About 90% of U.S. electricity is generated by three fuels: coal, nuclear, and natural gas. Electricity is not an "energy source" it is simply a method of transmitting energy. This statistic is true for most of the world. http://www.consumerenergyreport.com/rese…
Even solar power cannot exist without some other source of energy, and fossil fuels typically are the most economic and practical way to cover the power fluctuations inherent in solar installations. Electricity grids must have the same amount of input as output. If more electricity is generated than is being used, it must be sent to ground, that is wasted. If less electricity is generated than is being used, then the power system will fail, power levels will fluctuate, and equipment will be damaged or destroyed. There is no "storage" of electricity in the grid. Solar power can generate electricity all day long on a clear day, but as soon as the sun goes down, or someone flips a switch that demands more electricity than the solar plant is generating, a fossil fuel power plant must come on line to make up for the change. As solar power facilities are built, it is likely that equal amounts of natural gas fired power plants will be built to make up the power losses to the system as the solar shuts off at night and on cloudy days. Wind power supplies to the grid create the same issues. Without a steady supply of power, and the ability to generate more power when needed, your lights will flicker, your computer will fail, your appliances will burn out, and you will probably have to take cold showers once in a while.
I doubt you could find any products that you now use that did not use fossil fuel as part of their production, either as raw material (your computer is built from fossil fuels), or as part of the manufacturing process. It has nothing to do with big oil companies. It has to do with your expectations for a high standard of living. What do you expect the government to do? Make you live in the dark without heat and not use public water? (Water pumping uses 20% of the electric energy used in the state of California and directly uses 33% of the natural gas used in that state, along with millions of gallons of diesel fuel). http://www.energy.ca.gov/2005publication…