Dependence on Foreign Oil

Reducing our dependence on foreign oil

* The United States consumes 20 MBD of oil per day, easily the world's largest consumer accounting for 25.4 % of world's consumption

Alternative resource options

* Solar Power:

* Renewable and infinite resource

* Free of any emissions

* Free resource after initial cost of installation

Wind energy

* Most promising new energy source

* Could provide 20% of Americas electricity

* The cost of wind energy have gone down 80% since the 1980's

* Cheaper than any other energy source except the natural gas

Natural gas

* Burns more cleanly than any other fossil fuel

* As of 2008 there were 9.6 million natural gas vehicles in the world.

* Major difficulty transportation and storage because of low density

* U.S has reserves 100 times greater than current annual consumption

Advanced vehicle technology

* Advanced Vehicle Technology Act

* 550 million over next five years

* Help for domestic auto companies to emerge from the crisis

* Creating good paying jobs and reducing our dependence on oil

* Objective is to develop tech.that improve vehicle efficiency.

Off shore drilling

* Atlantic coastline ,eastern Gulf of Mexico to the north coast of Alaska

* Actual drilling would not begin in years

* Estimates there could be as much as 3 year supply of oil an 2 worth of gas at current rates of consumption.

* Eastern Gulf area 3.5 billion barrels of oil and 17 trillion cubic feet of gas

Pickens plan

* Investing in alternative energy resources

* Building a 21st century electrical grid

* Giving incentives for homeowners

* Investing in electric or hydrogen powered vehicles

* Switching from petroleum and diesel to natural gas as a transportation fuel

* Creating millions of jobs by investing