America's Dependence on Fossil Fuels

The Arab crude oil embargo of 1973, together with the continual price escalations for crude oil from 1973 to 1977, led the Carter Administration to implement several programs to develop alternative sources of energy, which would both free the United States from its dependence upon foreign energy sources, and free the country from a dependence on fossil fuels for its energy. The advent of the Reagan Administration in 1981 brought an end to these program. Some of the results of the Reagan Administration initiatives in this area (which have not been reversed by the Bush Administration) are (1) a greater dependence on foreign energy sources than that which existed in 1980, (2) a greater dependence on fossil fuels for energy than that which existed in 1980, (3) increased environmental damage from energy use from that which existed in 1980 (Lee, 1990, p. 13), and (4) 10 wasted years in the context of alternative energy research, which has caused the United States to slip from leaders

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smatch between the energy production mix and the energy consumption mix in the US, the country's net energy imports are far greater than the aggregate data indicate would be the case. Thus, rather than importing 11.1 percent of the energy it consumes, the country imports 18.6 percent of the energy it consumes, at a time when there exists no national emergency to cause an escalation in energy demand (Energy Information Administration, 1989, pp. 141142). Table 1 US Energy Production, Consumption, and Net Exports/Imports, by Energy Source (quadrillion btu) ============================================================= Source Production Consumption Export/Import     Coal 19.70 17.21 2.49 Hydroelectric 3.39 3.78 0.39 Nuclear 3.55 3.55 Natural gas 20.12 18.03 2.09 Petroleum 18.59 31.67 13.08     Totals 65.35 74.24 4.58 13.47
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Information Administration, Scientific American, Middle East, Japanese Nichols, Dreyfus Ashby, Advancement Science, Environmental Quality, Terms Symbols, Source Cole, Bush Administration, energy sources, alternative energy, 1990 pp, fossil fuels, soviet union, alternative energy sources, energy production, middle east, international region, energy consumption, energy information administration, foreign energy, foreign energy sources, fossil fuels energy, surplus deficit characteristics,
Approximate Word count = 2101
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)