A scientist in the U.S. Department of Energy's science and energy research unit has said "Energy independence is a realistic goal for the United State of America," by 2030. There are, of course, a few caveats to that. First is that by the word "independence," he doesn't mean not using any oil entirely -- he means getting oil consumption down to a point where our usage is "not subject to restraining or directly influenced by others as consequence of the need for oil."

That, Greene says, is an issue of economics, not one of politics or the military. The key is to get the cost of importing oil down to one-percent or less of the U.S. GDP, which, by the way, is where it was during the decade of 1990-2000.

Greene thinks the Energy Independence Security Act will be the guide leading the way to this kind of oil independence, due to the CAFE increase, decreased demand for thirsty vehicles, and increased production and demand for biofuels and alternative energy cars.

http://wardsauto.com/ar/us_oil_indepedence/

The question is whether or not you are willing to drive a "Smart Car" to get there.

Again, the US really only needs foreign oil for vehicles.

If we can shift vehicles to electric or some other power source, we can wean ourselves off foreign oil.

Most of our electricity (i.e. heat & light) is generated by abundant and domestic coal, unlike Europe or Japan.