Energy Crisis, Blame It on the Black Gold

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EDNA MANLEY COLLEGE OF THE PERFORMING & VISUAL ARTSCollege English Speech

World EnergyCrisis

Blame It On The

“

Black Gold

”

Craig ColeCraig ColeCraig ColeCraig Cole11/24/200811/24/200811/24/200811/24/2008The 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 thatneed to be addressed promptly.

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W

ORLD

E

NERGY

C

RISIS

How many of us today can admit that we are fed up with the world economic crisis; highinflation, high gas prices, high food costs, high everything? If there any one thing that we canattribute this to, it is Oil. Oil seems to sit atop the list of contributors to the world’s economicwoes. 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 toadvances in technology, transportation, medicine, and the overall quality of life. This “blackgold” however, has been cause for many political squabbles and wars, and is a major factor inglobal warming as a result of its propensity to pollute, be it in air, water or on land. Theimportant questions to ask are how and why we have gotten so reliant on oil, despite the factthat it is a non-renewable source of energy, and what can be done to reduce the impact it hason our lives and the environment? Answers to these questions can be achieved by placing moreemphasis on increasing the research, development, and implementation of renewable andenergy; and also to promote conservation.Crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid found in rock formations in the Earth. Thereis a pre-conception, that is now been rebutted by many scientists, that oil it is a result of thedeterioration of biological material deposited, during the Jurassic period, in sedimentary rockthat has been converted to hydrocarbons under intense heat and pressure (Creswell, 2003).Retired Cornell astronomy professor Thomas Gold (as cited in Creswell, 2003) argues thatnatural gas and oil were created with the earth's formation and pushed towards the surfacefrom deep inside the planet. As to why fossils are found in oil, Gold says, hydrocarbons attracta primitive type of microbe called Achaea that lives deep underground; it feeds on andcontaminates the oil. In essence, Gold’s theorizes that there will always be a surplus of oil sincethe 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 moregrim annually, as a great majority of the oil produced today is from fields discovered almostforty 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 whenapproximately half of the original resource remains, and thereafter deplete. The renownedAmerican 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

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States between 1965 and 1970. Based on data available at that time Dr. Hubbert furtherprojected that the world’s oil would peak round about the year 2000, and though he may havebeen off by a few years, it has been proven that the world’s current oil production is on thedownward slope of his graph (Bartlett, April 20, 2005).In 1973 and 1979, the world’s economy experienced a recession that has been attributed to thepolitical instability and subsequent oil embargo of the Middle East. The uncanny truth is thattwo-thirds of the world’s oil reserves are located in this region; hence, it has a disproportionateinfluence on the world. (World Oil Outlook, 2008). This dependency on the Middle East limitsforeign policy options by forcing world leaders to appease and sometimes even actively supportunjust autocrats in the region (Beckett, 2005). One example of the turmoil that spurts from ourunhealthy demand for oil is the Persian Gulf War in which the United Nations (UN) had tointervene 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 heldoil field. Another is the more recent Iraq War, on which the government of the US has spenttrillions of dollars from the national budget. This excessive spending, along with the increase inoil prices, has resulted in the war has been speculated as one of the main causes of the presenteconomic recession in the United States, and by extension the world. Many have alsoconjectured that the reason for Iraqi invasion was not a fight on terrorism, as billed by thegovernment, but an attempt to control the oil reserves in Iraq. It is indeed unwise to allow theworld’s economic and political decisions to be so influenced by a region that is notorious for itsblatant acts of terrorisms. It is imperative that we adapt to alternate sources of energy in orderto 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 thesunlight;

hydropower

in water;

wind power

from airflow; and

geothermal power

generated byheat stored in the earth; are all adept sources of energy that have been employed since thehuman inhabitation of this earth. Yet renewable energy comprises only 17% of the energyconsumed 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 technologicalresearch; the ramifications of its use, however, are calamitous. Global warming is one effectevident in the recent unpredictability of atmospheric change and climate activity. Fortunatelysome nations have already taken the initiative to research the possibility of making renewableenergy economically viable. Spain has enacted energy laws to facilitate investment by improvingthe legislative environment for renewable energy. They currently boast a 30% annual growthrate of renewable energy in power consumption with a majority of it coming from wind power.

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