Today the President gave his State of The Union Speech focusing primarily on U.S. energy issues. With more than 60% of U.S. petroleum imported from foreign countries the concept of “energy security” is taking center stage. Some of his remedies include increasing output of renewable energy sources like Ethanol gas (E85, which is more expensive and not as per mile efficient as gas), increasing automobile performance standards, and assisting other renewable energy technologies. But is cutting U.S. petrol consumption by 20% possible in 10 years?

The U.S. should reduce gasoline consumption by 20 percent over 10 years, he said.

The president’s plan includes tightening fuel economy standards on automakers and producing 35 billion gallons of renewable fuel such as ethanol by 2017, he said.

One official has said the moves would be equivalent to taking 26 million vehicles off U.S. roads. CNN Article > Bush Proposals

Our current gas consumption is on average about 19 million barrells a day, which is almost 5 billion barrels a year! To cut 20% means removing roughly 1 billion barrels of gas out of the picture each year. But how do we do this? And is it possible?

First and foremost let me say, that by all standards Americans are a spoiled and materialistic bunch. That’s a rather harsh generalization you might say, but the only real way to get at the heart of the matter is to address this issue of the sorry mindset of Americans.

Do you really need that monster truck?

Are you really too good for public transportation?

Do you really need 20 feet of ocean water at your doorstep to convince you that global warming is happening right now?

Well in my quest for an answer, I ran across a site called American Energy Independence. And despite their anti-arab rhetoric and tying terror-related issues to our gas consumption, they make some valid points about why we need to start understanding the circumstances that have grown out of many years of complacency:

America stands at a crossroad, a choice between two very different futures. One choice leads to increased dependence on foreign oil and a future dominated by terrorism and war. The other choice leads to American energy independence and a world economy that is no longer desperate for oil.

The world consumes over 80 million barrels of oil a day. At an average price of $60 per barrel, the global petroleum industry is a 1.8 trillion dollar a year business. Development of alternative energy to free the world from oil will create a seismic shift within the economic foundation of the world.

Personally, I’m constantly finding ways to fight this battle, and all it takes is an idea.

Just as a step of faith, what if all of us found a way to take public transportation one or two days out of the work week? Can you sacrifice your Wednesday drive for a little elbowing on the subway? Dare a busride with the crazies?

If you’re not willing to do that how about biking to the gym for the next month? Not only would you be saving gas, you’d be burning calories. (This is one thing I’ve already started doing by the way)

Well hey, I’m looking forward to hearing from you on how you’ve gone about contributing to the solution!

Save America, Save the World!

Just for the record, I am neither a redneck nor a hippy.