Does the United States still depend too heavily on oil?

How does use of fossil fuels impact the environment and the general quality of life of Americans? What is the global impact of the unrelenting use of oil? What policy initiatives has the US government undertaken to address the pressing issue of the impact of energy use on the environment? What other policy initiatives has the government considered in order to lessen the dependence on oil? The paper reviewed below attempts to address some of those issues.

Cooper, Mary (2000) contends that indeed the United States depends too much on oil. Because of this heavy reliance on oil usage, environmental quality in the United States has been seriously compromised. She gives a comprehensive summary of different problems and solutions to America’s dependence on oil. She notes that even though the USA has strong energy policies, America’s insatiable thirst for oil and other fossil fuels continues to rise, this in spite of the recent gas shortages and growing concerns about global warming and other environment problems.

Cooper notes that America faces major vulnerabilities because of it transportation system that is “97 percent dependent on petroleum”. She observes that even though the oil crises of the 1970’s and early 1980’s forced motorists to line up for gas and also forced auto makers to make more energy efficient cars, today America has become more dependent on foreign oil than ever before and the types of vehicles being driven today ( e.g., sport-utility vehicles) consume vast amounts of gas.

She points out that some of the environmental impacts of burning fossil fuels include smog and acid rain. Compounds that get emitted into the environment as a result of burning of these fuels include nitrogen oxide, sulfur oxides, and volatile organic compounds.

Although measures and legislation has been put in place to help maintain air-quality standards as was the case of the 1970 Clean Air Act and other subsequent legislation leading to greatly reduced forms of air pollution, many cities today still continue to be covered in a thick blanket of smog.

Cooper notes that though the political will is there to maintain the strict air-quality standards in many states, governors of some states have been “dodging the politically unpopular steps of properly enforcing auto-emission standards at home”

Another major problem mentioned in the article is the threat of the build up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere caused by burning fossil fuels. Cooper points that scientist have determined that excessive emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are causing the warming of the earth’s atmosphere. Because of this danger, Cooper points out that the United States and 37 other countries signed the Kyoto Protocol with all the countries committing to reducing their 1990 greenhouse gas emission levels by 5-8 percent by 2008. Former President Bill Clinton strongly supported this initiative but in the recent years the Bush administration has not enthusiastically embraced the initiative.

Other initiatives that have been contemplated include the increased use of nuclear power as an alternative to fossil fuel. Although there are strong proponents for this initiative, many still oppose it by stating that it is not any cleaner than fossil fuels and that the dangers of radiation from nuclear waste are too critical to ignore.

Developed nations like France and Belgium have strongly adopted the use of nuclear power for generating electric power and on a worldwide scale, nuclear energy “accounts for 6.3 percent of the world’s energy production”. In the United States, nuclear power accounts for one-fifth of its electricity. Such statistics indicate that nuclear power is certainly a viable option and that the increase in its usage is inevitable.

Implications for governance values

The US government cannot continue acting in an isolationist manner in regards to environmental policy. It needs to reexamine its stand on the Kyoto protocol on global warming by realizing that it needs to work together and collaborate with other nations to fight the effects of global warming. The government should stop being beholden to large corporate interests that do not want to be challenged in how they consume vast amounts of energy with little regard to the environment.

The government must also tighten its regulatory standards through the EPA. Those who violate the EPA standards should pay high penalties thus acting as a deterrent. Although these tenets go against the governing values of limited government, it nevertheless important for the government to strongly enforce its standards and to be a watchdog by providing oversight over legislation passed.

Congress needs to work hard at passing stronger legislation to protect the environment without necessarily hampering the ability of today’s industries from functioning. They also need to work at securing funding for research into energy efficient practices that can lead to a declining need for oil. Further research needs to be done in the field of biofuels. Citizens need to be involved in finding solutions to the energy dependence that the country faces. It might be a surprise that people come with creative and innovative ideas on how to cut on foreign oil dependency.


REFERENCE

Cooper, M. H. (2000, March 3). Energy and the environment. CQ Researcher, 10, 161-184.