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Is Oil Evil?

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

PT.1

Is your personal consumption of oil part of the problem?

69 bbl (barrels) per day per 1000 Americans

42 gallons per barrel

2891 gallons per 1000 people

3 GALLONS OF OIL PER AMERICAN PER DAY

Above are my calculations for the average American's daily oil consumption. 3 GALLONS PER DAY!? Sickening. What's more, over 60 percent of our country's oil is used for transportation purposes. So YOU use 1.8 gallons EACH DAY getting from your house to school to the mall to McDonald's - which probably uses just as much of oil per french fry - to your friend's house to basketball practice and then back home again. And so do I. My personal consumption of oil is undeniably a part of America's oil addiction and, subsequently, contributes the depletion of the ozone layer, the dip in the US economy, and the loss of thousands of American and Iraqi lives in the extensive, distorted US-Iraq war.

Caitlin and Maya, 13 December 2007

PT.2

What impact does oil have on our environment?

Carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of oil wreak havoc in our environment. Temperatures rise. Glaciers melt. Tropical storms plague innocent people. Animals die. Eventually, life as we know it will reach a standstill if we do not cut back on our excessive oil usage. But wait--life as we know it entails this absurd amount of oil being used each day. Why change it? And some people say that global warming is made up, just a hoax to freak us out.

But how can they brush off the aberrational weather changes, hurricanes, and the resulting deaths, blaming it on 'normal atmospheric fluctuation?' Global warming is a huge issue caused in large part by the world's use of oil in cars, machinery, factories, and heating. Tremendous amounts of greenhouse gas emissons undoubtedly result in the gradual, yet threatening, increase in the temperature of the earth's surface. In addition, the depletion of the ozone layer is a direct result of the exploiting of fossil fuels, namely oil. The holes in this vital layer of our atmosphere contribute greatly to the abnormal weather and temperature patterns, as well as put humans at an increased risk of skin cancer and other diseases. We must clean up our atmosphere by reducing the amount of oil we use and, subsequently, the CO2 we release into the environment, to protect the health and well-being of current and future generations.

The following short clip depicts the effects of carbon dioxide and other fossil fuel emissions on the environment.

Caitlin and Maya, 12 December 2007

PT.3

Are there any viable energy alternatives?

Allow me to let you in on a little secret--We don't have to use oil. Why is this a secret? Good question. If our government would stop talking about how great fuel-efficiency could be and, instead, take the initiative to advertise and produce alternate fuel, our ozone layer would be on the road to rapid restoration. The following news clip explains a revolutionary alternative to oil use - breaking down water and electricity through a unique electrolysis process. The process converts water into HHO gas, which can power oil dependent machines, such as automobiles. It is proven that only 4 ounces of water would fuel a 100 mile car trip! In other words, this new technique produces energy by passing an electric current through water.

Please watch the following video for more information about this valuable alternative to oil usage.

Caitlin and Maya, 6 December 2007

PT. 4

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

There is definitely a connection between oil and violence. Over the past decades, we have seen a trend in the Middle East and its oil being linked to fighting and killings. In the past, during 1953-1954, Iraqi people were receiving little money for the oil exported even though oil revenues were sky rocketing. This resulted in street protests and the government instituting martial law. This included banning political parties and imposing a curfew for citizens. It amazes me that 50 years later, we still have not solved the oil and violence conflict. As we all know, on September 11, 2001 an al-Qaeda group attacked the U.S. Thousands of people died! Thousands!! This attack may have been executed due to the United States’ presence in the Middle East, especially since some believe the U.S. just wants oil. No matter what the reason is though, this truly shows that oil and violence go hand in hand in the Middle East.

The following video gives more information about current violence occuring in the Middle East that is linked to oil. For more information, please watch parts 1 and 3 of the clip. (Below is Part 2)

Caitlin and Maya, 13 December 2007

Sources:

Contributors:

Maya and Caitlin

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Recent comments:

Joe Wood:	Great job guys. I personally find it amazing about the HHO gas that point 3 talks about. I looked into the matter further, and people could really live off of water fuel in their cars and other machinery. I personallly find it apalling that we as americans consume 3 gallons of oil a day per person. If but a single person can cut back on their oil consumption, we can drasticly reduce the overall cunsumption. Nice work!
Yunus Shabandri:	Your facts and information make readers think about what you are saying. For example in question one, you talk about the amount of oil each person uses. The statistics you use shock the reader and force them to think about how each one of us contribute to global warming. Also your use of video is also good, but you could also have used pictures. They could have gone in nicely along with the text. As they say, "A picture is a thousand words." Other than that, good job on your blog.
E.D.:	Wonderful Caitlin and Maya. Each of your answers were professionally either argued against with believable reasons or supported with believable reasons. A personal comment would be to address you reasons for global warming. You both have seen the statistics in both videos watched after break and I do agree with you that global warming has been an covered up issue for a long time. I do not think though that humans are the main conflict in global warming from the facts but even so it would do us no harm to clean up the environment instead of harming it for a change. On the matter of requirements for this blog I believe you successfully met the match for each criteria. Good job.

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