Is Oil Evil?

 

  1. Is Oil Evil?
    1. PT.1
    2. PT.2
    3. PT.3
    4. PT. 4
    5. Sources:
    6. Contributors:

 

PT.1

Is your personal consumption of oil part of the problem?

 

Yes, there has been a big problem going on for not just me, but for the whole world's consumption of oil. We need oil fuel energy for our every day life, and the biggest usage of fuel in our lives are transportation. Our automobiles use fuel to keep moving and transport ourselves to the location where we want to be. But oil is a norenewable resource so there is a limited amount of oil resources in the world that we are living in. So before the oil runs out we must find an alternative energy source that we can use in place of fossil fuels.

 

 

 

PT.2

What impact does oil have on our environment?

 

Like mentioned in Part 1, fuel energy is mostly used in automobiles. And the automobiles create harmful pollution

in air, which affect the ozone layer that is around the Earth atmosphere. Through the holes in Ozone layer, the sun

exposes its rays onto the glaciers in north and south poles, and melt the ice, which will cause the ocean level to

rise drastically. Our environment will be out of order, when ocean level is higher, because then for the

sea creatures, their home and shelter gets taken away and have nowhere to live.

 

Also when burning oil, the carbon dioxide released increases the greenhouse effect which regulates the temperature on Earth. If the temperature goes out of whack then life on Earth will disapear because life only exists at certain temperatures.

 

Oils spills are also extremely dangerous to the environment. Oil is shipped by sea to other countries. When these oil tankers sink, thousands of gallons of oil kill thousands of animals in the sea. Birds are poisoned when they attempt to clean themselves. Animals get hypothermia, causing their body temperatire to be too low. Many other types of organisms die such as killer whales, sea otters, fish, plankton and other small organisms. Entire species can become extinct from oils spills. The oil is also very hard to clean up, and the chemicals contaminate the water. Oil spills have long term effects on the water. many animals don't recover from the oil spills.

 

 

Watch the effects of this devastating 58,000 gallon oil spill:

 

 

 

 

 

PT.3

 

There are many energy sources out there other than fossil fuels that we could use. To name a few there are:

  • Geothermal Power
  • Solar Power
  • Hydroelectricity
  • Wave Power
  • Wind Power
  • Biomass Power
  • Tidal Power
  • Nuclear Power

 

Why are we depending on oil instead of these sources? If we continue to use at the rate we are right now, we will run out of oil in about forty years.

 

 

 

One of the many alternative enrgy sources is solar energy. Most of the enrgy on Earth traces back to the sun. We eat animals, who eat plants. Those plants use energy from the sun to do photosynthesis to survive. Fossil fuels are dead remains of plants. They themselves use energy from the sun. So why don't we use enrgy from the sun for elecctricity. The sun would be an excellent source of energy because it is renewable and it does not hurt the environment. The only problem is that it cannot be used in places where it is not sunny. But solar power has more advantages than disadvantages.

 

Another source of power is nuclear power. Nuclear power produces enormous amounts of electricity compared to other energy sources. Nuclear power also does not emit carbon dioxide. But nuclear power harms the environment in other ways. The radioactive waste produced by nuclear power can be harmful for several thousand years. The uranium needed for the power plants is not a plentiful resource. It might last between 30 to 60 years depending on demand. Also nuclear power plants can have failures producing devastating explosions killing lots of people. To learn more about the pros and cons of nuclear power, go to http://timeforchange.org/pros-and-cons-of-nuclear-power-and-sustainability.

France has already come to their senses and are using nuclear power for energy.

 

 

 

 

 

PT. 4

Is there a connection between oil and violence in the Middle East?

 

    Yes,  I think there is a connection between oil and violence in the Middle East. Oil is unevenly distributed throughout the Middle East. Most of the oil is concentrated in the region around the Persian Gulf. Small countries such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have gotten very rich becuase of oil. In Saudi Arabia the wealth coming in from the oil goes straight to the royal family. The Saudi Royal family makes millions of dollars because of oil while many other people are starving in the Middle East. Other countries that don't have a drop of oil resent those that have billions of oil barrels. This resentment can boil up to war and has more than once.

 

 

    Many people also think that the US invaded Iraq to save our oil supply. Because the US obtain most of their oil from the Middle East, people say that George Bush invaded Iraq to save the oil supply located there. Many have died in Iraq because of this conflict.

 

 

    Here are a few wars that have occured because of oil in the Middle East:

  • Gulf War (caused Saddam Husein)
  • War in Iraq
  • Conflict over oil in Sudan

 

Click here to see a timeline of violence in the Middle East connected to oil.

 

 

Sources:

  1. http://timeforchange.org/pros-and-cons-of-nuclear-power-and-sustainability
  2. http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/category/alternative-energy/solar/
  3. http://www.itopf.com/marine-spills/effects/
  4. http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215471/oil_spills.htm
  5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx6SPufDqeU&feature=related
  6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RpJ2u2EzhU
  7. http://www.ringnebula.com/Oil/Timeline.htm#alQaeda

 

 

Contributors:

Brian L. and Yunus S.

 

 

 

 


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  • Recent comments:
    Monica:Your blog was very good, and seemed well researched. you went pretty in depth on part two, as well as part three, though you could have given a brief explanation of some of the other fuel sources you mentioned in your list. I liked your videos and how they related to your arguments. I think you could have elaborated on how the wars you listed in part four were linked to oil, but the timeline that you had a link to was a good addition. You could have explained your picture better, but it was good how you included all of your sources. In general though, it was an informative blog.
    Caitlin and Maya:Very nice job on your blog! I liked how you voiced your opinions in a logic way so that it made everything seem so simple, but it would have been better if there were some more facts to back up your beliefs. It was good how you not only stated how global warming would effect humans but also how it would effect everything else in the environment. Overall, I think this blog was very well done and I agree with many of the points and arguments that you mentioned.
    Diana:I also think that you could have added more to the first part and that you could have elaborated more. You had a lot of good points in your second and third part. I like you made a list of some of the alternative energy sources. I also like your videos and how they flow with the rest of your argument. Your blog is nicely organized. Good job!
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