Modern society is characterized by convenience; convenience supplied by oil. Whether it be to fuel cars, to make plastic for hair dryers, or to paint a wall, most everything found in use today depends on this black gold. Although petroleum ’s variety of uses has made life convenient, this convenience has lead to an extreme use of oil, and it is now leading to its depletion. Although billions of barrels of oil remain in worldwide reserves, the United States needs to invest in replacing petroleum with alternative energy sources because readily available oil reserves are running out and other sources are more difficult to access and use .
Oil remains plentiful in the world, as new reserves are constantly being discovered, and technology is allowing ever more efficient oil production and use. Newer technology allows people to refine and process sources of oil that was previously unusable. These unconventional sources of oil have been proven to exist worldwide. 14 trillion barrels of oil may be found in worldwide oil shale alone, which some experts say could power the world for 500 years to come (Deming 10). Other reports show that 2 trillion barrels may be found in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming, which is quickly being developed (Lambertson). Furthermore, oil reserves are constantly being discovered, whether it be in the Gulf of Mexico or in tar sands of North and South America. Methods of oil extraction, refinement, and use are becoming evermore efficient as technology continues to advance. This both reduces oil consumption, by allowing less oil to go further, and increases the net energy gain from oil reserves .
Despite the vast amount of remain oil and improving technology, however, oil production from conventional sou...
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...sing supply of oil, and avoid economic catastrophe when oil production fail demand. Therefore, alternative energy must be developed within the United States.
Works Cited
Deming, David. "The World's Oil Supply Is Plentiful." Kallen, Stuart A. What Energy Sources Should Be Pursued. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2005. 9-11.
Inman, Mason. "Has the World Already Passed “Peak Oil”?" 9 November 2010. National Geographic. 7 February 2011 .
Lambertson, Giles. "Oil Shale: Ready to Unlock the Rock." Construction Equipment Guide. 10 February 2011 .
Rodman, Stuart H. "When Drill Holes Become Rat Holes." Ed Kallen, Stuart A. What energy Sources Should Be Pursued? Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2005. 12-19.
The United States has had several scares throughout its history in terms of oil, most turn out to be over exaggerations of a small event. However, these scares highlight a massive issue with the U.S. and that issue is the U.S.’s dependence on foreign oil. Why does it matter that our oil should come from over seas? In a healthy economy this probably wouldn’t be as relevant, but the U.S.’s economy is not exactly healthy at the moment. There are 4 things that I would like to address: what the problem is, how it affects us, what some solutions are, and what solutions I feel are best.
Almost every single nation in our world today, the United States included, is extremely reliant on oil and how much of it we can obtain. Wars have been started between countries vying for control of this valuable natural resource. The United States as a whole has been trying to reduce its reliance on foreign oil and has had some success, especially with the discovery of the Bakken formation and projects like the Keystone Pipeline.
The United States as well as the rest of the world are dealing with the issue that the world supply of oil is dwindling. Ever since our peak consumption year in 2005 the United States has been a major consumer of crude oil and petroleum products. As of 2012 according to the U.S Energy Information Administration “The United States consumed 18.6 million barrels per day of petroleum products, making us the world’s largest petroleum consumer.” The U.S. has long been dependent on foreign petroleum products to meet our ever growing energy demands and consumption. With the revolutionary and controversial rise of fracking it is now possible for the United States to become a self energy sufficient country. With fracking, the proper technology and economic
The U.S. may be in trouble when it comes to oil, but there are ways we can solve this problem. One way is to try to find alternative energy sources. We should research hydro-electric power, nuclear power, solar power, wind power or other possibilities. With an alternative energy source, we would not have to cut out oil completely, but we would n...
The modern world of today runs on fossil fuels with crude oil being the live blood of industrialized countries. Though much of the twentieth century old was plentiful easily acquired and low in cost it has only been in the past thirty years that we have seen oil prices rise substantially. This can be attributed to many different reason. These price changes have challenged the industrialized world to become more creative with their techniques of both acquiring oil and using it.
Since the oil embargo of 1977, there has been an increased awareness of our nation's energy security. As global population and energy consumption rise, the need for a stable energy supply has become a hot topic and a politically volatile issue. As our negative trade balance grows larger by the day, the United States finds itself in a rather precarious position. We are becoming more and more dependent on Middle East oil.
.... Rosentreter, Richard. (Sept. 2000) Oil, Profits, and the Question of Alternative Energy. Retrieved Feb. 9 from http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1374/is_5_60/ai_65133031
Denning Dan, “Oil Shale Reserves, Can Oil Shale Change The World” The Daily Reckoning, n.d., web, 26 August 2011
Significance: The United States must face the fact that the world is running out of oil and with today’s rising oil prices, economic and political instability in regions where the United States gets the majority of its oil, this country must begin looking into alternative means of energy to replace oil and end our dependence on foreign powers.
" Oil is the life blood of our modern industrial society. It fuels the machines and lubricates the wheels of the world’s production. But when that vital resource is out of control, it can destroy marine life and devastate the environment and economy of an entire region…. The plain facts are that the technology of oil-- its extraction, its transport, its refinery and use-- has outpaced laws to control that technology and prevent oil from polluting the environment…" (Max, 1969). Oil in its many forms has become one of the necessities of modern industrial life. Under control, and serving its intended purpose, oil is efficient, versatile, and productive. On the other hand, when oil becomes out of control, it can be one of the most devastating substances in the environment. When spilled in water, it spreads for miles around leaving a black memory behind (Stanley, 1969).
Peak oil is a huge problem that is facing the United States in the near future. Gas prices will skyrocket forcing most people to become self-sufficient. In other words, people are not going to be able to depend on the supermarket to get food. No more dining out, or going to the movies or traveling for vacation. The United States alone consumes nearly 7.5 billion barrels of oil each year. It would practically be a miracle for an alternative to be found and compensate for the forty percent of energy that oil accounts for in this country, and similarly the world. Oil is an amazingly efficient resource. It is transportable, and diverse, but most importantly the profit from selling oil far exceeds the price of retaining and refining it. It is very unlikely that a similar alternative will be found in time.
...ss with other countries. Instead of importing oil, the U.S should invest in clean-energy technology innovation, which would boost growth and create jobs. Investing in a clean-energy economy is the clear path toward re-establishing our economic stability and strengthening our national security. (Content, T. 2011).
Crude oil is one of the most important natural resource of the industrialized countries as well as one of the most versatile natural resources too. Crude oil can take thousands of years to form naturally and cannot be replaced as fast as they are being consumed. Because of this many scientist argue that because the time and process of producing crude oil it should be considered rather a non-renewable resource. Crude oil can be found in many of our everyday products such as plastics, detergents, paints, and even medicines in addition to fueling our multifaceted transportation system including airplanes, trains, vehicles, and big rig trucks. With the amount of industries that depend on crude oil, Earths ever increasing population, and the demand for crude oil we must develop alternatives to using crude oil. At our current rate of consumption, we could possibly deplete our current supply, then man us beneficiaries, would suffer. Think of all the things you could not do without crude oil? For instance, what if your home or business heating system was built using gas? How would your children get to school or you get to work
When dealing with unconventional resources, conventional recovery methods become obsolete. In fact, the costs of recovering unconventional resources are significantly higher than conventional resources due to presence of additional, more sophisticated processes such as hydraulic fracturing and steam assisted gravity drainage. An example of an unconventional resource would be shale rock, which contains shale oil and shale gas. Unlike regular sedimentary rocks, shale rock requires a combination of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling in order to be commercially viable for further marketing purposes. Unsurprisingly, unconventional hydrocarbon recovery poses much more of a challenge than regular techniques and should therefore be considered a resource play rather than an exploration play.
The importance of oil to the modern world is unique in character and far-reaching in scope. It is a singularly autonomous variable in the world economy and it is used inter alia for transportation, heating and production.