Full Title: Oil and the Trade Deficit: Rising Energy Expenditures and U.S. Energy Security
Author(s):
Publisher(s): Securing America's Energy Future
Publication Date: May 1, 2012
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Description (excerpt):
Despite sporadic efforts since the oil crises of the 1970s and a more aggressive focus in very recent years to reduce U.S. oil consumption, petroleum is still used to supply nearly 40 percent of total U.S. primary energy demand. The transportation sector, which accounts for approximately 70 percent of total U.S. oil consumption and is crucial to the strength of the broader economy, derives 94 percent of its total energy from oil.3 The eco- nomic significance of oil is therefore unmatched by any other fuel or commodity. With no commercial fuel sub- stitutes currently available at scale to the transportation sector, the nation will likely remain heavily dependent on petroleum for several decades.