Surprise. Moving away from oil is going to take more work than driving hybrids and avoiding plastic.

About one quarter of the oil consumed in this country is used for industrial purposes. Plastic production is the most obvious example, as awareness grows of the harm plastic does to the earth and people shun the material when they can.

But oil has permeated more of our lives than most people realize. Here, the most surprising places you'll find oil, in some form, as a key ingredient:


1. Chewing gum

It lasts as long as it does for a reason—just about all brands on store shelves today use petroleum-based polymers. (Unless you find, say, Chicza's organic rainforest gum, but I haven't seen it at any 7-Eleven lately.) In fact, Goodyear—the tire and rubber company—supplies Wrigley's with much of its gum base.

2. Hair dye

As if the toxic chemicals in hair dye weren't enough reason to avoid coloring your hair. Try finding more natural alternatives, or just go au naturale.

3. Asphalt

Also known as bitumen, the material used to resurface roads (as well as in roofing materials) is an oil-based hydrocarbon. Meaning—if you noticed that road construction slowed down in your area at all in the last year, rising oil costs may well have been the reason.