The movie begins showing video clips of speeches by presidents from Nixon to George W. Bush talking about how the United States needs to be less dependent on other countries for oil.
On May 1, 1977, The El Paso Times ran a front page article with the headline "200 Miles on 2 Gallons of Gas".
Tom Ogle, the subject of the article, was found in the desert, dead from a drug overdose, and his car disappeared.
After Hurricane Katrina, the energy committees in both the Senate and the House hold hearings about the sudden rise in gasoline prices, the first time that they have gone over $3 per gallon.
On May 11, 2006, during the House Energy Committee meeting, Representative Anna Eshoo, D-Cal., asks why, if Exxon is not building in the U.S., are they looking for new ways to invest record profits.