The United States has depended on third world countries for many years to supply them with many of the everyday items they use, but it is seldom thought of all the health conditions people who work in this environment endure, what would happen if these third world countries stopped supplying them, or what would happen if they took advantage of all the power they have given them. In the article “Rare Earth Plant Ready, But in a Glut,” by Keith Bradsher it is mentioned the rare earth metals this company will be producing can be found in many cell phones, flat screen televisions, computer hard drives, and wind turbines that are used in the United States today. If this company is not opened it will cut down a fifth of the rare earth metal being mined and it will cause the cost of these rare earth metals to increase. There are many benefits to the refinery mentioned in “Rare Earth Plant Ready, But in a Glut” being opened, it would help meet the demand of the metals and it would open jobs for people who need them. This new company would help bring more money into their economy, which can open the door for more businesses to come to their area. This business can have a positive effect on the economy but a negative effect on the environment and health conditions. Some of the disadvantages to opening this new refinery in Malaysia are the health of citizen and workers being put in to danger for minimum wage. It puts their environment in danger of radioactive waste and pollution that can possibly cause cancer. Many people of Malaysia have expressed their concerns about bringing this new refinery to their neighborhood, but they have all been ignored. Cerium, lanthanum, and neodymium are some of the important rare earth met... ... middle of paper ... ... of metals, the United States and other countries supported by China had to plan ways to meet their demands. The benefits of the new refinery being opened are that it would help produce more metal and it will help the prices of the rare elements decrease. The disadvantages of opening a new refinery in Malaysia are the pollution it can cause for the environment and the health of the citizens and workers are at risk. Works Cited Areddy, James. "China Moves to Strenghten Grip Over Supply of Rare-Earth Metals." Wall Street Journal. (2011): n. page. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. . Bradsher, Keith. "Rare Earth Plant Ready, But in a Glut." New York Times 01 FEB 2012, B8. Print. Bradsher, Keith. "China Consolidates Grip on Rare Earths." New York Times 12 Sep 2011, n. pag. Web. 13 Feb. 2012.
The opposition to this project is increasing because the people living in those areas are already feeling negative consequences. The large communities living in Boreal Forest and other Natives lands are being affected by the extraction and process of tar sands. Not only this people are being rushed away from their lands, but also, the rate of cancer, renal failure, lupus, hyperthyroidism and other decease, are higher than ever. This health conditions increased because of the air pollution and the high quantities of metals and chemicals in the drinking water. Yet, lots of precautions are being taken by the company, oil spills keep happening over and over. The external metal corrosion caused by extreme temperatures and the corrosive acid components of the bitumen are factors that contribute to accidents like explosions and oil
America is dependent on other nations for their ability to create energy. The United States is the world’s largest consumer of oil at 18.49 million barrels of oil per day. And it will continue to be that way for the foreseeable future considering the next largest customer of oil only consumes about 60% of what the U.S. does. This makes the U.S. vulnerable to any instability that may arise in the energy industry. In 2011, the world’s top three oil companies were Saudi Aramco (12%), National Iranian Oil Company (5%), and China National Petroleum Corp (4%). The risk associated with these countries being the top oil producers is twofold. One, they are located half way around the world making it an expensive to transport the product logistically to a desired destination. And two, the U.S. has weak, if not contentious,...
Schmitt, Eric. "House Defeats a Move to End China's Favored Trade Status." The New York Times. The New York Times, 28 June 1996. Web. 28 Nov. 2013.
In an expanded view the pipeline is very beneficial to the world but we are not talking about the world view. Much of the profit that would be made from the pipeline will be made in either in a foreign country or in a foreign state. And because all the profit that could be made will be made in a far off place, we are left will a lot of risk and little reward. The pipeline will be transporting several chemicals that are lethal to crops and people. According to the Bluegrass pipeline website one of the chemicals that are being tra...
to jobs moving overseas and the flow of wealth in the energy industry, going towards
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...
“On March 23, 2005, at 1:20 pm, the BP Texas City Refinery suffered one of the worst industrial disasters in recent U.S. history. Explosions and fires killed 15 people and injured another 180, alarmed the community, and resulted in financial losses exceeding $1.5 billion.” (U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, 2007) There are many small and big decisions and oversights that led to the incident. Underneath all the specific actions or inaction is a blatant disregard for addressing safety violations and procedures that had been pointed out to BP even years before this event. The use of outdated equipment and budget cuts also contributed to the circumstances that allowed this accident to happen.
Zoellner, Tom. (2009). Uranium: War, Energy and the Rock that Shaped the World. New York:
... reforms on the imports and production methods. Along with the millions of acres opened for exploration that would increase self-reliance, it would also lessen the United States’ reliance on oil from Africa, the Middle East and those areas affected by conflict (Klare). As previously mentioned, the military is the biggest consumer of energy in the US. If the American military is relying on imported oil from the conflicted areas in which control the price and supply, then the country as a whole is vulnerable to those who are able to control it. The military continues to work on reducing dependency on foreign fuels so that the nation’s security is safer. By also promoting advances in technology that would enhance the United States’ environment and economy, vulnerability to “violence, corruption and authoritarianism” from the companies overseas would decline.
In addition to the plant, the governments related in India that issued permits and provided incentives for the plant, Bhopal community officials who permitted slum dwellers to move near the plant in illegal settlements, Indian environmental and safety inspectors should also be responsible for this. The governments related in India issued permits because people need jobs, or people would starve to death. This was one reason in my opinion. Soft money from Union Carbide plant may be another reason for issuing permits. It was clearly that the governments in America would not issue a permit to Union Carbide plant under such circumstances, which lacked of severe environmental standards and permitted slum dwellers to live near the plant and so on. Such actions were the fuses leading to more deaths. Before the major gas leakage from the MCI unit on December 3, 1984, some people were killed because of phosgene gas leakage. However, no one took it seriously in spite of the report by media. One of the reasons that people ignore this was because people didn¡¦t know the potential danger of the chemical plant. The other reason was that there are not enough environmental inspectors to cover so many plants in India. Besides, those inspectors had a record of loose enforcement. Consequently, danger emerged just as the saying goes ¡§Nothing comes of nothing.¡¨
At this point in the oil market, the barriers to entry were extremely low. One could buy a small refinery for $10,000 and a large...
“Scientists to examine floating dump.” Science News (Aug. 2009): n. pag. Web. 23 Apr. 2010.
Bayon's first body paragraph illustrates America's economic vulnerability in order to prove the topic of America's dangerous overdependence on oil. We consume more than our domestic oil supply due to being so oil dependent, and as a result the author indicates Washington D.C. is practically forced to do business with hostile countries for oil. This creates economic vulnerability of the United States to oil price spikes and inflation possibilities. In 2008, "The United States imported 4 million barrels of oil daily, or 1.5 billion barrels yearly from "dangerous or unstable" countries at a cost of about $150 billion per year. (www.americanprogress.org)." These oil prices of $150 billion dollars per year can be decreased if hydrogen fuel cells were in greater use. As a result of the laws of supply and demand, the United States will have no power over the increasing prices o...
“Pollution is the major disadvantage that is formed due to fossil fuels. When burnt they give out carbon dioxide, a green housed gas which is the main aspect of global warming.”(conserve-energy-future.com) That is an environmental hazard. Drilling can be inconsistent because some places may have a lot of oil, and some places do not. Sometimes if there is too much oil there can be a blow out. People also drill on their properties just for money, and some drill just to see if they have oil for money. Doing that is inconsistent. Gas prices rise and cause tension between nations. “Middle-east countries have huge reserves of oil and natural gas and many other countries are dependent on them for constant supply of these fuels.”(conserve-energy-future.com) Gas prices rise and some people cannot afford gas...
...s to the alternative energy scene. While LNG is readily available in the United States and could prove to be beneficial in an economic and (more temporarily) in an environmental sense, it is still not as efficient as diesel and can have some harmful long-term effects on global climate change. This topic is just another witness to the idea that with every new discovery comes a world of pros and cons yet to be unveiled.