Energy Independence

It has become increasingly evident that our current level of dependence on foreign oil is unhealthy for us in many ways. The volatility in oil prices puts us and our organizations at high risk as it makes it virtually impossible to plan for heating and transportation costs. In the last six months residential heating oil has varied more than $2/gallon in cost to the homeowner with the peak cost occurring in July 2008. This fluctuation pattern makes it quite clear that US consumption of fossil fuels is no longer the driving factor in their US pricing; we have no control over the cost of a commodity which has become central to our well-being. Our strong dependence on oil coupled with our lack of control over its price is troubling.


There are many ways we can reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Maine spent $1.4 billion on home heating oil last year. The vast majority of that money went to foreign nations. Changing the fuel we use to heat our homes is one way we can begin to reduce our personal dependence on foreign oil.