RC Reducing Oil Use the Issue of Fuel Efficiency in The United States Discussion

There are a variety of ways to cut down on the dependence of oil and gas, examples of alternatives include nuclear energy, biofuel from ethanol (mostly made from corn, or sugar), biofuel from woody and fibrous plants such as switchgrass, hydrogen fuelcells, solar power, and wind power just to main the predominant ones.

However I think that one of the main reasons it’s so hard for the United States as a whole to completely transition away from oil and gas is the simple problem of cost. Because it’s cheaper to use oil and gas, manufacturers (and many if not most individuals) would rather use oil and gas than alternatives, this in turn means that many tools and vehicles are designed around the assumption that they would use oil and gas in order to run. In an ideal situation where alternatives became cheaper than oil and gas, almost everyone would use the alternatives. Even if it were someone who didn’t care about the environment in the slightest, they would still use the alternative; because they would save money by using the alternatives. Although alternatives are not cheaper currently in the United States, one way to help change that would be via tax deductions. Currently this is already implemented to some degree, such as giving some tax deductions to companies who research alternative energy or tax deductions to individuals who use alternative energy for their vehicles, however this effect could be increased by increasing the amount that is tax deductible, or increasing the scale in who/what would be eligible for tax deductions related to alternative energy.

PEER TH

The US is very dependent on foreign countries for oil which can make it difficult for us. Americans are so comfortable with the use of fuel and oil such as cars that require more gasoline. Americans need to think about fuel efficiency and what would be good for the environment and what we can control such as hybrid/electric cars, walking and biking more, along with carpooling. My family and I walk/bike and carpool when we can. At this point in life, we cannot purchase an electric car. Some other thing that is interesting we used what is call Geothermal for heating and cooling our house instead of gas or propane.