Have you been thinking about how much you spend when you put gas in your car? Maybe you've been wondering where it comes from? Here are a common reason people cite that we should reduce our personal gas consumption:

Are you worried about funding terrorist activities in the Middle East? Tired of us going to war over there? If we were to cut down our dependence on oil from the Middle East, then the argument goes that we would be giving less of our money to terrorists there and we could care less what happens over there.

According to the Department of Energy, we depend on the oil rich countries in the Middle East for about 20% of our national gas usage. We get 15% from Africa, 50% from the Western Hemisphere and 15% total from other regions. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, of the oil that we consume, 65% of it is for transportation. The other 35% goes to make electricity and for heating both homes and businesses.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., agrees with this idea in his article in the New York Times. The title of his op-ed was, "Better Gas Mileage, Greater Security." He was targeting federal gas mileage regulations and SUVs in particular. He believes that if we depended less on the Persian Gulf for our gas, then our national security would be improved overall. If you're interested in this concept, find his article on line and read it.

The problem is that oil is our cheapest source of energy right now. It's hard to convince any business that they should spend more money on a different source of energy. America is working on renewable fuel sources such as hydroelectric, wind power, or solar. Solar power just isn't where is need to be cost-wise to really take off. According to the Department of Energy, using gas to generate electricity only costs six to seven cents a kilowatt whereas solar powered electricity costs a whopping 20 to 30 cents a kilowatt to develop.

Research is still being conducted with the hope of making pure hydrogen fuel a viable possibility. If you'd like to know more about the whole hydrogen fuel thing, check out the Department of Energy's website for it; they have an entire site that will show you how hydrogen fuel cell technology works, including how it's made, how it's stored, what to expect in it's future. The site's address is http://www.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/

But what choice do you have as a consumer? We need to get around, right? Consider carpooling to work, moving closer to work, using public transportation, or riding a bike to work. Look into getting a smaller car or what that has better gas mileage or even one of those hybrid cars. We have lots of choices but you just have to decide what's important to you.

You can make a difference. If you feel strongly about our dependence on gasoline, get involved with grass roots organizations that are trying to find other ways to fuel cars. Learn more about new developments on the fuel front. Donate money to a non-profit organization if they support your views on gas consumption.