Narrative

Problems With the Use of Oil

Earth Day is a day when people vow to make the earth cleaner and a better place to live. However, on Earth Day 2004, the Bush administration invited oil-industry officials to the Environmental Protection Agency inorder to discuss a plan that will allow for higher sulfur content gasoline to be sold during the summer. The purpose of this plan is reduce the cost of gasoline. However, Frank O'Donnell of Clean Air trust states it will only "trim oil prices by as much as a nickel a gallon" and "because sulfur is a prime contributor to both urban smog and soot, it could also result in an increase in health problems."

In response to environmental critics, California Governor Arnold Schwarzeneggar promised to retrofit one of his six "gas-swilling Hummers to run on eco-friendly hydrogen power." This has yet to happen. And rather than trying to solve the problems regarding fuel-inefficient cars, the Bush administration has pushed through a tax break giving consumers an incentive to by bigger, fuel-inefficient cars.

Among the problem of atmospheric pollution, other problems associated with using oil as an energy source is its limited reserve in specific geographical locations and the output of carbon dioxide. The large quantity of carbon dioxide greatly contributes to an increase of the greenhouse effect-increase in temperature on Earth.

Advantages of Oil Use

Although oil is used throughout the world for energy, the drawbacks far outweigh the advantages. After extensive research I have found few advantages for using oil as an energy source-namely that it's transportable and cheap.

Possibilities for Reduction in Oil Usage

Due to the fact that oil is such a major source of energy for the world, as well as a money maker, the only option at this time is to try to reduce the negative impact of oil. The first thing we need to do is try to reduce the amount of oil used by generated more electricity from clean and renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. We can also make cars go farther with less gas. This will not only help with our dependency on foreign oil, but will also save consumers billions of dollars. Stronger enforcement of existing laws is also a necessary step. This will help protect our lakes and rivers from further pollution. Lastly, we must preserve our last wild places for current and future generations.

Ten Year Forecast

Oil is intended to be the dominant source of energy until 2025. The world energy consumption is projected to increase 54 percent since 2001. The nations of developing Asia, including China and India, is projected to produce the fastest growth in consumption of oil due to robust economic growth. The increase in the United States and Asia is projected to account for 60 percent of the world consumption of oil over the period from 2001 to 2025.