Gasoline
While Americans have a love affair with coffee, we are also extremely attached to our automobiles, which means an insatiable need for gasoline. Due to suburban sprawl, it is nearly impossible to get anywhere or do anything in most cities (or even in the countryside) without some type of personal transportation.
However, our thirst has a price. Petroleum is a finite resource. As we reach peak oil (if we haven't already), it becomes more and more difficult to tap into the remaining petroleum. Thus, it is necessary to seek it in environmentally sensitive areas. Drilling for oil in those places increases the likelihood of environmental devastation should an oil spill occur. We witnessed such devastation with the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska and the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, also known as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. International Bird Rescue reported that over 8,000 birds (dead and alive) were collected as a result of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. They were able to clean and release 1,200 birds. Untold other wildlife were killed or injured as a result of both of those oil spills. Oil drilling isn't safe for nature.
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