Over the last 30 years, the volume of fuel imports brought into the US has grown to more than threefold to keep up with the gas and oil consumption habits of Americans. Even with gasoline prices up to all-time highs, the US still needs to import 12 million barrels of crude on a daily basis to augment domestic supplies, in order to provide the fuels that Americans burn up on the roads.

The 12 million barrels of imported oil makes up a bit more than half of the 20 million barrels of crude oil that is consumed each day across the country. The vast majority of the fuels produced are used to power various types of transportation modes that rely on fossil fuel and the largest portion of transportation fuel consumption is attributed to consumers who use the gasoline to power their favorite vehicles. Unfortunately, the faster the United States increases it usage of and reliance on oil and gas, the faster the oil reserves of the planet will be depleted.

It is estimated by industry experts that the world is only a few decades away from reaching the point when there will simply not be enough crude oil available to allow petroleum-based fuels, such as gasoline, to continue to be the main source of powering transportation. But, even though Americans cringe and complain loudly about having to pay $4.00 for a gallon of gasoline, the fact is that even at these prices, fuel consumption has not changed drastically.

It seems that Americans are more willing to sacrifice in other areas than they are to change their driving habits or make drastic changes in the type of transportation that they rely on to get around and get on with their daily lives. This causes those industry experts to wonder how high gasoline prices must go before people start to seriously look at renewable energy sources and alternative methods of transportation.

While there have been a few alternative fuels that have started to crop up and are bringing with them some promise, with regard to improving fuel economy through combining them with traditional gasoline or as a replacement, there still are many obstacles to widespread use and some drawbacks. The fact is that some of these fuel alternatives are simply too costly and cannot be viewed as viable alternatives, unless the price of gasoline more than doubles from the current price.

Some of the other, more cost effective fuels don’t seem to be fully capable of meeting the high expectations and demands of today’s consumers. At this stage, it appears that these alternative fuel options have not been sufficiently developed to the point where they are truly capable of being competitive, in terms of matching the availability of gasoline that American consumers are accustomed to having.

There are any number of questions that must still be addressed about the future of gasoline consumption in America and alternative fuel options that will come to the forefront in the next decade or two. With even the most hopeful of estimates giving the planet only 40 years until crude oil, along with the fuels derived from it, is effectively dried up, there is no doubt that some major changes will have to be made to the future design and powering of new vehicles.

There is not too many places you can go to in the world today and not hear a discussion on the gasoline crisis that grips everyone. Gas prices are in a constant state of flux. People are spending more and more of their paychecks on filling the tank of their vehicle. There is not much you can do about the price of gas but there are ways you can change your life so that gas prices do not have such a stranglehold on your budget. By learning all you can about saving gas and alternative fuels you will be doing a great part.