Oil dependency contributes to many problems:

• Air pollution
• dependence on foreign powers which may not always be friendly
• economic dependence on stable oil prices
• Peak oil - although the actual date when oil will become prohibitively expensive is subject to strong debate, it will come eventually.
• Loss of reserves. It makes sense to conserve petrochemicals for specific applications which are not easily replaced by alternatives, and for emergency reserves in case of global disaster (e.g. large-scale volcanic eruptions) which could affect renewable energy production for months or years.

Alternatives[edit | edit source]

• Renewable energy
• Energy efficiency
• Simple living
• Public transport
• Higher population density to make distances traveled shorter, and public transport more economical.