The United States imported 339 million barrels of foreign oil in the month of November alone. This translates into $26.4 billion that was sent out of our struggling economy and into foreign ones.  With 61% of our monthly oil consumption originating from foreign markets, much of control of the health of our economy is not in our hands.

In a recent article in The Guardian, the availability of adequate supplies of oil in the very near future has been called into question by a whistleblower at the International Energy Agency, who claims the Agency has been deliberately underplaying a looming shortage for fear of triggering panic buying.  The allegations raise serious questions about the accuracy of the organization's latest World Energy Outlook on oil demand and supply, and raises the specter of a very sharp rise in oil prices as the world comes out of its current recession. 

So why do we continue to rely so heavily on oil to power our transportation sector when we have a ready alternative right here at home – natural gas.  The U.S. has often been referred to as “the Saudi Arabia” of natural gas. We have an abundance of this obtainable, useable, fuel right here at home. Why not make use of it?  Not only would we protect ourselves from the risks involved in dealing with foreign exporters, but also create good-paying jobs and put the money that we spend to fuel our economy back where it belongs. 

Natural gas serves as a ready and proven solution to reduce our reliance on foreign oil.  It is also one of the cleanest fuels available today.  Natural gas is a cleaner-burning fuel than coal, diesel and gasoline and produces 22-29% less greenhouse gas emissions than diesel and gasoline burning vehicles.

In short, it is just good public policy to support the switch from the ever-depleting supply of foreign oil to the abundance of our own natural gas. By increasing national security, stimulating the economy, and cutting back on emissions, ending our dependence on OPEC seems to be a win-win-win situation.