This assessment will lead to strategic recommendations for independent brokers of petroleum based fuels. In making this assessment, the proposed study will also evaluate, in a relative context, the potential effects of each of the factors that will be investigated (1) the technological feasibility of using alternative fuels on a widespread basis for transportation purposes, (2) environmental considerations (and associated governmental regulations) related to the burning of both fossil fuels and alternative fuels, (3) the nation's dependence on foreign energy sources (including both [a] economic implications associated with the international trade deficit and [b] alternative fuels development, and [c] the level of proven crude oil reserves, and (4) consumer perceptions of both fossil fuels and alternative fuels in the contexts of [a] fuel costs and [b] vehicle performance.
The contemporary history of the United States has been and continues to be characterized by a dependency on foreign sources of energy primarily on crude oil (Ashton, 1992, p. 82). Overall, the United States produces energy in an amount equivalent to 88.9 percent of its total energy consumption (Energy Information Administration, 1992, pp. 126 127). Aggregate measures, however, do not reflect the mismatch between the country's energy production mix, and the energy consumption mix required to support its econ
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