After weeks of long research on my Junior theme I realized something: "Most Americans don't have the slightest idea where their energy comes from" (Scott Bittle). I think there is a huge misconception about where we get our oil from.
Most americans would say we get most of our oil from foreign sources, namely the Middle East. While it is true that we do import from the Middle East, they account for a small portion of our many sources of energy. They provide about 16% of our imported oil, while Canada provides for almost half of our imported oil.
Then why do some many people think the Middle East is our major supplier? I think it is in large part due to the media. As many americans know or think, a large reason we invaded the Middle East was for oil. During the 2000's Middle Eastern oil dominated the news. The constant visual and publicity casted this huge idea that America needed or depended on the Middle East for oil, when in reality we don't "depend" on the middle east.
We are actually becoming less dependent on foreign oil everyday. Since 2007, the US has been increasingly producing its own energy. While many people would be extremely happy about this, it has increased our dependency on fossil fuels, which has its pro's and con's.
Where did you think we got our oil from? Can you think of any other reasons why people might think we are dependent on the Middle East for oil?
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