Fuel Movie Essay

Bio diesel is good for the economy because it is a fuel which can be created from locally available resources such as vegetable oils, coffee grounds, and animal fats. Biodiesel production and use

A major source of controversy when it comes to biodiesel and other biofuels such as ethanol is what ingredient are used to make the fuel. When oils from crops are used, a number of problems can arise. For instance, biodiesel and other biofuels are often touted as environmentally friendly since they are typically made from plants, which suck the global warming gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to grow. However, the land may be damaged in order to grow these crops as demand for biofuels grow for example, in Indonesia, biodiesel may be causing deforestation, as native forests are destroyed to make way for palm oil plantations, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. The chemicals from agricultural fertilizers and pesticides may also upset ecosystems.

Oil damages the environment in other ways, such as the emissions oil produces into the atmosphere. Bryan Walsh says in his article, Over a Barrel, in TIME Magazine, that with the price of oil dropping, the urgency to find an alternative energy source is not where it should be. Walsh states that while we are not working to find another source to replace oil, the dependence on oil will only increase. It is estimated that oil production will increase by 20 percent by the year 2020. With the increase in production, CO2 levels will only increase in the atmosphere which will deteriorate the ozone layer of the atmosphere (Walsh).

Repercussions of burning oil have arisen more progressively. The debatable topic of global warming holds burning fossil fuels responsible for higher temperatures in colder climates. An article by World Book explains why oil is so harmful towards the environment. As more cars are produced more pollutants are released into the atmosphere, those pollutants cause smog in larger manufacturing oriented cities as well as, acid rain. Factories, burning oil, dispose of the remaining chemicals into bodies of water rendering them unsafe to drink for both humans and animals alike (Hunt par. 1). Another article produced through World Book describes the

In paragraph 6 Lovins states that “Inefficient light trucks and cars, which consume 40% of our oil, are at the center of our oil habit. And ultralight and ultrastrong materials for vehicles are the No. 1 enabling technology for changing that.” He reaffirms this point with many more facts and statistics throughout this article. Lovins’ other main point is the benefit of using biofuels as a substitute for oil. He encourages his point of view in paragraph one on page three by saying that “Oil industry giants like Shell and BP are already preparing to move beyond oil by transforming themselves into energy companies.”

The current technology in it’s infant stage isn’t capable of clearing the blockage to clean sustainable energy. According to a study by University of California, it is estimated that it will take 131 years to replace gasoline and diesel fuel which leave 90 years energy gap between end of conventional oil and alternative energy. Even if we start aggressively replacing biofuel, it will take much longer than the expected 30 to 40 years of known oil left so it is reasonable to conclude that it’s unlikely we will stop drilling and mining for oil even with all its known environmental and health risks. We can’t stop drilling but we can try to minimize the cost to our environment and our health through technological innovations but it will required great pressure from the people. We can’t rely economic forces to drive for innovation in energy because economic forces don’t account for 20 or 30 years ahead or any environmental factors; it simply cares only for short term profits. As long as oil remains relatively low, it will be business as usual because unless alternative energy can competitive in the market, it’s advancement and breakthrough will not occur. Biofuel have the potential to replace some of our fuel needs but replacing fields for fuel crops is challenge to our food supplies especially the future food crisis is an equally challenging problem in itself.

Josh Tickell producer and writer of a compelling discussion of how our world is depending on the production and use of oil. Tickells documentry "Fuel" shows a great insight to how guilty we are for the over use of this commodity. He explains through political power oil has been a catalyst for making the wealthy, wealthier. In trhe documenrty he depicts the devistation that the oil indusrty has created globally.

That fuel source is called corn-ethanol, and a majority of people can see the main ingredient, which is, corn in America 's farm fields. Corn is grown annually and it does not take millions of years to reproduce. Oil is a fuel source that takes millions of years to reproduce. A biofuel is the process of taking any once living plant and abstracting the plant 's energy to make a fuel. People in America are supporting Biofuels, including corn-ethanol because it does not require oil. It also reduces green house gasses, which makes it better for the environment (Cassman 59). The common view of ethanol is that it is just a research project to make the environmentalists happy but that is not true. It has the potential to keep America 's economy rolling, supply a fuel source, and still feed livestock with its byproducts. The key to success as a country is to use what we already have an abundance of in this country. The evidence is all there for this argument many Americans just need to become educated about this topic. The main

The oil, released from ruptured pipelines, sunken boats and disabled refineries, along with toxic chemical from industrials plants, bacteria from damaged sewage systems and small amounts of lead and arsenic, flowed into the ground water, drinking water and the Gulf of Mexico. “Crude is the least of the problem,” Dr. Paul Sam Marco, a researcher at the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, told the Wall Street Journal. In Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, the storm-flooded fire Superfund site, severely polluted industrial sites scheduled for federal cleanup, releasing some of the nation’s worst toxic materials. In conclusion, to my research, Hurricane Katrina causes several problems to the environment such as the effects to the water system, buildings, pipelines etc. Hurricane Katrina was one of the strongest storms to affect the coast of the United States during the last 100

In the United States oil consumption is an everyday occurrence, for every citizen. Our country without oil would not be able to function properly within all aspects of life. Our political, transportation and economics systems would all encounter drastic affects if there were no oil to transform into petroleum. Due to our huge dependency on petroleum products, oil companies like British Petroleum (BP), Exxon Mobil, and Saudi Aramco hold extreme power over many countries and make billions off our need to live our daily lives. The extraction of oil from these companies are causing life altering effects for future generations, by causing major environmental complications. Each of the three main oil companies have experienced oil spills that were damaging to the environments around them and gain the global attention, because of the size of the oils spills and the lack of effort to accurately clean the spills.

What if there was an up and coming fuel that has the properties of normal oil, but its side effects were not nearly as bad? Would you support it? Well there is such a thing. It has been around for a few years, but only in the near future does it have the potential to do good on a worldwide scale. This innovation is called algae biofuel. Algae biofuel is a fuel just like gasoline or diesel, but instead of being mined from the ground, causing irreparable damage, it grows in a pond and actually has positive side effects on the environment. Algae Biomass Organization states, “Algae-derived biofuel can reduce life cycle CO2 emissions by 50 to 70 percent compared to petroleum fuels.” Algae biofuel could be one of the solutions to our polluted atmosphere.

For over forty years now, scientists and researchers have been tirelessly searching for an alternative to fossil fuels. Biofuels have become an interesting contender in the search for the replacement of the non-renewable energy source. Biofuels have been used throughout history for over thousands of years. There is a large debate over biofuels and its true impact on the environment. Those involved in the discussion debating whether biofuels have any real overwhelming benefits compared to fossil fuels could argue for its usage. According to recent research performed by the University of Michigan, biofuels may not be the best alternative for fossil fuels. Regardless of its impact on the environment, biofuels are becoming more popular particularly when the price of oil rises.

In the world of global warming, all kinds of pollution and fuel shortages going on, renewable and clean/ green energy is increasingly the ideal solution of energy related problems we have to solve one way or another. Biofuel is one of the mainstream and highly supported solutions nowadays, an idea to make renewable fuel by living organisms such as fiber, corn, vegetable oil or sugar cane. Unlike nonrenewable fossil fuels over extracted by people causing various environmental problems like generating a considerable amount greenhouse gas, current technology already lets renewable fuel like biofuels to shrink a certain amount of greenhouse gas production, making it a more ‘clean’ source of energy.

Unlike gasoline or diesel, biofuels release little pollution. It can also be used to produce electricity by heating water using biofuels and using the steam produced to rotate a turbine. Another method is to allow the biofuel to decay and produce methane. Methane is commonly used as fuel for car, heating, cooking, and producing electricity.

The fact that so much oil is being taken out of the ground is causing problems because the more that is being taken out the higher the prices will be. According to the Toronto Star “We’re going to have a massive crisis as the cheap petroleum runs out” (Zerbisias3). As the prices increase the more conflicts will arise between countries. All of the oil being exported is majorly used for the transportation and production of energy in other countries. All of hydrocarbon molecules that make up crude oil and petroleum products are highly toxic to many organisms, including humans. The Maclean’s journal states that “ If everyone in North America started driving hybrid cars tomorrow, it would contribute just a fraction of the overall reduction needed to cut global emissions 50 per cent by 2050” (Colin2). If everyone around the world would drive hybrid cars it would make a big difference in the world. All of the toxins being released by the crude oil are of the main reasons why global warming is getting worst and worst as time goes by.