In the [[United States]], energy independence is ''de facto'' equivalent to [[oil]] independence. Currently the US is heavily dependent on oil imports from the [[Middle East]] and [[Russia]]. Proponents of energy independence view this as weakening the country by making it dependent on international oil prices and vulnerable to threats from oil exporters, and so campaign for efforts to reach independence by either increasing domestic production, decreasing oil demand, or a combination of the two approaches. | In the [[United States]], energy independence is ''de facto'' equivalent to [[oil]] independence. Currently the US is heavily dependent on oil imports from the [[Middle East]] and [[Russia]]. Proponents of energy independence view this as weakening the country by making it dependent on international oil prices and vulnerable to threats from oil exporters, and so campaign for efforts to reach independence by either increasing domestic production, decreasing oil demand, or a combination of the two approaches. |