Today, oil provides more than 96 percent of the fuel for the US transportation fleet. Despite the recent increase in our oil reserves, America remains heavily dependent on crude oil imports. From January 2011 to October 2011, America was the world’s largest importer of crude oil, taking in 2.7 billion barrels of oil worth roughly $280 billion. In 2010 the US imported approximately 11.8 million barrels of petroleum per day, which accounted for almost half of the petroleum consumed in the country.
The average American consumer has no idea of the immense number of items they use that are petroleum-based products, including CD players, dentures, insect repellant, and running shoes, to name but a few. To transport oil to the manufacturers of these products requires a huge infrastructure.
The antiquated state of the US infrastructure is another important reason why the Keystone XL Pipeline project is so crucial to our energy security. “Resistance to the completion of Canada’s Keystone XL pipeline could deny US consumers access to a voluminous supply of oil and the jobs that would attend its creation and operation,” asserted Kenneth P. Green of the American Enterprise Institute.
Oil Pros:
1) Oil has high heating value,
2) Gasoline and petroleum products are easily accessible by consumers,
3) Oil is used in thousands of everyday products, 4) Oil is easily distributed.
Oil Cons:
1) Burning oil releases extra carbon dioxide,
2) Oil carries geopolitical risk to its supply and demand,
3) Oil is now harder to find, thus more expensive,
4) Used oil is difficult to clean and recycle.
In 2008, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, broke ground in his book, Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less, noting “America is suffering from an artificial energy crisis that is also a dangerous national security crisis—artificial, because America is gifted with enormous reserves of energy.” What do you think?
Please let me know what you think, go to www.peopleseenergyplan.com
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