The U.S. is addicted to oil. This addiction leads to a trail of destruction around the globe. We presently import about 55 percent of our oil, and the U.S. Department of Energy projects that our dependence on foreign oil will increase to 68 percent by 2025. We stand on the brink of war in a region of the world where power and politics are dominated by oil. Meanwhile our government, pressured by oil companies, continues to fail to produce a plan to save ourselves from this dangerous addiction.
 | Drilling/ Exploration- Exploring and drilling for oil causes spills and destruction in pristine ecosystems worldwide. Nothing is out of reach for the oil industry - rainforests, the Arctic, deep oceans, public sands and wilderness. A new report shows the environmental cost of oil exploration in Canada, the largest importer of oil to the U.S. |
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Transportation - Moving the oil around the world by pipeline, tanker ships and trucks puts a broader area of ecosystems and people at risk from accidents, spills and explosions. This latest disaster off the coast of Spain illustrates the true environmental cost of oil addiction. |
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Refineries - The next step is the refinery where the oil becomes gasoline. These highly polluting facilities cause toxic insult to the communities and environment that surround them. |
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| Consumption - Meanwhile we are using more oil each year as we drive more miles and drive bigger, less efficient cars, SUVs and trucks. U.S. personal vehicle gas mileage efficiency (miles per gallon) is at a twenty year low and sinking. |
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Global Warming - Perhaps the ultimate most disastrous insult from our oil addiction is worsening global warming. Oil consumption accounts for 34 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, the primary cause of global warming.
Oil doesn't seep out of the Earth, and make itself readily available, though. It is large oil corporations that drill it, transport it, refine it, and keeps the U.S. dependent on it as our number one source of energy, the worst of these companies being ExxonMobil.
So how can stop this viscious cycle of destruction? Find out about the solutions. 
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