Alternative methods to reduce the dependency on petroleum?

Answer 1

Stop using it. The technology is there. We have had Zero-emission automobiles for more than a decade. We've had the technology to develop electric cars almost as long as we've had the combustion engine.

Stop driving SUVs. You don't need one. I don't care where you live or what you do, you do not need an SUV. If you need a truck, get one. If you need a van, get one. SUVs are a thing of absolutely zero practicality, and they are ridiculously thirsty.

Use nuclear power. There is no legitimate reason not to. The safety concerns that existed in the early days of nuclear power plants have been completely eliminated by modern technology. You can't steal the radioactive material and make a bomb. The security measures are such that it would be nearly impossible, and it is made impossible by the fact that if you tried, you'd simply die. There is no pullotion. The closest thing to pollution given of by a nuclear power plant is steam.

Use solar power. Solar power is free. You buy the solar panels, you install them, and you're done. It is unlimited. When the sun dies, Earth dies anyway, regardless of what kind of power your electricity comes from. It's clean. There is no by-product. None.

Use wind power. Same as solar power. Put some big turbines in a windy place and you've got power. On slow wind days, get the hamster wheels going.

Use trains. America doesn't have trains. Well, we have them, but nobody uses them. We all like to have our own little car that will take us exactly where we want to go exactly when we want to go there. And it's not enough for every family to own a car. Every driver has to have one of their own. There's a reason there are so many fat people in America. It's because we're all too lazy to walk a quarter of a mile to buy a gallon of milk.

If you really must have your combustion engine, get a diesel. If you live in a very urban area (New York, Los Angeles, etc.), the air is polluted enough that the exhaust coming out of your diesel engine is probably cleaner than the air going into it. I suppose technically that doesn't help petroleum dependency, but it's on the topic of conservation.

Offshore drilling. Drilling for oil off the coast reduces our dependency on oil by... umm... Giving us more oil. Okay, maybe that one won't work.

Use less power. Since, for the moment, we are dependent on petroleum, use less of it. Use compact flourescent lightbulbs. Turn down the backlight on your 137-inch LCD TV. Don't leave your computer running all day while you're at work. Don't leave your cell-phone charger plugged in when you're not charging your cell-phone.

If you live in the United States, don't vote Republican. At the present time, the republican party is more concerned with lowering fuel prices than with fixing the problem: dependence on petroleum and coal as fuel sources. They want to make oil cheaper by producing more of it. They don't want people to conserve it. They don't want peole to stop using it. They want to make sure everyone can have as much as they want without having to drive a more efficient car or live without the luxuries to which Americans have become accustomed. Having a strong economy is good. Having a consumer economy based largely on the price of fuel is asking for disaster.

Long answer, but hopefully what you're looking for is there.