The Oil Industry and Air Pollution

1473 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on history of crude oil

Ever since 1908, when Henry Ford manufactured a car that was affordable to most families, the need for oil has been growing more and more every year as humans want more and more products that use oil or are made from it. People and their need for oil far exceeds the need to fill up their car. It stretches out to vast amount of products that people use every day. Including plastics bags when they go shopping, the shampoo they use to clean their hair, the toys their kids play with and the insulation used to keep their houses warm. However with all the positives of oil they’re a lot of negatives that are a result of using oil. One immediate negative oil causes is pollution, oil has two predominant types of pollution. But before we can talk about the different types of pollution. We first need to understand what pollution is. According to Jack Dini and two chapters from his book, Challenging the Environmental Mythology: Wrestling Zeus. Dini says his definition of pollution is “To pollute is to make physically impure or unclean: to contaminate especially with man-made waste” (Dini-2). He later mentions that pollution has two different parameters. The first one being dirtiness and the second being danger. Dini writes “while safety is often talked about as an absolute requirement, modern science can detect such infinitesimally small dangers that the decision about how much health threatening pollution to allow becomes a matter of preference or efficiency, not and absolute.” (Dini-2). By writing this Dini recognizes that there is technology that can tell people when there is to much pollution, however once they know how much pollution there is, it is up to the people to decide when enough is enough and make a change. One being air pollut...

... middle of paper ...

...ww.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/4500- animals-killed-in-bp-spill-and-counting.html>.
Ritchie, Brent W., Crotts John C, Zehrer Anita, and Volsky George T.
Journal of Travel Research, January 2014; vol. 53, 1: pp. 12-25. first published on April 1, 2013
Upton, Harold F. "The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and the Gulf of Mexico Fishing Industry."Congressional Research Service. N.p., 17 Feb. 2011. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. .
"U.S. Surges past Saudis to Become World's Top Oil Supplier -PIRA." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 15 Oct. 2013. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. .
"We Need Your Help!" Air Pollution Levels from Deepwater Horizon Spill Similar to Large Urban Area. NOAA, 19 Dec. 2011. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2011/20111219_dwhairquality.html

Show More
Related

  • The Mississippi Delta and Oil: Ecosystem Services and Human Health

    1101 Words  | 3 Pages

    Besides the accidental spillage affecting severe damage to the environment and then causing harm to humans, there are direct impacts on human health from oil. Problems suc...

    Read More

  • Business Law: The Oil Pollution Act

    1082 Words  | 3 Pages

    1. The United States government and Congress have implemented various legislations in order to hopefully reduce oil spills and aid in the clean up, should an oil spill occur. The Oil Pollution Act (OPA) was signed into legislation in August 1990. The OPA improved the nation's ability to prevent and respond to oil spills by establishing provisions that expand the federal governments's ability, and provide the money and resources necessary, to respond to oil spills. The OPA also created the national Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which is available to provide up to one billion dollars per spill incident. The OPA also implemented new requirements for contigency planning both by government and industry. The National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contigency Plan (NCP) has been expanded into a three-tiered approach: the Federal government is required to direct all public and private response efforts for certain types of spill events; Area Committees -- composed of federal, state, and local government officials -- must develop detailed, location-specific Area Contigency Plans; and owners or operators of vessels and certain facilities that pose a serious threat to the environment must prepare their own Facility Response Plans. Finally, the OPA increased penalties for regulatory noncompliance, broadened the response and enforcement authorities of the Federal government, and preserved State authority to establish law governing oil spill prevention and response. Another legislation that was implemented was the Clean Water Act, formerly known as Federal Water Pollution Control Act, which was emplented in 1948. In 1972 the act was reorganized and expanded, adding ammendments and changing it's name to the Clean Water Act(CWA)....

    Read More

  • America Needs More Public Transportation

    1068 Words  | 3 Pages

    Pollution is a major problem for all of us. People need to recognize this situation so we can start making a difference to this problem. In order to start making a difference, the federal government should increase gasoline tax by one dollar a gallon. Fifty percent of this dollar will go towards public transportation, since passenger cars and trucks are a major contribution towards air pollution, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, E.P.A (10/4, http://www.epa.gov/autoemissions/emsns.html). Due to the expected increase after this is put forth, the remaining fifty percent of the dollar will go towards safety on these transits. When public transportation increases, air pollution will decrease, which will lessen the harmful health risks towards the environment.

    Read More

  • Oil Spill Response

    5767 Words  | 12 Pages

    " 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).

    Read More

  • Negative Externality Pollution

    547 Words  | 2 Pages

    Pollution has become a heated issue in recent years. The destruction of the environment along with serious health problems are the eventual effects. The extensive use and availability of automobiles, tremendous amounts of production in the booming economy and the constant increase in demand for energy, can be held responsible.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Electric Cars

    1187 Words  | 3 Pages

    Purchasing a car is one of the hugest or biggest accomplishments that a person can achieve on their own. However, what happens when that purchase turns out to also be the worst decision that was ever made? The purchase was a success and a goal was achieved, but the moment the key is turned and the engine is started the contribution to environmental harm begins. As the car is driven, the gasoline fumes that are released from the car contribute to the other many factors and pollutants that damage the environment. Not only is the purchase now a contributor to the depletion of clean air, but it could also play a part in the depletion of someone’s health. For example, asthma or bronchitis could develop in an adult or child as a direct result of breathing in noxious automotive fumes. Depending on where one lives, there could be strict regulations on air pollution. One must be accountable for any and all contributions made to the demise of what was once a healthy Earth. One must be accountable for his or her own carbon footprint. Some individuals have taken steps to reduce their carbon footprints and cause less harm to the environment by purchasing electric cars.

    Read More

  • Cleaner Alternative Transportation

    1650 Words  | 4 Pages

    When people think pollution, most think straight to automobiles producing harmful emissions which contribute to global warming or climate change. Well, this is true. Motor vehicles account for about half of the toxic air pollutant emissions in the United States. A large part of these toxic air pollutants is the need to rely on oil as a fuel source. The fact that oil is still the main source of energy for things like automobiles, when there are other alternatives like electric vehicles, creates many problems within our society. The United States’ dependency on oil causes incidents like the Deepwater Horizon. The estimated amount of oil released stood at 4.9 million barrels and polluted the area significantly. We as a country need to cut down on our dependency on oil and a few steps in that direction include stepping away from fuel inefficient automobiles. Automobiles are one of the biggest contributing factors to the oil dependency of the United States, and they are also one of the largest pollution causes also. The pollution from automobiles became so bad that the United States had to pass the Clean Air Act in 1970 which forced a series of rules to reduce pollution from vehicle exhaust, refueling emissions and evaporating gasoline. The act had to be amended two more times in 1977 and 1990 to set more goals in addressing hazardous air pollutants. Even though the Clean Air Act helped control the pollution a bit, it still did not fix the underlying problem: the U.S.’s fixation on oil and gasoline vehicles. Due to high environmental pollution, we should move away from the traditional gasoline automobiles and instead look for greener alternatives like electric or hybrid vehicles and improved public transportation.

    Read More

  • Air Pollution: History and Recent Events

    1264 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the most dangerous environment issues Southern California is facing today is air pollution. This includes the burning of fossil fuels and natural disasters. Los Angeles is one of the most polluted cities in the world, and the most polluted city in the United States. I will research information about the causes, the effects, and the history of air pollution in the Los Angeles. For my research, I have relied mostly on, the school’s database and library, as well as current events.

    Read More

  • Understanding Consumer's Behavior

    1463 Words  | 3 Pages

    For the introduction, brief information regarding my purchase and the travel and tourism industry is presented. It was then followed by the explanation of the 2 chosen theories from two different chapters.

    Read More

  • The Negative Impact of Spring Break on the Local Residents of Popular Tourist Destinations

    1418 Words  | 3 Pages

    10. McCool, S. F., & Martin, S. R. (1994). Journal of Travel Research, 32(3), 29-34.

    Read More

  • Air Pollution

    334 Words  | 1 Pages

    Air pollution is caused by many things such as car fumes, burning of fossil fuels,

    Read More

  • Exemplification Essay: Why The World Is Doomed

    1087 Words  | 3 Pages

    Every day when looking out a window, people see a beautiful earth. The earth is intriguing, but hinges on a delicate balance. Many natural resources keep the grass green and the sky blue. Man has made quite an impression on our world, and has transformed the earth's resources into tools to make life easy. However, mans' manipulation on earth has become detrimental to the health of our planet and the safety of mankind. Through the use and production of resources such as oil and energy, man is gradually poisoning the earth. Pollution has become such a dilemma in society; there is no real control or a feasible solution to society's recklessness. Without complete change, our system will collapse. The earth will eventually retaliate with disaster, or corporate control of our economy will cause hysteria and depression. Evaluation of the consequences and repercussion of worldwide pollution, may give people a better idea of what the future holds.

    Read More

  • Pollution in The Bahamas

    1630 Words  | 4 Pages

    Evo Morales stated, “Sooner or later, we will have to recognize that the Earth has rights too, to live without pollution. What mankind must know is that human beings cannot live without Mother Earth, but the planet can live without humans” (Pollution Quotes, 2013). Hence, attention must be provided to this devastating issue. Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that causes adverse changes (Wieman, 2013). There are numerous types of pollution, such as light, air, land, water, noise, thermal and radioactive pollution. In an article, the author highlighted that according to Richard Buckminster Fuller, “Pollution is nothing but the resources we are not harvesting, we allow them to disperse because we’ve been ignorant of their value” (Farrell, 1971, p. 52). Pollution is created mostly by human actions, but can also be a result of natural disasters. Pollution can harm the environment of the world and its inhabitants in many ways. Pollution has a detrimental effect on any living organism in an environment, making it virtually impossible to sustain life (Enclyopedia - Pollution, 2008).

    Read More

  • The Environmental Effects of The Oil Industry

    2641 Words  | 6 Pages

    The worst imaginable environmental catastrophe that could occur in Maryland has just become a reality. The lifeblood of Southern Maryland's Watermen has been forever affected. The ecosystems of the Patuxtent River and Chesapeake Bay have been irreversibly contaminated. The Three Mile Island and Chernobyl Nuclear Accidents have affected the world ecosystems; but the Chalk Point oil spill has reached us here in Southern Maryland. The ethical considerations with generating electricity from fossil fuels, specifically oil, has a profound impact on us all. We all use electricity to make our lives easier and more productive. By using this electricity have we given our permission for the oil companies free reign in order to provide us with the service we demand?? Are we just as responsible for the oil spill as the corporate leaders who run the companies? As citizens we are in a position to develop and enforce regulations to protect ourselves. Do we also protect the environment; or is the environment just something for us to use? These and many other moral dilemmas exist for modern man.

    Read More

  • How To Avoid Air Pollution Essay

    600 Words  | 2 Pages

    Air pollution has become very costly environmental problem in terms of both human lives and in terms of billions of dollars lost for health-care expenditure and crop damage.

    Read More

More about The Oil Industry and Air Pollution

Open Document