The fact is, oil is a limited resource. If they haven’t already, global oil reserves will soon reach their peak. This means conflict and aggression will rise as demand continues to grow, and supply continues to dwindle. Individuals, groups, and nations will continue to attempt to procure as much of a limited as resource as possible because possession of a limited resource equals a grip on power. It is time to take a stand as a community, begin fighting oil’s grip on our daily lives, and declare our independence from foreign oil.

Oil is the root cause of many of the world’s ills. Our exploration, extraction, transportation, distribution, and consumption of oil affect the entire world – leading to wars and conflicts, human rights abuses, global warming, and an astronomic cost associated with protecting a dwindling resource. Despite all the harm oil causes, it remains firmly entrenched in or daily lives. Every time a barrel of oil is extracted, a car’s tank is filled, or goods are transported across the ocean, oil’s grip on us is strengthened.

Currently, the world consumes approximately 80 million barrels of oil per day, and individual consumption is only expected to increase over time. The cost of a barrel of oil has already doubled over the last several years, and as we approach and pass “peak oil’s” tipping point, the price we pay for oil will only increase. The longer we wait to take a stand and fight oil’s power, the more we subject ourselves to its grip.

Cleaner, alternative and renewable alternatives to oil are available today. But it will take a communal effort to end our nation’s, and the world’s, dependency on oil. As local, national and global communities, we must pressure decision makers to turn to viable alternatives and begin to look beyond oil.

Today I am taking a stand and declaring my independence from foreign oil.

Signed,