Fossil+Fuels

Fossil Fuel Dependency Fossil fuels are one of the most important findings of human history. Because of oil and natural gas, population has exploded, and an unimaginable number of ideas and things have emerged from fossil fuels. Could man's greatest find also be his downfall? Fossil fuels are a limited resource, and one that is quickly running out. The world depends on oil from products to transportation; without oil nothing could go anywhere to the scale it does. The question is what we can do to wean ourselves off oil and change to something renewable and thus be able to sustain our modern life without this recourse. The answer, to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy and as soon as possible so that there is a smooth transition. Oil was discovered in the mid 1800s and within the next 100 years will not only reach its peak production but may dry up completely. The problem facing humanity is not when the last drop of oil is gone, but when production stops increasing. Once it starts to decline is when the problem will arise. The transition must all ready be set up and smoothly replace oil as supplies lower.

There are two reasons that are big for change currently: gas prices and saving the environment from claimant change. These are the reasons that renewable energy will advance. Gas prices are a very large factor of the consumers want for change. As supply slows down demand goes up along with prices. The recent push in electric vehicles comes from higher gas prices. With the world economy not doing so well people want a cheap alternative without changing their lifestyle. This shows supply and demand at work. Electric cars are quickly becoming marketable as gas prices go higher and higher. In 2007 when gas prices reached the three dollar mark, hybrid car sales reached 45,000.(//Economic down turn//) That shows how consumers react to prices and find an alternative even when it may be the more expensive option. That option is quickly becoming marketable though and not only because of how it looks to be driving a hybrid but it saves money in the long term as long as gas prices are high.

The world is not as one sided as it was 50 years ago; nations like China and India have exploded in population and in economic growth, therefore their need for fossil fuels. With more and more players in the game for oil it will not only be drained faster but causes much more demand which in turn raises prices. So what do we do as a world? Well, as of now not a whole lot. No matter how much we want to be environmentally friendly and be able to run on green energy there is always the need for the means to do so. So unless renewable energy can become competitive there will never be a market for it. That market will develop though, even if it comes down to gas prices being ten dollars a gallon. This may just be what the world needs to push the technologies to allow for the transition to a fossil fuel free world.

Many experts speculate on the amount of oil the world has left. These predictions are many times very different based on some key factors such as: what oil reserves will be open for development, and the amount of undiscovered reserves. According to a segment from, //The Energy Crisis// "Global oil supply projections vary significantly He estimated that daily global oil production would peak at 83 million barrels sometime between 2007 and 2010 In contrast, many U.S. government experts project that proven reserves plus undiscovered reserves will support another century of oil production at current levels of use." What does this mean? It means how long we have before something needs to be in place for change or there will be a catastrophic failure in the way the world runs. A statement from //The Oil Supply Crisis// says "The oil and gas system is far too tight, with only tiny cushions to offset an accident, more corrosion problems, an earthquake, a hurricane or a terrorist attack on any of a long list of vulnerable sites." This can be seen as true from recent news. The revolt in Libya has played a huge role in gas prices in America, and that to the point of possible opening America's fuel reserves. With unstable countries such as Libya one of the answers is to become involved like so many times before to stabilize oil production, or to wait it out and deal with the prices. This is one of the many problems with the way America uses oil and may be a window to the future of what it would be like to have dwindling oil reserves.

An exert from //Humans Will Find a Better Energy// states, "The biggest error made by the peak oil doomsdayers is in failing to recognize the adaptive nature of the world economy. When demand goes up and supply goes down, prices go up, and consumers look to alternatives. As alternatives become more popular than the original, prices drop in reaction to the reduced demand, and eventually a marginalized industry disappears. Markets react and adapt." If humanity is to continue at its current pace this will have to happen and why wouldn't it. The world economy has proved even in small spikes in prices that there is a reaction, and it happens quickly. Consumers will not stick with the prices for long before they are craving a solution if the technology for improvement is available. Why would oil react any different that it has in the past and why couldn't we be ready for the change?

Before we are pushed to a doomsday scenario humans will have time to react. Even if we are pushed the brink there will be "last ditch efforts" such as open closed reserves and finding a way to give us time. It will not be one day with oil then the next dry as a bone. We will have time and there will be a way to change. The technologies are in development and at the rate things come into being we may find oil to be the energy that is the expensive one. In the end we will find a way to survive and thrive.

Works Cited "UBC launches green energy project." Canadian Broadcasting Corporation [CBC] 26 Feb. 2011. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 2 Mar. 2011.

“Howlett, Karen. "Reinvented: as oil pirces soar, a $3-billion push to go green." Globe & Mail [Toronto, Canada] 25 Feb. 2011: A1. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 2 Mar. 2011.

"Humans Will Find a Better Energy Source Long Before Oil Runs Out." Oil. Debra A. Miller. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Current Controversies. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 2 Mar. 2011.

"The Energy Crisis." Is the World Heading Toward an Energy Crisis? Ed. Daniel A. Leone. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. At Issue. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 28 Feb. 2011.

"The Oil Supply Crisis Could Be Humanity's Greatest Challenge." What Is Humanity's Greatest Challenge? Ed. Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. At Issue. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 28 Feb. 2011.