indigenous people and wildlife migration routes).U.S. OIL EMBARGO (1973): The oil crisis began in October 1973, when
the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OAPEC) proclaimed an oil embargo. By the end of the embargo in March
1974, the price of oil had risen from $3 per barrel to nearly $12. The embargo
was a response to American involvement in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The
embargo occurred at a time of rising petroleum consumption by industrialized
countries and coincided with a sharp increase in oil imports by the world’s
largest oil consumer—the United States.KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE: The Keystone XL pipeline is a pipeline
concept to transport synthetic crude oil and diluted bitumen from oil sands in
Canada to multiple destinations in the United States, including refineries
along the Texas Gulf Coast. In 2015, President Obama rejected a Canadian
company’s request to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline. However, in early
2017, President Trump announced that his administration approved the
Keystone XL pipeline, reversing President Obama’s administration’s decision
to block the controversial oil project.NATURAL GAS (METHANE—CH 4 )
Natural gas (which is a hydrocarbon mixture composed primarily of methane
[CH 4 ]) is a fossil fuel formed when layers of buried plants and gases are exposed
to intense heat and pressure over thousands of years. The energy that the plants
originally obtained from the sun is stored in the form of chemical bonds in the
methane molecules.
Natural gas typically flows from wells under its own pressure and is
collected by small pipelines that feed into the large gas transmission pipelines. In
the United States, about 20 trillion cubic feet (560 billion m^3 ) of natural gas is
produced each year.
Natural gas is expected to take on a greater role in power generation during
the 21st century largely due to the increasing demand for clean fuels and the
relatively low costs of building new natural gas-fired power plants. Natural gas
is also expected to grow due to its expanded use as a transportation fuel and as a
source of hydrogen for fuel cells.
Given U.S. production levels, there is enough natural gas in the United States
to meet approximately 75 years of domestic production. This estimate does not
take into account expected increasing levels of domestic production.