Group Pages:

 Kelsey and Eleanor's Oil Blog

[Guess which countries have the most!!....<sarcasm>

isnt it slightly obvious. however, this is a nice graph

to look at because it shows how much we need

the oil because we lack it....and how much the middle

east actually does have.....]

A graph outlining world oil reserves(by country)

Question 1:

 Q1) Is your personal consumption of oil part of the problem?

 A) As a part of the gas-guzzling society that is America, we believe that everyone contributes to this problem. Power lies in numbers and at this present time a huge percentage of the population takes their oil consumption too lightly.It is a simple fact of this technologically advanced generation that we do not think about the consequences as we drive around in our extravegant SUVs or engage in other activities that are proving wasteful to the earth. Every drop of oil we use is a drop of oil coming from the Middle East or other oil-producing countries, and it is those millions of drops of oil that we will use in our lifetimes that cause the enviromental, political, and economic problems of today. 

 yumyum. i like oil. yum.  CHUG CHUG CHUG!!!...haha not really.

Question 2:

Q2.) What impact does oil have on our environment?

Oil is a non-renewable source and simply stated, that means once the current supply runs out, there are no guarantees that we will ever find more. Oil, as a substance in its natural state,does no harm to the enviroment. In contrast, it is what we do to manipulate and process oil for our own purposes that has an effect. We use a processed type of oil, gasoline, in our vehicles and when that gas is used dangerous fuels are emitted into the atmosphere. These emission fuels( from any source ranging from the exhaust pipe of a car to a can of hairspray to a giant smokestack of a factory) are depleting the ozone layer and therefore allowing more harmful UV rays into our atmosphere, and it is this that causes global warming. 

 An oil well......typical method for extracting oil

Question 3:

 Q3) Are there any viable energy alternatives?

 There are plenty of new energy sources that we can begin to use. Ethanol probably the one that has been our the longest and that the most people know about. Ethanol is just a substance taken out of plants that make suger, like corn or potatoes. They then mix it with some gasoline depending on the type of ethanol fuel it is going to be. This type of fuel is the most realistic alternative to gas, however for the cars that are out right now, they do require some amounts of gasoline, and thus this alternative isn't completely reliable. Besides, ethanol is really only for cars, and oil is used or a number of other things. Another source of energy that might be a possible alternative is solar power. People are actually building buildings that are completly reliable upon this source of energy. Even cars can use solar power to move. This is also a very handy source of energy because unlike ethanol and gasoline, it doesnt cost a penny to get the fuel, unless of couse the government puts a tax on sunshine.                                              <Ethanol site>  http://www.ethanol.org/index.php?id=34&parentid=8

(haha, not really. But why not.)

Question 4:                                                  

Q4) Is there a connection between oil and violence in the middle east?

 There is a connection to the violence in the middle east. Obviously it is to blame for a number of casualties that have happened in the middle east. however, i do not believe that this was one of the original reasons for the violence between the US and Iraq. there were other reasons that these two countries were, and still are fighting. bush's primary reasons were simply, he thought that they had WMD's, and he wanted to finish what his father started. Now, this isnt saying wether or not it was right or wrong to pick a fight with Iraq, but it happened. Oil, now later in the conflict, may be a part of the reason that the US is still there, but it is not the sole reason for the casualties and the war.

Tangent if the day...

This whole situation is quite simply like a child with candy. the middle easy has the child's candy(oil)..and the US is like the child.... the US wants candy..and does anything to get it....and wants more and more and more and more and more and more....and more..... and more...got it? :] now, i dont know what to say. you finish the rest....:]

 "Peak Oil- How Will You Ride the Slide?"

---An interesting, animated depiction of the oil crisis throughout history

Sources:

1. Kelsey's Brain
2. Eleanor's Brain

 (do we have to have sources?)

Contributors:

 KelseyR, EleanorD

 Create your own educational wiki!HelpPublic, not yet premium Privacy Policy RSS