Is Oil Evil?

 

    1. PT.1 Is your personal consumption of oil part of the problem?
      1. Oil Consumption Video:
    2. PT.2 What impact does oil have on our environment?
      1. World Oil Consumption Graph:
    3. PT.3 Are there any viable energy alternatives?
      1. Hybrid:
      2. Fuel Cell:
      3. Ethanol:
      4. Electric:
    4. PT. 4 Is there a connection between oil and violence in the Middle East?  
    5. Sources:
    6. Contributors:

 

 

 

 

 

PT.1 Is your personal consumption of oil part of the problem?

 

One person’s oil consumption is not generally part of the problem. The problem is the amalgamation of each human being situated mutually.   The major reason why oil is so insufficient is for the reason that of automobiles. A colossal amount of people own a multiple amount of vehicles, my family personally owns three.  Below is a short video I located on YouTube to facilitate your understanding:

Oil Consumption Video:

 

 

I hope the video helped you. There are additional videos you can look at if you are still not relatively getting the idea that WE USE TOO MUCH OIL! All these fancy cars that everyone wants; for example, the Hummer, this vehicle is a gas guzzler. All for a nice ride on your way to work? There are better alternatives of cars, such as Hybrids. These vehicles will help our economy. In general, my consumption of oil participates in the tribulations we are having today.

 

 By Chelsea Germano, December 11, 2007

PT.2 What impact does oil have on our environment?

 

 

The impact that oil has on our environment is the fact that we use gargantuan amounts of it everyday. Without oil, people would not know what to do with themselves. Our vehicles would be no use, so how would people get transportation? I suppose by the time oil runs out, they might have more affordable vehicles that run on electricity. At the moment, the automobiles that run on electricity are rather expensive. Why would people buy those vehicles when they can buy a cheap affordable vehicle that runs on gasoline? If we do the calculations correctly, sooner or later, it will be cheaper to buy an electrical vehicle because the gas prices will be so high, in my opinion; it makes more sense to buy an electric vehicle.  In conclusion I would like to state that oil has been so hackneyed, that it will be hard for us to live without it. It is practically a necessity.

 

World Oil Consumption Graph:

 

 

By Chelsea Germano, December 11, 2007

PT.3 Are there any viable energy alternatives?

 

 

 

 

Now, unlike Dimitry, who thinks that there is no chance for alternative energy, I think that there are many possibilities.  Since this blog is centered on oil, and the main consumer of oil is the automobile, I concentrated more on alternative energy for cars.  That includes hybrid, fuel cell, ethanol, and electric, not solar, wind, geothermal, or biomass as others have talked about.

Hybrid:

Many companies, and slowly countries, are starting to embrace hybrid cars.  Hybrid cars still use gasoline, but considerable less than conventional cars.  Most of the newer ones have two engines: one gas powered and one electric/ethanol powered.  However, for purists, this type of car will not meet standards simply because of all the CO2 emissions released.  The car still uses the gas engine a lot of the time, even if it is working together with the electric engine.  The video below (even though it is clearly an advertisement for Toyota) does an exceptionally good job at explaining one hybrid vehicle.

 

Fuel Cell:

This type of car is still being developed, and the first commercial car running only on fuel cells is far into the future.  Fuel cells work the best with hydrogen, and the good thing about that is it’s everywhere!  The air and oceans are full of it.  Basically, a fuel cell car would take the hydrogen and pull the electricity out of it to power the car.  This engine would run solely on a fuel cell engine, with no gasoline needed.  However, this does have some drawbacks.  The main concern is that fuel cell engines are simply too big and too expensive.  However, that would be by today’s standards, when gas is relatively cheap.  Also, there is the danger of holding hydrogen in large quantities, since hydrogen is an explosive substance in large quantities.  The video below shows you, in more detail, how a fuel cell works.

 

 

Ethanol:

This alternative energy is the most known earth-friendly fuel.  Ethanol is basically plant alcohol, and can be derived from all kinds of biomass, from corn to wood.  Ethanol is mixed with gasoline to from the fuel “E85” which is 85% ethanol and 15% gas.  E85 runs on a slightly altered internal combustion engine, called the Flex-Fuel engine.   This, like the hybrid, is not completely earth friendly, since it still gives off CO2 emissions.  Ethanol also has its fair share of disadvantages.  The main problem is that very few gas stations offer E85, even though millions of vehicles can run on it.  Another problem is that less corn will be used for food, since most of it would be going towards ethanol.  Even though ethanol has problems, Brazil is a shining example of using it.  This link tells all about Brazil’s success story, and how it is the only country in the world that is completely energy-dependent.  The video below summarizes all of what happened and more details about ethanol.

 

 

Electric:

The electric car famously died a decade ago, but the new and improved zombie form is back to haunt us all.  The electric cars of today are constructed of extremely durable and lightweight carbon and aluminum.  The lithium-ion batteries are from the future, and the small combustion engines are no longer needed, but they are still there.  The batteries can be charged three ways-the first by the small combustion engine; the second by the braking and deceleration of the car; and third by plugging the battery in to charge at home.  The video below gives a much better explanation on electric cars, but specifically on the Chevy Volt.    

 

 

 

By Faisal Chaudhry, December 11, 2007

 

PT. 4 Is there a connection between oil and violence in the Middle East?

 

 

 

 

 

The connections to oil and violence in the Middle East has always been present, but has been thrown into sharper relief in the past couple decades.  Ever since the oil wells have been nationalized, the fighting is no longer business against business, but nation against nation.  A current example of this is the ongoing War in Iraq.  Now, no one really wants to talk about this, especially the Bush administration, since the Weapons of Mass Destruction myth has been blown into pieces.  But everyone has always had, in the back of their minds, the oil factor in all this.  When President Bush decided to go gallivanting into Iraq and completely twist the country, he obviously had oil as a possible benefit, seeing as he was a former oil contractor.  Think about it.  Iraq had a military dictatorship (but the people have said they liked it better before the US invasion) AND huge amounts of oil.  That is the perfect formula for war.  And, for those of you conservative Republicans who will blindly follow the president to the end of this earth, and refuse to accept this truth, there is evidence in my “absurd” claim.  The main clue that the US invaded Iraq partly, if not mostly, because of oil, is the current agreement between the two governments-the American military stays in return for good business deals.  Since most of Iraq’s current business deals involve oil, or are indirectly related to oil, you can say that the American military is in Iraq for good oil deals.

 

By Faisal Chaudhry, December 11, 2007

 

Sources:

  1. http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=6817

  2. http://www.chevrolet.com/electriccar/

  3. http://www.toyota.com/prius/

  4. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-cell.htm

  5. http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/renewable/ethanol.html

     

 

 

 

 

Contributors:

 Faisal Chaudhry and Chelsea Germano

 

 

This page has been viewed 1 times.

 

Recent Visitors:

 

Page Information

  • 8 months ago [history]
  • View page source
  • You're not logged in
  • Recent comments:
    Joy:Clearly you guys spent time and a great amount of effort in accomplishing this blog. The videos and picture really related to the questions well. The format of the blog was also very well put together;however, questions one and two could use a bit more information. The information given was good, but you guys could go more into depth. Otherwise, your blog is absolutely fabulous!
    rasha:I really liked your blog. It had videos and a picture which helped portray your thoughts and ideas. Since you added lots of videos, my attention was completely stuck to your blog. Also, you guys knew what you were talking about, and the whole thing was fascinating. Personally I think that there could have been a little more information added to some of the questions. It seems that both of you put in a lot of effort to make it, and I suppose that is why it is really good.
    Taylor M.:This blog is very well organized and written. The ideas of the writers were expressed very eloquently and being very informative without being to long. The charts and video clips were very relevant and good features to add to the blog.
  • No tags yet learn more

Wiki Information

Recent PBwiki Blog Posts