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:
“There are no whole truths; all truths are half-truths. It is trying to treat them as whole truths that plays the devil.”
—Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947)
“The greatest public health threat for many American women is the men they live with.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)
“There are no accidents, only nature throwing her weight around. Even the bomb merely releases energy that nature has put there. Nuclear war would be just a spark in the grandeur of space. Nor can radiation “alter” nature: she will absorb it all. After the bomb, nature will pick up the cards we have spilled, shuffle them, and begin her game again.”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)
“In a famous Middletown study of Muncie, Indiana, in 1924, mothers were asked to rank the qualities they most desire in their children. At the top of the list were conformity and strict obedience. More than fifty years later, when the Middletown survey was replicated, mothers placed autonomy and independence first. The healthiest parenting probably promotes a balance of these qualities in children.”
—Richard Louv (20th century)