AMERICA’S ENERGY ISSUES
Most Americans don’t often consider the direct and very real impact that energy use has on them as individuals. Whatever form it might take, energy use affects virtually every aspect of our lives, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Energy issues abound all around us, both in dramatic ways, such as the rising price at the gasoline pump, and in subtle, often unrecognized ways, such as the electric power required to clean and distribute our water supply. In this section, we will examine in depth eight of America’s most important energy issues to better understand why it is so essential for our nation to gain its freedom from fossil fuels.
In Chapter 4, we’ll look at why clean energy will help us preserve our democratic form of government. In Chapter 5, we’ll consider our national security and how achieving our energy independence can help make Americans significantly safer from foreign threats. In Chapter 6, we’ll examine how clean and green energy can enable us to become better stewards of the natural world and fulfill our moral obligation to protect the environment. In Chapter 7, we’ll consider how America’s economy can grow more robust and secure as we develop sustainable-energy industries that will create hundreds of thousands of green-collar jobs. In Chapter 8, we’ll find out how enhancing the efficiency of our nation’s vehicles and transportation systems is absolutely vital for achieving our energy independence. In Chapter 9, we’ll learn why our nation’s food supply is so closely intertwined with fossil fuels and how energy independence can help our country’s farmers provide the agricultural products needed to sustain our modern