Oil
Get it while it lasts?
Often referred to as "liquid gold," oil is one of the fossil fuels that, literally and figuratively, drives our economy and much of the energy we rely upon. We use crude oil pumped primarily from beneath the ground and the sea to heat our homes, businesses and industry, make electricity, convert to gasoline and diesel, synthesize into plastics and vehicle tires, and for manufacturing thousands of common consumer and industrial items. It is a precious commodity, because it is a natural resource that is rapidly disappearing. Some say we'll run out soon. Some say "soon" is a few hundred years. The point is, oil is nonrenewable. Once it's gone, we can't make more.
More than 8 million American households rely on heating oil as their main source for beating the chill at home and for heating their water. If you've filled - and refilled and refilled - that big oval tank in your basement or backyard over the past few winters, you know how your costs have risen. And we feel the pain at the gasoline pump every day, directly and indirectly, with no real relief in sight.
Beyond what we pump domestically, the United States buys oil from the Middle East, Canada, Russia, Venezuela, Nigeria and a handful of other locations. It is distilled and shipped by pipelines, barges, tankers, trucks and rail cars to refiners, who convert it to the products we consume.
Prices are driven by availability, production and transportation costs, seasonal demand, market fluctuations, temperature, war, marketing and many other considerations. Beyond the pain to our pocketbooks, petroleum-based fuels come with another cost: The byproducts of production, manufacturing and burning create a myriad of toxins and pollutants that foul the air, water and land, cause respiratory distress and illness, contain carcinogenic elements and raise the Earth's temperature.
Relying so heavily on oil is a slippery slope for many reasons. So there are lots of OneThings you can do to reduce your own oil consumption at home, on the road and at work, as well as looking into cleaner, renewable alternative fuels and energy options.