[GEN. PAUL EATON] We have a demand for energy that we have to satisfy. We just have to satisfy it. Countries go to war for energy. They go to war for oil.

[McGINNIS] What dependence means for national security. And, you may consider them junk food, but they may just be helping the environment. Sustainable snacks -- and beer, too.

[BREAK]

[ANNOUNCER] In 1977, in Johannesburg, South Africa, an 8-year-old boy picked up the game of golf from his father. By the age of 9, he was already outplaying him. The odds of this gentle lad winning the Junior World Golf Championships at the age of 14 -- 1 in 16 million. The odds of that same boy then making it to the U.S. and European pro-golf tours -- 1 in 7 million. The odds of the Big Easy winning the Open Championship once and the U.S. Open Championship twice -- 1 in 780 million. The odds of this professional golfer having a child diagnosed with autism -- 1 in 110. Ernie Els encourages you to learn the signs of autism at autismspeaks.org. Early diagnosis can make a lifetime of difference.

[END BREAK]

[McGINNIS] We hear it over and over again, "America is addicted to foreign oil." It's often accompanied by, "from countries that don't like us very much." Many believe, as long as the U.S. remains hooked, it's a threat to our national security as well as our economy. In this "energyNOW!" Spotlight, we look at America's oil habit and what's being done to kick it.

[RICHARD NIXON] Americans will not have to rely on any source of energy beyond our own.

[GERALD FORD] Our growing dependence upon foreign sources has been adding to our vulnerability.

[JIMMY CARTER] Dependence on foreign oil threatens our economic independence.

[GEORGE W. BUSH] America is addicted to oil.

[GEORGE H.W. BUSH] Reduce dependence on foreign oil.

[BARACK OBAMA] Reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

[McGINNIS] Throughout history, presidents have warned of the dangers of dependence on foreign oil, often directly linked to war.

[EATON] Energy sources were part of Japan's adventure during World War II, and actually part of Germany's adventure in World War II.

[McGINNIS] Retired Army Major General Paul Eaton says he has seen oil's connection to war first-hand.

[EATON] We certainly went to Iraq during the Gulf War in 1991 because Saddam attacked Kuwait, put our oil supply line in jeopardy.

[McGINNIS] Fifteen years later, former army sergeant Chris Miller made the same connection when he served in Iraq.

[MILLER] If it wasn't for oil, we wouldn't have been involved in the Middle East and gone to war in Iraq. Every time we go to the gas pump, we're indirectly contributing to our own soldiers' being hurt.

[McGINNIS] That's why today, he's fighting a new battle.

[TROOPS] Oh! Stay down! Stay down!

[MILLER] That's the type of IED that earned me a Purple Heart in Iraq six years ago.

[McGINNIS] Miller works for Operation Free, a coalition of veterans and national security organizations working to get America off foreign oil, but it's a tough habit to break. The U.S. is the largest consumer of oil in the world, with more than half the petroleum used imported.

[JAMES WOOLSEY] We borrow a billion dollars a day to import oil, at today's prices -- a little more than a billion dollars a day.

[McGINNIS] National security expert James Woolsey says much of that money goes to dictatorships or autocratic kingdoms.

[WOOLSEY] The world -- including Europe, Japan, Australia -- the world of consumers of oil is at the mercy of the world of producers under the current system.

[McGINNIS] While a third of imports come from Canada and Mexico, nearly as much comes from three other nations -- Venezuela, whose leader has threatened to cut off exports; Nigeria, where an insurgency targets Western oil interests; and Saudi Arabia, which has a relationship with the U.S., one that General Eaton calls a "marriage of convenience."

[EATON] Countries don't have friends; they have interests. Saudi Arabia has interests, and we have interests that may run in parallel with the Saudis. It's not a perfect marriage, but it's a marriage that meets their intent and meets our intent.

[McGINNIS] Our money goes in; their oil comes out?

[EATON] That's pretty much basically it.

[McGINNIS] But the American Petroleum Institute's John Felmy disputes that U.S. dependence on foreign oil poses a threat.

Do you think the country's in imminent danger?

[JOHN FELMY, AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE] The first thing to understand is that we only get a small share of oil from the Middle East, which is what everyone cites as being a danger. The two largest suppliers are Saudi Arabia, which has been a longtime ally for 60 years, and Iraq. Of course, we're already there in Iraq. So these arguments simply don't hold water.

[McGINNIS] Still, those who worry about America's growing oil dependence say continuing on our current path could have serious consequences, including more conflict with other nations over scarce resources, the pursuit of more environmentally dangerous sources, and worst case, a faster road to extinction of species. Despite the dire possibilities, a note of optimism comes from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Daniel Yergin.

[YERGIN] Our oil demand is on somewhat of a decline. We'll see a bump when we come out of the economic downturn, but particularly as our automobiles become more efficient, that really has a very big impact on our demand, and that's what's going to unfold.

[McGINNIS] Meanwhile, back in Illinois, Miller continues his fight for energy independence and says the solutions are laid out before us.

[MILLER] We can switch to nuclear, we can switch to solar, we can switch to wind energy. We can even go to clean coal technology. We have all this. All we have to do is to sit down and say, okay, this needs to happen. If you don't believe in climate change or you don't believe in whatever, the point is, think about the soldiers.

[McGINNIS] Miller has aspirations for a seat in Congress one day, where he says he will soldier on for energy independence.

Still ahead on "energyNOW!", as climate change devastates the earth in 2020, are you the one who can save us? Well, now, you can find out.

And, can your next "cold one" help cool the earth? We take you to Wisconsin's first sustainable brewery.

[BREAK]

[MAN] My mama always said, "Life is like a box of chocolate. You never know what you're gonna get."

[WOMAN] Lions, tigers, bears... Oh, my!

[MAN] I could have been a contenda!

[TEXT] They are not famous Hollywood actors.

[Man speaking native language]

[TEXT] But they help save the many seriously ill and undernourished children in their surrounding villages.

Help health workers save children at GoodGoes.org. Save the Children. Support, learn, give, advocate, join. GoodGoes.org.