Fossil Fuels
The day was Black Friday. Around the world people are purchasing goods and services that they may or may not need. Many of these goods created take crude oil to produce. The world needs to change its habits to sustain time in the creation of new alternatives to fossil fuels. In my research I found that crude oil or petroleum will only last approximately thirty to forty more years. That means that the clock is ticking and we must find a solution to this major question facing our world. How will the world function without crude oil? I believe our driving habits, consumption of goods, technological research and emphasis on conserving crude oil plus finding a substitute must be addressed now by the world.
Oil was not used as a source of energy until the latter half of the 19th century. Prior to that, wind and water power were used for industrial mills. Oil was used to power steam engines, but it wasn't until the late 19th century and the invention of the internal combustion engine that its demand soared. (Raphaël Van Laer ) After the 1950s, oil became the world's foremost fuel. The automobile and power plants in the United States created an enormous demand for petroleum fuel. This demand has only increased to the present day. And now it is almost gone! From my researching I found that oil will most likely run out in the next thirty to fifty years. “According to the US Government's Energy Information Administration, the United States consumes about 400 million gallons (1.51 billion liters) of gasoline every day. That figure equates to about 20 million barrels of oil every -day.”(Pore, Robert). It is also said that global warming may not reach its disastrous levels due to the lack of fossil fuels feeding the fire. C...
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...e going to go to the gas station and there’s not going to be any gas. Could you imagine having to ride your bike every day to work or school especially if you live far away? And what about taking a faraway vacation to China or Europe? That may becomes something of the past. Person may soon feel the pinch of the 1970’s and the gas crisis where you could only purchase gas on odd or even days. In all likelihood power and money will dictate how our world changes. Those with a wealth of money will get to travel, while others just get to see pictures of faraway place on the internet. Chevron, Shell and others have funds to help find a solution, but why should they? They are making major profits and as most business models go, money makes the world go round so why change their habits. In closing we need to find a solution soon. It not, world chaos will be soon to follow.
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.
The author proposes different partial solutions for the "oil problem": a surtax on gasoline consumption, development of mass transport and alternative energy sources, fuel efficiency. In the actual context, these propositions are more or less wishful thinking. A complete change of mind will only arrive when the oil price will reach astronomical heights and when all cheap oil sources will be dried up.
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.
In 1908, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) predicted that the total future supply of U.S. oil would not exceed 23 billion barrels. In 1914, the U.S. Bureau of Mines predicted that only 5.7 billion barrels of oil remained. In 1920, the USGS proclaimed the peak in U.S. oil production was almost reached. In 1939, the Department of Interior declared that there was only 13 years of oil production remaining. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter claimed, “We are now running out of oil.” Despite these predictions, the U.S. has produced over 200 billion barrels of oil since the early 1900’s. (The Futurist, 1997)
As we talked and read about the oil topic in class, I first thought that oil was just the black stuff coming out of the ground. I then thought “how can I write an entire essay on just oil?” However, as we started talking, I realized that oil is really all of nature’s resources and these resources are slowly being destroyed.
Indeed, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) predicts that domestic petroleum consumption will increase to 60 Btu by the year 2025. This statistic, in and of itself, is a matter of concern with respect to the greenhouse gas emissions that result from petroleum combustion. However, perhaps more disconcerting is the fact that U.S. oil production peaked in 1970 and has continued to fall since then (Campbell et. al., 1998). Therefore, the American public has turned to foreign oil, in particular Middle Eastern oil, to supplement its increase in demand. In an age where terrorism is at the forefront of people's minds, we still continue to import oil from the same nations that supposedly harbor so-called terrorist groups. The fact is that we are unwilling to responsibly face our energy future and instead choose to maintain a policy of increasing oil supply through importation.
The usage of oil throughout history has helped form the world and how people live. Countries economies, world politics, and the worlds environment has all been changed by oil. Since there is such a large market for oil, world economy has been affected greatly by trades and prices. In politics, there have been both advancements and conflicts because of the world’s dependence on oil. Oil has also had different effects on the world’s environment. Overall, the dependence on oil has greatly impacted the way the world functions. Without oil, the world would not be in the state it’s in today.
...provided us with such goods as plastics, and fertilizer. Oil has become so valuable that it has been the cause of global conflict and war in the Middle East. The United States has been to Iraq two times in the past decade. The quest for oil has made the price of a gallon of gasoline rise from five cents, to more than two dollars. In five years the price per gallon is predicted to be around ten dollars, Americans might be wealthy but they will not be able to afford that. Alternatives to oil are being created, and although not perfect, they are made more efficient with each new idea. When peak oil occurs people will learn to be self-sufficient; it is going to take a lot of hard work to have a happy and successful life. No more luxuries such as dining out, or superstores like Wal-Mart. Oil is needed to run this suburban way of life, and the fact is the discovery of oil has nearly halted. Drilling is now taking place in the most extreme environments on Earth, and oil companies are still finding less and less oil. Peak oil is real, and it will be a problem when it occurs. The trouble is determining when it will occur, and we will not know for sure until after it has already happened.
The U.S dependency on foreign oil presents many negative impacts on the nation’s economy. The cost for crude oil represents about 36% of the U.S balance of payment deficit. (Wright, R. T., & Boorse, D. F. 2011). This does not affect directly the price of gas being paid by consumers, but the money paid circulates in the country’s economy and affects areas such as; the job market and production facilities. (Wright, R. T., & Boorse, D. F. 2011). In addition to the rise in prices, another negative aspect of the U.S dependency on foreign crude oil is the risk of supply disruptions caused by political instability of the Middle East. According to Rebecca Lefton and Daniel J. Weiss in the Article “Oil Dependence Is a Dangerous Habit” in 2010, the U.S imported 4 million barrels of oil a day or 1.5 billion barrels per year from “dangerous or unstable” countries. The prices in which these barrels are being purchased at are still very high, and often lead to conflict between the U.S and Middle Eastern countries. Lefton and Weiss also add that the U.S reliance on oil from countries ...
In this paper, we focus on using fossil fuels causing climate change. Fossil fuels are fuels formed natural resources such as coal, petroleum and natural gas, which are the most widely used fuel and industrial chemicals in the world. Since industrial revolution, fossil fuels bring a very great quantity convenience and technological products. So we can use cars, planes and all modern products. But fossil fuels cause climate change at the same time. Greenhouse gas, nitrous oxides and a great deal of harmful gas which are from fossil fuels are causing serious environmental problems. Therefore we need to be concerned about the problems caused by fossil fuels and the solutions.
These oil wells are great for the economic growth, inventing new jobs and fueling most of our vehicles. The Earth has literal oceans of oil stored in its soil waiting to be harvested. Meaning, crude oil isn’t renewable, and eventually it will run out. According to the British petroleum, the multinational gas and oil company headquarter, there is only enough to sustain the planet for roughly around 53.3 more years. The result of oil depletion will turn turbulent, and we will have to resort to renewable energy. The issue concerning this is that, renewable energies such as solar, water and wind have not been perfected and can be too expensive to use. In theory, renewable energy is still a stable and natural energy source that could potentially save the future. If the we invest in perfecting these energy sources instead of pipelines, oil companies could finally stop reaping the Earth of its oil and prevent a future crisis 50 years from now. We wouldn’t have the need to burn fossil fuels, and we could be one step closer to a cleaner Earth. Nonetheless, most people nowadays care only for shortcuts that will lead them to big money, even if it sacrifices our world’s interior, and the health of those that live upon
period of many years. This is in contrast to weather which is the day to day
The dependency on fossil fuels is a pressing issue for not only America, but the whole world. People everywhere continue to search for solutions to the growing problem by taking steps to create a cleaner environment, reduce the price of fuel consumers pay and most importantly, protect the nation’s security from foreigners. America, being one of the leading consuming nations of fossil fuels, is negatively affecting the environmental, economic and political aspects pertaining to its dependency on non-renewable resources.
Did you know that oil may no longer be available by 2050? This is due to over consumption over hundreds of years. How much oil do you think you use in a year’s time? The average American household uses 3-4 gallons of oil a day, that’s 1,277 gallons of oil a year! The long term effects of using natural resources are global warming, polluted water ways and also the depletion of oil.
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