American Energy Dependence

The United States meets the majority of its energy needs from domestic sources, but remains vulnerable to disruptions in oil supply.

The United States produces about 74% of its energy requirements domestically; however, certain key sectors of the U.S. economy are heavily dependent on imported energy.⁵ Nevertheless, the United States possesses vast, and often underappreciated, resources.

Approximately 22% of U.S. energy comes from the burning of coal, virtually all of which is mined domestically. In fact, the United States is a net exporter of coal. Similarly, 23% of U.S. energy comes from natural gas, of which 83% is produced domestically.⁶ Nuclear energy contributes significantly to electricity production and makes up 8% of total energy use, while renewable energy sources, taken together, provide for 7% of U.S. energy needs.⁷

The United States remains significantly reliant on imported petroleum, however. Petroleum helps fulfill 39% of U.S. energy needs and only 43% of U.S. petroleum requirements are met from domestic sources. As a consequence, selfsufficiency in petroleum is almost certainly unachievable.⁸ According to the CIA World Factbook, the United States has less than 2% of the world’s proven oil reserves.⁹ Increased drilling — whether offshore or in protected wildlife areas — is, at best, a temporary stop-gap measure to alleviate American reliance on foreign petroleum.

Petroleum contributes a small amount to domestic electricity production, but is the overwhelming source of energy for America’s transportation sector — and that has its own security implications.¹⁰ The U.S. economy is tremendously complex and interrelated. It depends on advances in supplychain management, the wide-spread adoption of “just-intime” logistics, and a tremendous amount of specialization and trade. In other words, the entire American economy is stitched together by the cheap and reliable transportation of goods. With 58% of the U.S. transportation sector dependent on foreign energy,¹¹ America’s economic security is tremendously susceptible to disruptions in the oil markets. Greater energy independence, therefore, will require dramatic changes in America’s transportation infrastructure, including a greater reliance on mass transit, high-speed rail, and ultimately hydrogen-powered or advanced electric cars and trucks.