Energy Crisis, Blame It On The Black Gold

EDNA MANLEY COLLEGE OF THE PERFORMING & VISUAL ARTS College English Speech

World Energy Crisis Blame It On The “Black Gold”

Craig Cole 11/24/2008

The world has become subjected to the over-abuse and total dependency on oil-driven energy. This addiction has led to adverse political, economical, and environmental implications that need to be addressed promptly.

WORLD ENERGY CRISIS How many of us today can admit that we are fed up with the world economic crisis; high inflation, high gas prices, high food costs, high everything? If there any one thing that we can attribute this to, it is Oil. Oil seems to sit atop the list of contributors to the world’s economic woes. A change in the price or even just a scare of the unavailability impacts every facet of trade, as almost all electronic and mechanical equipment rely on it for fuel among other things. Since the first commercial oil well in North America, drilled almost 150 years ago in Titusville, Pennsylvania, the world has become totally dependent on oil as a source of energy for heating, motor fuel, and cooking. Indeed it has benefited humanity in terms of its contribution to advances in technology, transportation, medicine, and the overall quality of life. This “black gold” however, has been cause for many political squabbles and wars, and is a major factor in global warming as a result of its propensity to pollute, be it in air, water or on land. The important questions to ask are how and why we have gotten so reliant on oil, despite the fact that it is a non-renewable source of energy, and what can be done to reduce the impact it has on our lives and the environment? Answers to these questions can be achieved by placing more emphasis on increasing the research, development, and implementation of renewable and energy; and also to promote conservation. Crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid found in rock formations in the Earth. There is a pre-conception, that is now been rebutted by many scientists, that oil it is a result of the deterioration of biological material deposited, during the Jurassic period, in sedimentary rock that has been converted to hydrocarbons under intense heat and pressure (Creswell, 2003). Retired Cornell astronomy professor Thomas Gold (as cited in Creswell, 2003) argues that natural gas and oil were created with the earth's formation and pushed towards the surface from deep inside the planet. As to why fossils are found in oil, Gold says, hydrocarbons attract a primitive type of microbe called Achaea that lives deep underground; it feeds on and contaminates the oil. In essence, Gold’s theorizes that there will always be a surplus of oil since the earth is able to replenish itself. However most scientists contend that the capability of extracting and producing enough oil to meet the world’s increasing demand becomes more grim annually, as a great majority of the oil produced today is from fields discovered almost forty years ago (Campbell & Laherrère, 1998). This trend has been referred to by the late Dr. Marion King Hubbert, as peak oil: a theory that implies oil wells and fields peak when approximately half of the original resource remains, and thereafter deplete. The renowned American geophysicist used a bell curve principle formulated from his knowledge in geology, physics and mathematics to successfully predict that oil production would peak in the United 1

States between 1965 and 1970. Based on data available at that time Dr. Hubbert further projected that the world’s oil would peak round about the year 2000, and though he may have been off by a few years, it has been proven that the world’s current oil production is on the downward slope of his graph (Bartlett, April 20, 2005). In 1973 and 1979, the world’s economy experienced a recession that has been attributed to the political instability and subsequent oil embargo of the Middle East. The uncanny truth is that two-thirds of the world’s oil reserves are located in this region; hence, it has a disproportionate influence on the world. (World Oil Outlook, 2008). This dependency on the Middle East limits foreign policy options by forcing world leaders to appease and sometimes even actively support unjust autocrats in the region (Beckett, 2005). One example of the turmoil that spurts from our unhealthy demand for oil is the Persian Gulf War in which the United Nations (UN) had to intervene to end Iraq’s assault on Kuwait. The President of Iraq at the time, Saddam Hussein, argued that the attack was justified because Kuwait's royals were plundering a commonly held oil field. Another is the more recent Iraq War, on which the government of the US has spent trillions of dollars from the national budget. This excessive spending, along with the increase in oil prices, has resulted in the war has been speculated as one of the main causes of the present economic recession in the United States, and by extension the world. Many have also conjectured that the reason for Iraqi invasion was not a fight on terrorism, as billed by the government, but an attempt to control the oil reserves in Iraq. It is indeed unwise to allow the world’s economic and political decisions to be so influenced by a region that is notorious for its blatant acts of terrorisms. It is imperative that we adapt to alternate sources of energy in order to ensure the preservation of world peace. As mentioned before, the way forward is in research, development, and implementation of renewable energy. Biofuel derived from carbon in biological material; solar energy from the sunlight; hydropower in water; wind power from airflow; and geothermal power generated by heat stored in the earth; are all adept sources of energy that have been employed since the human inhabitation of this earth. Yet renewable energy comprises only 17% of the energy consumed globally (Kanellos, 2008). It is a fact that oil has more yield than other sources of energy, but only because of the advantage it has been afforded through extensive technological research; the ramifications of its use, however, are calamitous. Global warming is one effect evident in the recent unpredictability of atmospheric change and climate activity. Fortunately some nations have already taken the initiative to research the possibility of making renewable energy economically viable. Spain has enacted energy laws to facilitate investment by improving the legislative environment for renewable energy. They currently boast a 30% annual growth rate of renewable energy in power consumption with a majority of it coming from wind power.

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Remarkably, in March of this year, it was reported that Spain’s wind turbines had produced a record-breaking, 40.8% of the country’s total power demand (Richard, 2008). Other countries have followed suite in the effort to rid the world of its dependence on oil. In Jamaica, local pig farmers, aided by government incentive, use the waste matter of pigs to produce to gas for cooking. This has been going on for almost two decades, and though it has not been introduced nationally as a full-fledged replacement for petroleum-based cooking gas it shows that countries both great and small recognize the economic and environmental concerns associated with the use of oil and the need to act (Harris, 2008). Many countries that have, in recent years, experienced losses in the agricultural industry have had their economies revitalized by the production, use and export of ethanol fuel derived from crops like sugar cane and corn. As a fuel in automobile engines, ethanol burns clean, leaves little residue and reduces harmful carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming (Sheil, 2005). On a wider scale major car manufacturers have now developed engines that are powered by advanced fuel cells running on water. These contributions along with proper funding are the very things that the world needs to improve its economic state. The idea is not to totally omit the use of oil; it is more to make it secondary to renewable sources. After all, if regulated, oil can be used to sustain the functionality of other energy sources without being as harmful to the environment as it has been. While our demand for energy increases it is important that we learn how to conserve on the energy we have. Statistical review by British Petroleum (BP), one of the world’s largest energy companies, shows that primary energy consumption worldwide has been on a steady increase for the past 5 years (BP, June 2008). This means our demand for energy, most likely, will not go down. We must then ensure efficient use and conservation of energy to reduce the demand on the energy source; oil or otherwise. The oil-rich nations, companies and individuals that thrive on the world’s addiction to oil have been reluctant to assist in the liberation from this state of economic bedlam. One could wonder if they are oblivious to the fact that if the earth is destroyed then their cherished wealth will be worthless. Indeed, it will require the effort of every human being to make better our situation. Whether from contributions as small as recycling or properly disposing of garbage to the remarkable development of hybrid-powered vehicles, collectively we can curb our addiction to this “black gold”.

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Science & Technology . Sheil, R. (2005, November 24). Ethanol plant opened in Jamaica - Will supply an initial 150 million litres to US. The Gleaner .