Most Americans believe that we need to stop pouring money into foreign markets. We import over 70% of all oil, and $700 billion from America will be transfered to other countries if oil remains at its current price. The high price of oil has taken a tole on jobs and foreclosures. There have been nearly 1,000,000 foreclosures since 2007 and the unemployment rate is currently around 6% and it is forecasted to continue to increase. 

Ideas to rid our dependence of foreign oil and to create more environmentally sound choices lead to numerous amounts of renewable energy. Biofuels, hybrid cars, plug in hybrids, electric vehicles, fuel cells or hydrogen-powered cars, wind turbines, solar panels, geothermal energy, and nuclear energy are the varies types of renewable resources. These have their benefits and downfalls. The major problems with hybrid cars are the high cost compared to the average car and they are not truly “green” because they still use gasoline. Biofuels can help us limit our dependence on foreign oil, but a recent New York Times article explaines research showing that biofuels can cause more carbon dioxide emissions than fossil fuels. Wind farms create clean, renewable energy in our country, however, some say that the energy will cost too much and worry that it is too unreliable. These are just a few of the issues surrounding the sustainable energy problem. Overall, nearly every main renewable energy source has its advantages and disadvantages. Seeking the perfect balance of renewable sources to end our dependence on foreign, environmentally threatening oil currently rests within our next president.

John McCain wants to explore America’s own oil and natural gas resources. Sarah Palin’s quote “drill baby, drill” epitomizes the campaign’s view toward domestic oil independence. McCain will enforce existing car mileage standards, he will invest $2 billion annually in clean fuel, revamp nuclear power plants, and he says he will give $300 million for the persons who perfect the plug-in hybrid. The above information was taken from the candidate's website. It seems that it will be hard for McCain to bring any influential change because he does not even want to raise fuel standards. Obama believes that instead of the $300 million incentive to perfect the plug-in hybrid, America needs to invest more money in finding renewable fuels. Obama says that he will raise the standards for fuels and invest $150 billion in new fuels over 10 years. He will increase the amount of plug-in hybrid cars on the road, by 2012 have 10% of energy from renewable sources, provide financial relief to those struggling beacuse of the gas taxes. Obama's points on energy was also taken from his website. Both McCain and Obama support a cap-and-trade program to decrease greenhouse emissions. A major fundamental difference between the candidates is that Obama says he will enact a windfall profit tax on domestic oil companies. He says he will use this tax to help struggling families pay for gas. He explains that McCain’s tax breaks will allow oil companies, like mogul Exxon, to have even larger profits.

The importance of discovering renewable fuels is linked to American sentiment. When the price of oil rose over $120 a barrel at the beginning of the summer and topped nearly $147 in July, scare and resentment toward foreign oil solidified in American’s minds. America’s economy dwindles because of the rising price in oil. When The long-term need for renewable sources were on the top of citizens’ checklists, the media and politicians followed the popular issue. Oddly enough, the current stock market crisis decreased the price of crude oil to nearly $90 a barrel because of the declining world economy. This offered somewhat of a relief in gas prices and moved the popular issue to the economy, not the energy crisis. The panic and alarm over gas prices was dissociated onto the US economic crisis.

Renewable energy is linked to many other issues. All of which need to be addressed to form one’s own opinions about the need for renewable energy. Global warming and our current economy cannot go unnoticed when discussing renewable fuels. The numerous types of renewable energy need further research and development. The future of the development depends on our next president. In conclusion, other developments in the US change the ranking of the energy crisis issue and the need for long-term renewable fuels.