given year since 2000.

The chart below shows a few other “What if?” scenarios that illustrate how much gasoline conservation would be needed from each motorist to eliminate imports from specific countries.

How drivers can make a global impact

Oil exporter	Barrels imported to U.S. per year	Equivalent gal/driver per year	Gallons saved per week
China	11,940,000	2.3	0.04
United Kingdom	144,674,000	27.3	0.5
Russia	149,681,000	28.3	0.5
Algeria	174,652,000	33.0	0.6
Iraq	193,987,000	36.7	0.7
Nigeria	425,440,000	80.4	1.5
Venezuela	558,157,000	105.5	2.0
Saudi Arabia	560,823,000	106.0	2.0
Persian Gulf	851,855,000	161.0	3.1
All of OPEC	2,039,288,000	385.4	7.4
All countries	5,005,541,000	946.0	18.2

Source for oil imports: Energy Information Administration, 2005 data

Every motorist can make a difference. Just look at the numbers…

--Jim Travers and Jeff Bartlett

Comments

[David Evans]

I guess "All countries" includes Canada? Well, I don't know if you need to worry too much about saving oil just so you don't have to import from us. According to the article by Andro Linklater in the July 4 New York Times, Canada (and Mexico) are being pulled into your jurisdiction as effectively as any means that William H. Seward envisioned. Seward, after all, saw us Canadians as an "ingenious, enterprising and ambitious people . . . building excellent states to be herafter admitted into the American Union." IOW, ours is essentially domestic production for you guys.