Our dependence on oil
America needs to reduce its dependence on oil-based fuels to reduce dependence on politically-volatile nations, to reduce carbon emissions that have a detrimental environmental impact, and to ease the financial strain on low- and middle-class families. Lower-income families feel the impact of higher fuel prices in two ways: the direct impact of higher gas prices at the pump, and the higher indirect cost of the goods they buy (most, if not all, of which are transported by a means of conveyance that uses oil-based fuel). The true scope of the impact on the environment of the carbon dioxide emitted from cars is debatable, but the fact that cars running on oil-based gasoline produce harmful emissions is indisputable. Alternative energy solutions may go a long way in solving this problem, as fuels produced from renewable sources burn cleaner and have byproducts that are friendlier to the environment. A large portion of the oil we use as inputs into gasoline comes from countries that are politically unstable. Many governments of Middle Eastern countries are battling intense political disharmony that is largely anti-American, and as a result we often see this influence appear in decisions by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to manipulate oil prices. America can reduce its susceptibility to this manipulation by reducing its dependence on oil-based fuels.
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