biz.yahoo.com
If the country wants to reduce dependency, I am sure we all have an idea who they can call.
;-)
Wednesday October 21, 9:18 pm Eastern Time
US DOE chief agrees with poll on oil import threat
By Tom Doggett
WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said on Wednesday he supports the findings of a new poll that shows Americans are worried foreign oil imports are a threat to the nation's security.
The poll, released Wednesday by the Sustainable Energy Coalition, found that eight out of 10 Americans believe that U.S. dependence on foreign oil is a security risk, and they want the federal government to require better gasoline mileage for vehicles.
The coalition is made up of more than a dozen activist groups such as the Union of Concerned Scientists and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
Responding to the poll, Richardson said the Department of Energy is developing a full range of options to meet the nation's transportation energy needs, such as promoting automobiles that are more fuel efficient.
The survey's results, based on the comments of 1,000 voters nationwide, were released as the United States marks the 25th anniversary of the October 1973 Arab oil embargo. On Oct. 17, 1973, Saudi Arabia's King Faisal sanctioned the embargo to punish the West for its support of Israel in the Arab-Israeli war that started on Yom Kippur, 11 days earlier.
U.S. crude imports have jumped to record levels since then with imports forecast at a record 8.37 million barrels of crude a day this year, according to the Energy Department. During the first eight months of 1998, the top four suppliers of oil to the U.S. were Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Mexico and Canada.
The United States bought about half its oil supplies from foreign sources last year, up from 28 percent in the early 1970s.
Almost 77 percent of the 1,000 people surveyed nationwide said they thought current import levels were a threat to national security, while 87 percent thought the U.S. addiction to foreign oil threatened American jobs and the economy.
To reduce dependency on foreign oil, 80 percent of those surveyed said the government should raise the fuel-efficiency standards for automobiles and sports utility vehicles.
In response to the 1973 embargo, the government required higher gas mileage for cars and light trucks. The standards for trucks were set lower than for cars, because at the time trucks were sold mainly to farmers and construction workers, who hauled big loads and drove off-road in their work.
Many consumers use light trucks today as their main mode of transportation, and minivans and sports utility vehicles - which did not exist in 1973 - fall into the light truck category and have lower gas mileage.
While most respondents in the survey were in favor of cutting foreign oil imports, they were against opening new oil drilling in protected U.S. offshore areas and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Some 57 percent of those surveyed opposed such drilling.
The 1973 embargo, imposed by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), was the first oil supply disruption to cause major price increases and a worldwide energy crisis. U.S. drivers experienced long lines at gasoline stations, and many times there was no fuel to buy.
The federal government created the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 1973 to provide an emergency oil stockpile to ensure another embargo would not disrupt U.S. energy needs. But the stockpile holds only about 67 days worth of oil imports, much less than the reserve's goal of 90 days.
|
