subject: Government Responses To The Problem Have Varied [print this page] The United States is the most energy hungry country in the world.Our economy is based upon manufacturing processes which consume a great deal of fuel.
Our lifestyle involves frequent travel, commitment to personal comfort obtained by maintaining constant indoor temperature all year around and extensive use of powered devices for pleasure and convenience.
At one lime the United States was able to satisfy its own energy needs with the help of its extensive coal resources and its own oil supply. However, the demand for energy has expanded so rapidly that our ability to meet our own needs has been outstripped.
In addition, recent realization of the health hazards inherent in the air pollution created by burning coal has resulted in greater demand for cleaner-burning oil. And so, we have turned to foreign sources to supply that oil.
In the past decades, the larger part of our imported oil has come from the Persian Gulf area. There oil is found in abundance and, with the assistance of American technology, production has been able to keep up with world demand.
While the governments of the Persian Gulf countries were stable and unambiguous, all went well for us. 1 low ever, with awakening national awareness and a sudden realization that the world was dependent upon them, the oil-rich nations have begun to take advantage of their power.
These countries have discovered that they can raise their prices to considerable heights and that they can bend the policies of other nations to their will by withholding oil from the world market. The political situation around the world has come to be controlled by the oil-rich nations.
To attempt to counter this situation, the president of the United States has called on the
American people to be economical in using oil supply.
And alternate means for obtaining therequired energy are being explored.
