Problem: Foreign Oil, Answer: Blowing in the Wind? - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON, D.C., Mar 30 (OneWorld) - Alongside the war in
Iraq, Americans worry most about U.S. dependence on foreign oil, a leading pollster said Thursday.
ADVERTISEMENT
What affects foreign exchange rates the most?

Politics
Government banks
Interest rates



While most appeared fatalistic over problems like job outsourcing, around half said the government can do something about energy dependence, according to a survey run by Daniel Yankelovich, funded by the Ford Foundation, and published by the Council on Foreign Relations in its journal Foreign Affairs.

Environmentalists appeared to validate that sentiment, separately highlighting rapid growth in homespun energy alternatives and urging policymakers to boost support for the sector.

Almost 90 percent of the 1,000 Americans canvassed in January for the Confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy Index said dependence on foreign energy jeopardized national security.

Forty-six percent gave policymakers a failing grade for their efforts to wean the nation off foreign oil and natural gas.

And 55 percent said they worried that foreign conflicts would drive up oil prices or cut off supplies. Only 42 percent said so last August but since then, U.S. consumers have been buffeted by "