[RGRCamaro]

Alternative fuels just aren't viable or economical yet.

Ethanol - require on average 3 or more gallons of water to produce 1 gallon of ethanol (Not viable due to alot of the country being more so in a drought). Also heavily subsidized currently, I believe these farmers automatically receive 45 cents per gallon, without this from the government, uneconomical.

Wind - Uneconomical from the start, takes over 30 years to break even from a wind powered turbine. Also there is no way to store the energy, so wind could only be a extra source of energy, not primary. They can only run in optimum conditions (Too windy they shut down, not windy enough shut down) On average in your best wind conditions in the US a wind turbine can only power about 6-12 hours a day.

Nuclear - would be about the best option (other than fossil fuels) Clean, renewable, but also dangerous and risky and people don't want to live next to a reactor.

Coal - this shouldn't even be a source of energy anymore (which is why it is dwindling to nothing) Dirty, inefficient compared to other sources. Just an outdated source.

Natural gas - The cleanest and currently one of the most plentiful sources. Great for heating homes, and now being used in combustion engine vehicles, which is why it is one of our best sources of energy (behind oil). More and more power plants are switching to natural gas.

Oil - Rumors of the "Oil Peak" have been around since the 80s and new plays are discovered every day, and new technologies are discovered and refined. We will have plenty of oil for the next century. As you stated, in this drop in prices, most oil companies aren't making any money in the US. This fuel is to readily available and economic (in the right price environment) to afford not to use it. Currently we import about 45% of our oil needs, with about 37% of that coming from Canada, and 35% coming from OPEC countries. So our dependence on Foreign oil (not including Canada) is actually very insignificant.