Issues In Beyond Oil

Great Essays
The world we live in is changing daily. Fossil fuel consumption has to be reduced, before our planet can begin to repair the damage man has caused. “It is estimated the world uses 87.8 million barrels of crude oil a day” (Friedman 195). “In 2000 it was estimated that the US consumed nearly 20 million barrels of oil a day, which is about 5% more than similar nations” (195). Oil consumption demand is going to increase as long as the supply can meet the demand. Once the supply is depleted, the prices will only increase. “It is predicted that oil consumption will peak by the year 2019” (Deffeys 7). Crude oil when burned emits gases like carbon monoxide. These gases are harmful to humans and the environment. Crude oil will eventually run out if it continues to be used at the rate it is now. Crude oil comes from drilling reservoirs in the Earth’s surface. “It will take the earth thousands of years to regenerate more crude oil” (8). The Earth will fix itself, the only question is: can the human population survive the healing process and conditions? (Deffeys) Increased drilling here in North America is only a short term fix to the real issues with Fossil Fuel. …show more content…
More oil is not the answer, making the other guys use his first will only cause conflict in the future. I found it interesting in Kenneth Deffeys book “Beyond Oil”, he explains how, “for years during the 1950’s up to the 1970’s America was the leader in oil production” (Deffeys 17). Now the Middle East is the world’s largest extractor of oil, in countries like Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and oil is their main product of export. The Middle East is very unstable and an unreliable source for oil. For example, look at the situation in the Middle East with terrorist groups such as ISIS or ISIL, in their attempts at creating a country of extreme Islamic rule, they have managed to cause chaos for everyone in the region. Surprisingly the price of crude oil has stayed low. Is the work of our government? Our current President has a Global Warming/Climate agenda that he has never abandoned. After taking this course and reading the text, I have changed my feelings concerning this issue. Reading about Carbon reservoirs, I now know this is a real problem that needs to be addressed. How does America even consider moving away from its dependency of crude oil? There are alternatives, like E85 ethanol and biodiesel, which can help to slow or put an end to these issues. These two sources are also sources that can be run in today’s conventional gasoline and diesel engines, with in some cases little to no modifications. Alternative fuels such as e85 ethanol and biodiesel need to be more widely used in America: it would lift dependence on foreign oil, give more work to the struggling industries in the American economy, costs little and is easy to convert, and does not harm the environment as much as gasoline or diesel. E85 ethanol and Biodiesel are both alternative fuels that come from natural sources. Therefore it is renewable, unlike fossil fuels. Ethanol is grain alcohol derived from corn, switch grass, sugarcane, and other renewable sources (Ethanol FAQ). There are even ways garbage can be made into ethanol. To make ethanol corn or other sources are ground up and distilled. This process is very similar to the distillation of alcohol and the final product is similar to alcohol such as Jack Daniels (Nerad 59). The final product of the distillation is pure ethanol which is very flammable. It is so flammable that it has an octane ratio so high that it is not suitable for the average vehicle. Pure ethanol has an octane ratio of about 105 to 113 (Nerad 58). Octane is the rate fuel burns at a given compression. If too high of an octane is used it could cause a ping or explosion of fuel in the combustion chamber. Engine ping is not good and could cause engine damage. An engine needs to burn fuel not explode it. A motor with high compression, such as a sports car motor, needs a higher octane ratio such as 93 or it may ping. Pinging will also occur if too low of

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