Energy security
The security of energy can be widely described as the state which is usually characterized by policies and conditions that protect the well being of the United States economy from circumstances that are capable of threatening the long and the short term increases of various forms of energy. The concept of energy security has several dimensions, but the most significant one is that of overseas oil dependency which is in most cases characterized by considerable price instability and monopoly market power exercised by the oil producing countries.
The security aspects of energy in terms of overseas oil dependency are also many some of which are geopolitical; a good example is that of the efforts in the promotion of oil stability regimes. The others are mainly based on the technological and geological issues such increasing the domestic oil reserves (Cohen, Para 2). Effects of oil dependency on the economy of US The US is the single largest importer of oil in the world; the country imports more than thirteen and a half million barrels of each day, this account for about sixty three percent of all the oil required in US every day.
Oil originating from the Middle East especially the Gulf of Persian approximates twenty percent of the oil imported by the United States. This level of dependence is quite high and what is causing more worry is the fact that this dependency is increasing every other day, since the oil demand in US is increasing at an alarming rate due to increased industrialization. It is in fact projected that by 2017, oil imports into United States will approximate sixty eight percent of its total oil requirements. This means that the economy of the United States will continue suffering from price fluctuations of the international prices of oil.
The prices of all the products produced in US will as a matter of fact be subject to the oil prices which are highly unpredictable, a fact that will harm trade to a very large extent (Zarroli, Para 3). Oil consumption as a form of energy in US actually represents forty percent of the United States energy needs. The bulk of this percentage is used in the air transport and on the ground. The global economy is growing very fast and so is the United States dependence on overseas oil. They both have very serious consequences on the national economy of US, the way of life of the American people and the country’s national security (Cohen, Para 5).
The high dependency on overseas oil by the US economy is already having negative effects to the American people. The American government cannot be able to determine the oil prices and since the country needs more oil to fuel its massive economy, it has no alternative but to continue buying the product regardless of its cost. The American people are already paying higher prices for the crucial product. The airlines in US have already started including the fuel surcharges fee when selling tickets to their passengers. The delivery companies have also increased their charges.
In fact, the prices of most basic commodities have increased. All these have been resulted by the fact that the government cannot control the prices of oil and this control is left on the hands of the oil producing counties. This therefore, means that the US economy will continue suffering considerably as long as it has heavy reliance on overseas oil. The economy growth and development will decrease considerably as products become more expensive and thus out of reach of several consumers. This will at the end of the day affect the gross domestic product of the country significantly (Parry, & Darmstadter, Para 4).
The availability and security of oil resources around the world affects the economy of United States directly. The economy of the United States relies significantly on the oil energy and this makes the entire US economy to be very vulnerable to virtually anything taking place in the global oil markets. As a result of increased dependence on overseas oil, US is not able to predict well its economic growth which is highly affected by the oil imports and thus a small change in the global oil markets, lets say price will greatly affect the overall performance of the economy.
Thus the country’s macro economic planning is greatly affected by the high dependence of oil from overseas sources (Zarroli, Para 5). Major consumers of oil like the United States and other nations have found out that their increasing dependence on energy sources that are imported is making them more vulnerable to the policies of the oil producing countries who are likely to use their monopoly power to force such major consumers into entering into contracts that are in no way going to benefit the American people.
The country is finding itself in an awkward position in its quest of pursuing its wide range of foreign policies and also the countries national security goals. The high dependence on overseas oil is also making US to increase its competition for the product with other nations with rapidly growing economies such as India and China. These dependence trends will at the end of the day challenge the United States foreign policies. The trends are in fact likely to have dire consequences on the relations between US and other nations around the world (Zarroli, Para 6).
The fact that United States relies heavily on the global oil markets and that much of its imports of oil come from countries which are very unstable politically only makes matters worse for the foreign policies of US. Put in a relatively simple way, affordable and reliable oil imports means a progressively more outstanding feature as far as global political landscape is concerned. This has a lot of dire consequences to not only the United States but to the entire world as major conflicts are likely to be witnessed in future.
Thus the foreign policy of the United States will be greatly affected by increased overseas oil dependency. US therefore, need to actually integrate its foreign policy with the energy issues (Parry, & Darmstadter, Para 7). Conclusion It is quite clear that the availability and security of oil resources affects the economy of the United States in a direct manner. The policies of United States should be aimed at enhancing the economic development, stability and security.
Several other countries that rely heavily on imported oil in order to fuel their economic growth face similar challenges with US and are in fact, having numerous problems in managing the demand of oil in their countries. But US is different from these other countries since it has an added responsibility of foreign policy. US therefore, need to integrate its foreign policies with the energy issues as separating the two will not auger well for the country. There is also the dire need to reduce its reliance on overseas oil which will make the nation to be less vulnerable.
Work cited: Cohen, Ariel; the National Security Consequences of Oil Dependency (2007): Retrieved on 23rd July 2009 from, http://www. heritage. org/Research/NationalSecurity/hl1021. cfm. Parry, Ian W. H. & Darmstadter, Joel; the Costs of US Oil Dependency (2004): Retrieved on 23rd July 2009 from, http://www. 21stcenturyag. org/ht/display/ContentDetails/i/1600/pid/183. Zarroli, Jim; High Oil Prices Affect Many Products (2007): Retrieved on 23rd July 2009 from, http://www. npr. org/templates/story/story. php? storyId=16211938
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