As we talked and read about the topic of oil in class, I first thought that oil was simply the black substance that comes out of the ground. So I thought “how can I write an entire essay just about oil?” However, as soon as we started talking, I realized that oil is actually nature's only resource and that these resources are slowly being destroyed. Nature is a resource that has existed for as long as man has existed. We use trees for paper, rivers and lakes for drinking water and electricity, and oil for factories and the everyday things we come into contact with. It is impossible to lead a normal life and NOT encounter something made of oil and nature. One of the most critical problems facing many countries today is our dependence on oil as a fuel. The United States depends primarily on foreign oil. Oil is so vital to our economy that wars have even been fought over it. This is a big problem for the United States because of our “American Dream” lifestyle. We use oil for heating, transportation and electricity. The United States is so dependent on foreign oil that when something threatens our supply, prices skyrocket. For people in general, oil and gasoline prices have been very high lately. People have no choice: fill up and pay a huge amount of money or not drive at all. The only exception is if you own a smart car; however, smart cars are not very popular. The United States may be in trouble when it comes to oil, but there are ways to fix this problem. One way is to try to find alternative energy sources. We should research hydroelectric, nuclear, solar, wind and other possibilities. With an alternative energy source, we wouldn't have to completely eliminate oil, but not... middle of paper... of these changes, the federal government would have to pay a portion of the exploration costs. This idea, however, is not very favorable to the government. Both the Reagan and Bush administrations were against this when it was talked about for the last 30 years. Current options such as drilling offshore and in the Alaskan wilderness, as well as FRACKING, will only provide a short-term solution and will damage fragile ecosystems. The people of this world can no longer take a reliable source of energy for granted. The world community must plan ahead to ensure a smooth transition from oil power to some other source or face total chaos and a drastic change to any world order that may exist. To work, these changes must also have the support of large numbers of citizens. This energy crisis needs to be solved by all of us, not some of us... for the reasons stated above.