I. A Civilization in Trouble In the first part of his book, Lester Brown goes into great detail in examining the effects of resource depletion, particularly that of the impending oil peak. He discusses the effect on our economy in a post-peak era, and the startling reality that will face us all. I think that many of us think of oil depletion in somewhat large and vague terms, i.e. people will be using public transport more, airline travel will become a luxury, but we do not realize how oil depletion will effect the way our society is structured.
Saudi Arabia has the biggest oil reserves in the world and production costs lower than any country. (economist.com 2003)This means that it is a natural monopoly and economies of scale arises; when the long run average total cost falls as the quantity of output increases as illustrated in figure 1. (Gans, J. King, S., Mankiw, N., 2003) Saudi Arabia is the undisputed leader of OPEC. Figure 1 Economies of Scale as a factor of Monopoly Cost Average Total Costs Quantity of output Saudi arabia's petroleum monopoly is very much its' government's major interest.
"Oil companies have escaped more than 60 billion dollars in royalties because of a loophole to get access to more leases. The United States is the third largest producer of oil in the world, and 31 percent of that production comes from land owned by the federal government" (Offshore Drilling Will Enrich Big Oil Companies 2). America maintains this title even though "America's crude oil productivity has decreased since 1985" (Crude Oil Production 1). Currently, oil is becoming more expensive and damaging the economy while America is becoming more dependent on foreign oil; decreasing productivity and narrowing offshore drilling. The oil industry is making an immense profit.
If I molded myself to the test’s description of a debater, my faults would consist of “insensitivity and intolerance”, as well as the dismissal of practical concepts. In my opinion, these weaknesses describe the opposite of my personality, or how I try to perceive myself to others. In most situations, I utilize the blunt truth when arguing a point, because I would rather be honest to someone than lie to their face; however, I still value my humanity and will consider how a person’s feelings might be affected by my words. For example, if someone has argued a point that I know is not factually-backed, then I might rethink my argument to avoid embarrassing them in front of a class. Correspondingly, intolerant is not an adjective I would use to describe my personality, since I pay attention to everyone’s perspective--though I do not always agree with them--and I would never dismiss a person only for their differing viewpoint.
Extracting cheap oil is what the real problem is. Peak oil “refers to the future decline in world production of crude oil and to the accompanying potentially calamitous effects” (Holland). These effects have huge consequences that, if not solved soon, will change the way human’s live by modifying everyday things such as transportation and food. The world is addicted to oil and the dependence of the human race is going to make this a very tough change to make. The idea of peak oil was first thought up by M. King Hubbert with his model, which is now called Hubbert’s Peak.
This will lead into an examination of what the world will be when oil peaks. The second part will then explain alternatives to oil and will also exemplify what society will be like with no oil. The second portion of the paper will explain ways that we can sustain this source of energy and other sources that could not completely replace the use of oil, but reduce the amount that we use. Finally, to conclude, I will demonstrate why the oil crash is a social problem and why alternatives are needed. THE IMPORTANCE OF OIL Oil is the most important raw material that can be found around the world (Aleklett, 2012, p 17) and it is the bloodstream of the world economy (Gelpke, McCormack & Cadruff, Gelpke, McCormack, 2006).
There have been a lot of research done to prove that global warming is happening and who is the cause.Scientists have concluded that global warming has gotten worse over the past years and that human are the main cause of this and they are also the ones being affected also. There have been a lot of controversies surrounding global warming and it is clear that it is happening and is here today all we have to do is decide what to do about the situation and how will will solve this problem. Global Warming is deteriorating as time goes on and humans are the main cause of it and if we don’t do something to stop it we are endangering our future.
Global warming is one of the rising issues we face in the world. For decades, scientist have studied what is causing global warming and the natural events that have influenced climate change. We humans have been warned for centuries that global warming is on the rise and Earth one day as we know it will be forever changed if we don’t become a more environmentally cautions planet. But the effort needed to reduce the greenhouse gases and other major factors in climate change, has never been an easy subject. With political, technological, and economical issues many questions arise when trying to find a solution to slow global warming.
As the world is evolving, the possibilities of humans causing global warming are increasing. According to Dale Jamieson, “There is no way to assess accurately all the possible impacts [of global warming]” (Jamieson 144). Most likely there is always going to be something that causes global warming. With new data showing how different things humans do affect the global temperature, it is not just natural occurrences that cause global warming
Lastly, the economy is going through trouble because of many money problems. Global warming is a very extreme problem that has been happening for centuries and we need to start taking action before the world becomes a worse place than it already is. Works Cited "Effects of Global Warming." National Geographic. National Geographic Society., n.d.