North American energy independence is a stated goal of those who believe that the North American nations - the USA, Canada and Mexico - must eliminate their reliance on oil purchased from outside the continent. A related, less absolute, policy may be called North American energy security. In 2012 in an editorial in a Canadian newspaper, Mexican president elect Enrique Peña Nieto, called North American energy security a "common goal" of Canada and Mexico.
The benefits are argued to be the reduction of North America's energy dependence on unstable regions such as the Middle East and South America and limiting oil imperialism to the North American Free Trade Area, reducing exposure to terrorism abroad; lower balance of trade and foreign exchange stresses on the U.S. economy in an era when suppliers may begin to price oil in euros; the development of renewable energy sources to displace fossil fuels; and the promotion of energy conservation and technology (such as insulation, green roof, and lighting efficiency) exportable to energy-poor nations.
The Apollo Alliance, a coalition of businesses, strategists, labor unions, and environmental organizations is advocating a ten-point plan for energy independence. Another group is the Set America Free Coalition formed by prominent individuals and non-profit organizations concerned about the security and economic implications of America’s growing dependence on foreign oil.
In a 2012 poll of energy experts by Foreign Policy magazine, almost two-thirds of respondents said energy independence was not a sensible goal.
Read more about North American Energy Independence: Context
Famous quotes containing the words north, american, energy and/or independence:
“Ah! on Thanksgiving day, when from East and from West,
From North and from South, come the pilgrim and guest,
When the gray-haired New Englander sees round his board
The old broken links of affection restored,
When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more,
And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before.
What moistens the lip and what brightens the eye?
What calls back the past, like the rich Pumpkin pie?”
—John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892)
“The heritage of the American Revolution is forgotten, and the American government, for better and for worse, has entered into the heritage of Europe as though it were its patrimony—unaware, alas, of the fact that Europe’s declining power was preceded and accompanied by political bankruptcy, the bankruptcy of the nation-state and its concept of sovereignty.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)
“The principle of avoiding the unnecessary expenditure of energy has enabled the species to survive in a world full of stimuli; but it prevents the survival of the aristocracy.”
—Rebecca West (1892–1983)
“The Indian’s intercourse with Nature is at least such as admits of the greatest independence of each.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)