As we continue to consume fossil fuels on a scale never seen in human history, we are faced with the nagging but not imminent question: what is going to happen when we run out? It’s the same question any addict asks themselves, and the way they respond can affect the rest of their life. It is impossible to forget 2008: gasoline rose to nearly $4 a gallon, the stock market plummeted, millions lost their jobs, and Americans and foreigners alike responded in a way that only the fear of spending more money can motivate. Why are we as a global society so hooked on fossil fuels? Put simply, we can’t live without it. Few people-- outside of aspiring reality TV stars and the Amish-- would be willing to give up their precious electronics and …show more content…
Mansueto Ventures, LLC, 13 Nov. 2014. Web. 04 June 2015.)-- we would not only outgrow the earth’s resource limits, but we would need 5.4 earths to sustain humanity. Without access to fuel, industry is hindered. The time it takes to travel from point a to point b increases tremendously if there is a limit to the amount of fuel that one has access to. In the 1970’s during an “oil crisis”, gas stations limited customers to 10 gallons each. The need to stop at more gas stations more often will increase shipping time, decrease productivity, and hinder new nations in their development and entrance into the postmodern marketplace. The origin of the energy crisis stems from the days of the industrial revolution. Coal and Oil were more efficient than wood, and seemingly abundant across the globe. At one point, the ash from factories in Great Britain was so profuse that it turned the bark of trees a different color and caused the species of peppered moth to alter their coloration in fast-paced phenotypic evolution. Expand the scenario where human energy consumption and the subsequent alteration of climate exceeds the rate at which animals and biomes can adapt is a terrifying and very real one. A growing disparity between rich nations and poorer developing countries due to the rate at which technology is being adopted and economic maneuvering power No matter how hard we try, the effects of pollution are everywhere. From major catastrophes like the
While environmental questions are frequently channeled through practical and economic prisms, it is also appropriate to consider our econolgy as a function of morality. The ethical dilemmas which contribute to our policies and our behaviors regarding the use of fossil fuels and our attention to global climate change are frequently overshadowed by more immediate concerns of survival or mere comfort.
What generation will it be? Ours, your children’s, or your grandchildren; that will be the last that faces the consequences of the continued use of fossil fuels Let’s talk about energy the kind that we currently use and the ones that will eventually save our planet and our families. How will this happen you ask? By curbing our use on fossil fuels emplacing strict guidelines on waste. I know you think it’s a big planet
First, the reason why Fossil fuel dependence is such a horrible thing is because of global warming. Global Warming is anthropogenic, or caused by humans, because of fossil fuels. Within the last four decades we have seen drastic increase in energy usage with fossil fuels. This exponential use of fuels
Fossil fuels are considered to be natural products that are made from the remains of organisms that were once living, and is a non-renewable resource (Yvonne, Locke, 1) that has a big impact on our earth, but now people are trying to find ways to lower the earth’s carbon footprint. The fossil fuel industry is one that has been around for a very long time and is something that contributes in our everyday living, but now fossil fuel is something that is being considered precious material, and the way that we as consumers use it will have a big impact on the shape of our future country (Fossil Fuels 1). With all of this oil being collected in Canada it has a big effect on the economic spectrum as well
` The continuous use of fossil fuels is leading the Earth on a path to destruction. Generations of advancement and technological innovation being brought down to rubble. Natural disasters wreaking havoc on innocent people across the world. Temperatures soaring above 125℉ globally. These are the results of the excessive use of fossil fuels. A chief concern in the 21st century is global warming and climate change, and the continued use of fossil fuels for the technology and daily lives of humans is key to blame. Decades ago, these problems were much more daunting and seemingly unsolvable than they are today, with the use of alternative energy sources and new
At some point in everyone’s lives, we are affected by the rising gas prices in today’s economy. Natural gas is not a renewable resource, since there is a fixed amount of it trapped in the Earth. However, many people carry the misconception that there is a very limited amount of natural gas, and that we may use all of it up. This isn’t true. The gas shortages of the 1970's were prompted by the government’s lack of faith in the industry’s ability to discover and develop new reserves, not by lack of gas supply. The unfortunate impression left by the shortages of gas in the 1970's caused the people to believe that there was a small amount of gas left. On the contrary, the gas resource base is vast, and probably even
Although thought to be “not a big problem” and “under control” by most people, pollution is making its way in being a serious and an unforgiving threat to society. Pollution a topic everyone hears and knows exists. What they don’t know is how serious of a problem it is already becoming. Many health issues are being reported now that are linked to air pollution and even the most severe weather places have encountered are linked to air pollution also. By society, not fully being aware of the true threat that pollution is making, it will only become a growing threat that they will be encountering.
America the beautiful, land of the greed and the home of oil. Along with being a major superpower comes an insurmountable thirst for fossil fuels. Imperialist ideals and the corporate oil empire can bring stability and jobs but heavy costs also arise. Numerous solutions have been tried, but without fixing the underlying problem more issues are inevitable. Our over-consumption has an incredible effect on our reliance on foreign oil. OPEC, the Organization of the Oil Producing Countries, has supplied Americans with a constant flow of both oil and jobs. Nevertheless, progression comes with high cost to our environment, in addition to pulling us into international involvements. Increasing the United States’ domestic oil production was just a
Throughout the entire modern age, mankind has used fossil fuels to meet its energy requirements. Coal, oil and natural gas have lit homes and powered machinery for centuries, driving civilization forward. But as human
Energy is an integral part of our daily lives. While organisms get energy to move from food, non-living appliances such as phones, lights, cars etc. get their energy from other renewable or non-renewable sources. The majority of energy consumed comes from non-renewable energy sources: fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal) and nuclear energy. In the past few decades, the issue of a potential “energy crisis” has arisen. Since people nowadays use such large amounts of fossil fuels, they will run out in the near future. Out of the three fossil fuels, oil and gas are the most widely used. It is predicted that, without taking into account the new reserves that could become accessible with the advancement of technology, oil and gas
Fossil fuels well that’s a thing that I have always taken for granted until I saw the documentary of Crude Impact. Well I did know that the population is increasing abundantly but what I didn 't know is when the consumers increase in such a vast number so does the production. Now imagine this just one person has 30,000 items that relates to fossil fuels and multiply by the seven billion on our world population. That’s a great quantity of items that relates to fossil fuels in our daily lives. People need to start getting a reality check of what may happen if we continue to use our fossil fuels so much we may lead to environmental degradation. For instance, in the Titanic even though the ship was sinking many people said this is an
Since, fossil fuels have been a part of our environment for some time now, they have been the main resource we’ve needed and used to keep our country running. The truth of the matter is, since we obtain fossil fuels from plants and animals that lived millions of years ago they will soon be gone. As indicated by Eric McLamb, founder, chief executive officer, and president of the ecology communications group, “The problem is fossil fuels are nonrenewable. They are limited in supply and will one day be depleted.” People realize that the crisis of running out of fossil fuels is upon us; however, these same people are timid about moving on to renewable energy. One main reason is because individuals do not believe renewable energy is cost efficient. For instance, solar energy is known to be fairly expensive, particularly more expensive than the conventional energy used now, which makes people uncertain about changing to renewable energy.
Coal and natural gas are the United States’ main fossil fuels used as energy sources. These fossil fuels both contain mixtures of hydrocarbons, which is a chemical compound of carbon and hydrogen (Olah, 2005). Currently, fossil fuels provide eighty-five percent of commercial energy, such as businesses, worldwide and this eighty-five percent does not even account for residential use. Imagine if the residential energy use was accounted for in that eighty-five percent (Davison, 2007). According to Goodell (2006), “Between 1950 and 2000, the world population increased by 140 percent and fossil fuel consumption increased by 400 percent. By 2030, the world’s demand for energy is expected to more than double,” with most of the electricity
Fossil fuels are essential to life on earth as we know it today. Our world would certainly be much different if it weren’t for such seemingly simple things such as coal, oil, and natural gas. These basic elements of life on earth may not seem like a major concern to some people until we put into perspective how they have shaped our world today. Civilizations have been built, economies have risen and crumbled, and even wars have been fought over these precious fossil fuels. However, these fossil fuels serve us in ways we may never truly appreciate, as long as we use them as recklessly as we do now. The major entity about fossil fuels is concerning their longevity and permanence in our world, and we all know, they will be around forever.
The world is currently run on decayed plants and animals that have been transformed into crude oil, coal, and natural gas, by exposure to heat and pressure over millions of years. These materials are known today as fossil fuels, and they produce 84% of all energy created in the United States (Suplee 2014). Although these sources are extensively used, they have a limited supply, eventually they will run out. Even with new extraction methods such as fracking and offshore drilling the deposits of fossil fuels in the world will diminish because of the extreme rate at which they are being used. There is much speculation as to when the Earth will be sucked dry, but whether it’s 10 years from now or 1000, the threat still looms.