Originally published November 28 2005
Global economy prepares to move away from oil dependence
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
An energy forum at New York University gathered economic leaders to discuss the future of energy in North America and abroad, as the U.S. prepares to shift its energy partnership away from the volatile Middle East and closer to home.
Record-high oil prices this year drained the growth potential of many major world economies.
Experts gathered on 21 October in New York to discuss ways to move beyond government dictates to find technological and business-driven solutions to oil dependence.
New York, 24 October 2005 (RFE/RL) -- The United States produces only 3 percent of the world's oil supply.
But it consumes nearly one-quarter of it.
This has renewed U.S. interest in looking for alternative energy sources -- and experts say once the United States finds a long-term solution to oil dependence, the rest of the world will follow.
Amory Lovins, chief executive officer of the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit business-advisory group, was among the participants at the energy forum held at Manhattan's New York University.
With oil prices hovering at $60 a barrel and natural-gas prices rising apace, Lovins says it is crucial that energy use becomes even more efficient.
"We could replace half the oil with double efficiency of use costing on average of $12 a barrel," he said.
"We could replace the other half with advanced biofuels, mainly cellulosic ethanol, and we'd save natural gas.
One mid-size experimental car model has been shown to get 66 miles for every gallon of gas (28 kilometers per liter) -- nearly twice as much as some of the most fuel-efficient cars currently on the road.
Some panelists said that evidence is increasingly suggesting that carbon-dioxide emissions -- a direct result of oil-based economies -- are a major factor behind global warming and the growing incidence of severe weather, such as hurricanes Katrina and Rita that recently devastated the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Jeffrey Sachs is a world-renowned economist and the director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University in New York City.
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