Wherever you weigh in on the peak oil debate, most Americans tend to agree that less foreign oil is in our best interests. The problem, of course, is that we can't make all the oil we need: 21 million barrels per day, give or take. We have a capacity of about 5 million barrels per day in the U.S., so the remainder comes in through Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Venezuela. Getting us to independence, then, is going to be a function of massive usage and technological shifts (say, for example, running electric cars that are all running on electricity created by American-made nuclear power) or the discovery of a large reserve somewhere underneath my backyard.
Neither is likely to happen overnight, so most energy experts recommend steady shifts to pivot away from foreign oil use. One new strategy, put forth by the Center for American Progress, says that we should focus on tightening our belts when it comes to big trucks.
CAP is now pushing for heavy-duty trucks (commercial trucks, big rigs and anything else that you aren't qualified to drive with a standard license) to convert from diesel to natural gas. The group cites research that natural gas outputs a quarter less carbon than oil when used in cars and half as much carbon as coal when used to make electricity.
How much foreign oil would we save? CAP says 1/3 of our heavy vehicle fleet could be running on American-produced natural gas by 2035, saving 1.2 million barrels of oil per day -- more than we import from Saudi Arabia.
Neither is likely to happen overnight, so most energy experts recommend steady shifts to pivot away from foreign oil use. One new strategy, put forth by the Center for American Progress, says that we should focus on tightening our belts when it comes to big trucks.
CAP is now pushing for heavy-duty trucks (commercial trucks, big rigs and anything else that you aren't qualified to drive with a standard license) to convert from diesel to natural gas. The group cites research that natural gas outputs a quarter less carbon than oil when used in cars and half as much carbon as coal when used to make electricity.
How much foreign oil would we save? CAP says 1/3 of our heavy vehicle fleet could be running on American-produced natural gas by 2035, saving 1.2 million barrels of oil per day -- more than we import from Saudi Arabia.
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