With oil prices at a record $132 a barrel, the U.S. military is ramping up on its use of alternative fuels and has for the first time proven that a jet can use synthetic fuel to break the sound barrier. "The endgame," Air Force Assistant Secretary William Anderson tells the Wall Street Journal, "is to wean the dependence on foreign oil." The military, which uses 1.5 percent of the nation's oil, is pushing contractors to boost fuel efficiency by using lighter metals in engine parts and produce hybrid-fueled armored vehicles. It's also built a solar energy array in Nevada – providing power for an Air Force base and nearby communities – and plans to build three similar facilities.

In the Spring 2008 Confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy Index, becoming less dependent on foreign energy sources was the public's top choice as a national security strategy. Six in ten survey participants said that would do "a great deal" to make the nation more secure. The percent who said the government can do "a lot" to reduce energy dependence slid from 50 percent to 44 percent six months earlier. Only 19 percent gave the government an A or a B for its efforts this area; 77 percent said the grade should instead be a C or worse.