Ending America's Energy Insecurity: Why Electric Vehicles Should Drive the United States to Energy Independence

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Authors
Stein, Fred
Subjects
Advisors
Date of Issue
2013
Date
February 2013
Publisher
Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Language
en_US
Abstract
The homeland/national security threat posed by the United States’ dependence on foreign oil has been part of the American discourse for years; yet nothing has been done. No pragmatic, realistic step-by-step plan has been pursued to end this scourge on the American people. The solution can be found in the problem. Net imports of oil account for approximately 50 percent of the oil the United States consumes. Likewise, 50 percent of oil consumed in the United States is consumed as motor gasoline. If, overnight, the United States stopped using oil to power its unleaded gasoline driven vehicles, if overnight drivers switched to electric vehicles, then overnight the United States would become energy independent. Using historical data to establish the effect of gasoline price changes on consumer vehicle choice, a predictive model has been created showing the expected switch to electric vehicles if the price of gasoline increases and the cost of electric vehicles decreases. There is a cost to energy independence: two to five dollars per gallon of retail gasoline sold. If monies raised from the tax are used to lower the price of electric vehicles, build recharge infrastructure, and dampen the regressive nature of the tax, energy independence is a few short years away.
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Article
Description
This article appeared in Homeland Security Affairs (February 2013), v.9, article 4
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Citation
Homeland Security Affairs (February 2013), v.9, article 4
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The copyright of all articles published in Homeland Security Affairs rests with the author[s] of the articles. Any commercial use of Homeland Security Affairs or the articles published herein is expressly prohibited without the written consent of the copyright holder. Anyone can copy, distribute, or reuse these articles as long as the author and original source are properly cited.
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