Published February 20, 2008 by The Current Sauce
Despite the amusing commercials, it's obvious that America does not, in fact, run on Dunkin' Donuts.
Last week, President Hugo Chavez said he would cut off oil supplies to the United States after Exxon Mobil Corp decided to freeze billions of dollars in Venezuelan assets.
Experts predict that Chavez is all talk - and that it wouldn't make a huge difference even if he did follow through. Each year, the U.S. Department of Energy prepares for emergencies by reserving millions of oil barrels and storing them in "underground salt caverns along the Gulf of Mexico coastline," according to the Department's Web site.
Of course, the promise of crude oil hidden in mysterious underground salt caverns is comforting, but Chavez still poses a daunting threat. Venezuela is the nation's fourth largest oil supplier, according to the Associated Press.
Foreign crude oil dependency has been debated in Congress, online forums, and South Park episodes, but so far, it seems like we haven't made a great deal of progress.
The U.S. guzzles millions of barrels of oil each day, which is enough to supply more than 99 percent of the fuel used in our automobiles, according to the Department of Energy's Web site.
Major car companies have encouraged the use of environmentally friendly fuels by introducing hundreds of concept cars and a handful of actual vehicles - like the Toyota Prius, the Honda Accord Hybrid and the Ford Escape Hybrid - to the market.
These companies haven't stopped at ethanol, either. We now have cars that run on hydrogen and solar power. Honda recently introduced a car with an engine that actually collects steam from the car's exhaust and recycles it as fuel, according to Ecogeek.com.
This kind of technology is something our generation should be taking advantage of, but most Americans - including me - still drive on gasoline.
Sure, ethanol fueled cars are better for the environment, but it's hard to say whether they will ever actually end up dominating gasoline-fueled cars.
The fact is that even though companies will continue to produce these cars and figure out new ways to distribute substances like ethanol, it would take an extremely long time for the U.S. to be able to manufacture all its own fuel.
I care about the environment, but even if I had the money to pay for a hybrid car, I would probably have to use it to pay off my student loans instead.
For now, I'll stick to recycling.
