Oil has always been ingrained in American culture and development.  It was on a foundation of oil that America's rapid industrialization was based, and is still the basis for the United States continued economic dominance in the world today.  Indeed, one could go as far as to say that America is dependent on oil for the day to day running of the country.  This dependence has been shown in the past, when America has gone to great lengths over the protection of the oil supply, such as the Gulf conflict of 1990/1.  The wide-ranging reaction to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait highlights a dependency, not just on the part of America, but by the world in general.  Indeed, this determination to protect it's supply has led to accusations of imperialism, both political and economic, being leveled at the United States.

One strategy developed to combat this dependence is the Strategic Oil Reserve.  These reserves, until recently, held approximately 570 million barrels.  In September 2000, the Clinton administration withdrew 30 million barrels for home heating purposes.  Now the reserves hold closer to 540 million barrels.  When you compare this to America's daily consumption of 19 million barrels of oil a day (Robert Ebel Speech), this is not a huge amount.  If, due to some catastrophic events, America was to be cut off from all regular oil supplies, it could continue to consume at it's normal rates for 28 days, more, obviously, if restrictions were introduced.  This strategic reserve acts as a small buffer to protect America from future oil crisis. America's recent oil consumption can be found in Table 3 (Energy Information Administration) below.
 
 
 

In addition to the strategic reserve, other steps have been taken to reduce America's dependence on oil.  A number of economic efforts have been made in this area.  Domestically, the Federal government has introduced tax incentives and Research and Development subsidies (Fried, 1993, p46) to encourage companies to look toward cleaner, more efficient uses of petroleum.  Also, certain vehicle fleets are now required to posses more efficient technologies.  In short, there has been an increase in regulatory restrictions in the hope that this will push car producers in the direction of helping the environment and making petroleum more efficient.  In addition, American politicians have been guilty of creating static and inflexible domestic energy policies (Krueger, 1975, p91).  Due to the huge number of different factors influencing energy issues, these are ineffective.  Only by creating more flexibility in America's energy policy will the country be fully prepared and able to tackle future problems.

On the International front, America has been active in the Middle East in order to stop any disruptions there.  This is most evident in the role played by America in the Arab/Israeli peace process.  Much of the progress of the last decade has been prompted by US diplomats, and Presidents Carter and Clinton in particular (as shown in Image 2 below).  The reasons for this involvement are not a utopian ideal for peace, or even a great love for one side or the other (Indeed America is beginning to shift away from it's long held, pro Israeli stance).  This simple reason is that conflict (or the threat of conflict) is a disruptive factor in the supply of oil and also the price of oil.  Now (Dec. 2000), as tensions remain high in the region, the price of a barrel of oil is over $30, far higher than before the current situation worsened. It is in America's interests that these disruptions are kept to a minimum, hence their peacemaking role.
 
 

In the future, America is liable to remain deeply involved in the Middle East due to it's interests there.  An interesting scenario would be a repeat of the events of 1973/4, when the Arab nations inside OPEC issued an oil embargo against the western allies of Israel, America included.  It would be an important test of America's respect for International law.  Would the US use coercion or even force in order to gain access to much needed oil?  Would it be willing to violate the sovereignty of other countries in the process?  Certainly, this is an interesting possibility.  However, America is likely to gradually reduce it's dependence on oil as the next century progresses, as new technologies emerge and greater efficiency of petroleum use is developed.