Sustainable Development : Developing New Technologies

The U.S obtains more than 84% of its energy from fossil fuels including oil, coal and natural gas. This is because people rely on it to heat their homes, power industries, run vehicles, manufacturing, and provision of electricity. It is apparent that the country’s transportation industry highly depends on conventional petroleum oil, which is responsible for global warming, thus threatening economic opulence and national security. Apart from that, increasing consumption of fossil fuels have elevated health problems in the state, destroyed wild places, and polluted the environment. After conducting Environmental Impact Assessment, projections showed that the world energy consumption would increase by more than 56% between 2010 and 2040. However, fossil fuels will cater for more than 80% of the total energy used in 2040. Sadly, it will be a trajectory to alter the world’s climate, as well as, weaken the global security environment. Importantly, the rate at which the US relies on fossil fuels needs to reduce since it has adverse effects on the planet’s supplies. The society needs to realize that fossil fuels are nonrenewable, thus taking millions of years to form (Huebner, 2003). Notably, the country can reduce dependency on fossil fuels by practicing energy conservation and efficiency,

Some nitrous oxides sulfur oxides lead to acid rain. It can have harmful effects on plants, animals and buildings. Oil spill in Gulf of Mexico this year caused ecological disaster. “An explosion occurred on the semi-submersible offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 rig workers and injuring 17 others. On April 24, it was found that the wellhead was damaged and was leaking oil into the Gulf. This significant spill poses a serious threat to wildlife, affecting as many as 400 species along the coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.” (Curry L. Hagerty, 2010) The number of fossil fuels is limited. Even they are enough now. Are they still enough in 50 years? So it is a time for our human beings to decide how to deal with the relationship with fossil fuels.

Different types of fossil fuels that were consumed were products such as Coal, Natural Gas, and conventional crude oil, the use of these different types of fossil fuels provided consumers with energy to complete their everyday living. It is important to know the advantages and disadvantages of Fossil fuels, some advantages would be; as of right now fossil fuels are readily available for use and there are about 100 trillion barrels of oil to still be mined (Coté, Michael 1). Another advantage is that they are very energy efficient; this means that they can produce large amounts of energy while using little of them. The last advantage is that they generate thousands of jobs for Canadians which helps with the way our economy is shaped, without oil, there would be thousands of people either unemployed or scouting for jobs that they qualify for. A disadvantage of fossil fuels can be that there are huge amounts of pollution entering the air and atmosphere every day, which is now having effects on the polar ice cap that is now melting because the earth’s average temperatures are changing every day. The pollution that comes with fossil fuels is having huge medical effects of our countries. Another disadvantage is that when there is an oil spill it is a huge disaster, when the trucks are travelling along the highway they can crash, which can lead to oil spilling all over the road, which is money lost for the government as well. When oil is being transported underground or in the ocean, if there is a leak it can do great damage to all of its surroundings such as, pollute the wildlife around it, pollute the waters of the ocean, but since oil always separates from water it sits on top of the ocean, which can provide an easier disinfection of the waters. If oil is spilt on the road it make’s a huge mess for people to clean because crude oil is not something that can be easily cleaned (Coté,

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.

Still people make the argument that oil is just too important to stop drilling and that if anything we should drill more. Again author Margaret Haerens talks about how “According to the nation academy of Sciences, current cleanup methods can only remove a small fraction of the oil spilled into the ocean, leaving the remaining oil to continue affecting ocean ecosystems over time” (126). The long term impacts of offshore spills continue to corrupt the oceans and who knows when they will completely be gone. The effects of the oil directly on sea life such as sea birds, fish, shellfish, and other sea life are extremely dangers. “Studies have shown that tiny amounts of oil – as little as one part per billion – can harm pink salmon and cause their eggs to fail” (Haerens Margaret). Imagine swimming in the ocean when a large pool of toxic oils comes floating along right into you when you are trying to enjoy a day at the beach. Not only is offshore drilling have one of the longest lasting ecological impacts on society and living things on and off shore, it effects our economy as well.

This disaster of the BP oil spill has caused many deaths: 64 mammals, 2,919 birds, and 489 sea turtles according to National Wildlife Federation and these numbers are going to continue to rise year after year till all the oil is cleaned up. Also, the Gulf is home to endangered species. Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are currently listed as endangered, and could go to threatened in the next couple years. Another example is the Bluefin Tuna which is labeled as endangered and could send them to extinction due to the massive oil spill. This is one dire effect that is hurting our ecosystem, and this same instance happened in Alaska with the Exxon Valdez oil spill. A great example of how gruesome the oil has taken on wildlife, look at Fig. B where a there is an oil-soaked pelican. I believe the world should change its main source of oil to a different less destructing fuel.

Fossil fuels are a major contributor to global warming. The use of oil, gas and coal is the enormous to fuel our transportation, warm our houses, and run our businesses. To begin with, oil is found in almost every area of our lifes. From the beginning of when we find oil to when we throw an oil product away we are adding to global warming. When they find oil, they get it out of the ground. When they get it out of the ground, they pollute the environment by using machinery. The machinery pollutes the air because the carbon monoxide is given off from the machines goes into our atmosphere. If they are “mining” the oil then large amounts of the land is destroyed and will take man, many years to grow again. Again the machinery that is used to strip the oil from the land pollutes the air with its carbon monoxide. The process that is used to take the oil out of the sand also pollutes the air. In addition to that, any of the products that are made from oil result in pollution in the way of factories putting smoke into the air.

Through the many years planet Earth has existed natural organisms have been created into oils that we use today. This process has occurs due to the process of organisms dying and floating to the ocean floor and over years getting covered by sediment which then creates oil. Since the discovery of petroleum over 150 years ago, the market for oil increased drastically. It’s still unknown if this discovery has been a positive for our world or negative. The good that has come from petroleum is the major industrialization that has taken place worldwide. While there are positives about petroleum there also are negatives that have a huge impact on the environment. Although we have been running strong and feeding countries with oil the supply source has to run out at some point. The movie The Human Footprint states how it’s projected that we will run out of resources such as oil by the year 2030. It’s a scary thought but how long petroleum has lasted for us is amazing. Using natural occurrences to supply for people can be made from anything using the technology there is today and it

The environment is negatively affected be the burning of fossil fuels. The affects of the gases contribute to global warming, along with acid rain and polluted air. This pollution cuts short an estimated 30,000 American lives according to the Clean Air Task Force (Rich). The United States must stop using fossil fuels because the gases produce harm the environment we live causing harm to come all the citizens. “The future of energy production will

In Santa Barbara, California, in 1969, even though the spilled oil was not even very large, thousands of dolphins, seals, and birds were killed (Ivanovich, and Hays, 2008). Moreover, in the Gulf of Mexico, 82,000 birds, roughly 6,165 sea turtles, approximately 25,900 marine mammals, and indefinite amount of oysters, fishes, corals, and crabs have been harmed or killed by the spilled oil. Additionally, the spilled has killed many aquatic plants. ( A Center for Biological Diversity Report, 2008). As a result, vegetation, which are the most essential part of the ecological pyramid, and other animals will be affected negatively by the dangerous impact of the spilled oil, which probably is going to cause some problems in the ecological pyramid. In fact, any defect in the ecological pyramid may become a dreadful problem that occurs an ecological

Fossil fuels are an important part of life. When you turn on the lights, watch TV, or take a shower, the electricity that you are using is being generated by fossil fuels. The three types of fossil fuels are coal, crude oil, and natural gas. They all take millions of years to form, so they are considered to be “non-renewable”- eventually, the fossil fuels will all be used up. One dangerous biological effect of using fossil fuels is ocean acidification. Extracting and transporting fossil fuels can also be very dangerous. Environmentally damaging accidents such as groundwater contamination, land subsidence, and oil spills occur frequently. Global warming is another possible environmental effect. Fossil fuels have a crucial role in modern

These fossil fuels serve to be very beneficial for our use and need for energy. The accessibility of these energy sources are relatively abundant in our environment. These sources of energy, specifically crude oil for example, are found in abundance underground in certain areas. For example, while there is not huge oil sources underground everywhere, there are large rigs in certain areas of the world that supply an astronomical amount of crude oil for our use. Places such as Saudi Arabia and Canada have been the 2 largest providers of non-renewable oil for the US. Similarly, there are many places in the US that non-renewable resources like oil and coal have been tapped into. These oil rigs and coal mines are being used at a rate that some worry is not sustainable, or responsible. The oil rigs, in particular, produce a real economic boom as well as the benefit to fulfill our energy needs. For example, back when gasoline was 4 dollars a gallon, it

Fossil fuels are essential to life on earth as we know it today. Our world would certainly be much different if it weren’t for such seemingly simple things such as coal, oil, and natural gas. These basic elements of life on earth may not seem like a major concern to some people until we put into perspective how they have shaped our world today. Civilizations have been built, economies have risen and crumbled, and even wars have been fought over these precious fossil fuels. However, these fossil fuels serve us in ways we may never truly appreciate, as long as we use them as recklessly as we do now. The major entity about fossil fuels is concerning their longevity and permanence in our world, and we all know, they will be around forever.

The most of global energy production produces from fossil fuel such as coal, oil and natural gas. The vast fossil fuels generate energy which use for many purposes for instant residential, transportation and industrial sectors. While the rate consumption of fossil fuel higher than their formation leads to oil price crisis. Another concern of fossil fuel combustion is the impact on the environment. Global warming is a significant problem which results in increasing concentrations of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. These problems drive researchers and societies to search alternative energy such as switching to renewable energy or carbon-free energy to replace fossil fuels. For example Nakata et al., (2011:465) show ‘low-carbon society’

Oil spills can impact the environment greatly. Since the oil boats are on the ocean if the break and start to leak it goes into the ocean where it can harm the ocean and those that make their home in it. “That spill caused an immediate and significant impact to the ecosystem, with sightings of birds and turtles washed up on beaches covered with oil, as well as an increase in the deaths of other marine life” (Sinclair, 2017). The oil spill in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico was the biggest since Deepwater Horizon. It caused harm to the ecosystem around it because technology came in so it could pump oil out of the ground under the ocean. There is no way to know the impact that oil spill and really every oil spill has had on the marine ecosystem.