Expert talks about U.S. dependency on oil

Local News

September 3, 2008

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Michael J. Ross The Times-Recorder Wed Sep 03, 2008, 11:15 PM EDT

PLAINS — Energy expert Jay Hakes said at a presentation Wednesday at Plains High School that the U.S. is in a precarious position because it relies too much on foreign oil.

“The fuels that sustain us are the same ones that endanger us,” he told the auditorium full of high school students. He said the availability of these fuels— such as coal, gas and natural gas — isn’t guaranteed, and an interruption in any of these fuels severely disrupts the lives of the American people.

Hakes said the U.S. imports most of its oil from countries that are hostile to the U.S. A lot of this country’s oil comes from the Persian Gulf, and this isn’t good because this area is volatile.

He said the oil supply from the Persian Gulf is in a precarious area. Hakes said the U.S. took steps in the late ‘70s and throughout the ‘80s to lessen its dependency on foreign oil. These energy-efficient steps included cars that were more fuel efficient and more insulated and energy-efficient homes.

Hakes said Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter told the American people the truth about their dependency on foreign oil and that they needed to reduce their consumption.

Hakes said this was the truth, but it wasn’t exactly pleasant to the ears of the American people, and Hakes believes this is part of the reason Ford and Carter weren’t re-elected.

Hakes said Ford and Carter’s defeats are a large reason many politicians don’t tell the American people what they don’t want to hear about their dependency on foreign oil.

The U.S. drastically reduced its dependency on foreign oil in the 1980s and this led to a sense of complacency by the U.S. government, said Hakes. Plus, the Persian Gulf countries saw that the U.S. was lessening its dependency on foreign oil, so they flooded the world market with cheap oil to make it more attractive.

Hakes said factors like these coerced the U.S. government not plan for its future energy needs. He pointed out that oil isn’t cheap anymore like it was in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

Hakes said the world’s thirst for oil funds controversial projects such as Iran’s nuclear weapons program. He said the U.S. can lessen its dependency on foreign oil again by developing more fuel-efficient vehicles and more energy-efficient homes.

He said hybrid vehicles are great but they need to become even more advanced and fuel efficient. Hakes said he is excited about the future of algae-based fuels for vehicles.

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