Oil and Gasoline Crisis
There are many major issues that involve the lack of natural resources. One of the biggest issues is oil consumption and the amount of time until we run out. There are three important factors that are involved with the issue of oil depletion. How can we save the oil? When is the oil going to run out? How is the environment taking all of the pollution from the burning of fossil fuels? These three important questions that all involve with the depletion of oil all play a role in the future. The crisis is among us all but no one has done anything to help prevent any of these problems.
In large cities there are many ways for many people to get to work in a timely manner. People that live in the suburbs of these big cities usually drive to work everyday. Large portions of the people that drive to work only have one person in a car at a time. This creates problems such as parking, pollution, and lack of conservation of fossil fuels. Not only does having one person driving themselves to work deplete oils faster, but also the larger the vehicles, make this issue even worse. In almost all applications of SUV’s, it is known that these automobiles have fewer miles per gallon for consumption of gas. Surveys have been taken and it has been determined that Bangalore, India will have the best transportation system in the entire world by the time it is completed in 2011, “Bangalore will have world’s best mass transit system… expected to be ready by 2011.”(Baliga) One of the reasons this new transit system will work so well is because most of it is underground and will make it easy to access from many points within the city. “Most of the lines will be underground.”(Baliga) Also this will create more room within the city because above ground is very crowded, “…problems of acquiring land in the crowded city… Bangalore’s potholed roads and choked streets make driving in the city a nightmare.” (Baliga)
Since the issue of depletion of oil is a continuing problem and people have not made any major contribution towards solutions other than oil, many struggles will occur over the next fifty years. The main issue is how long do we have until the world is out of oil? Although this can not be answered with complete accuracy, some predictions have been made that the oil supply should run out sometime around 2040. “There is a commonly held belief that the world’s supply of oil will last until about 2040” (Reese) Another prospector T. Boone Pickens, a huge oil tycoon says that oil supplies are running short and the amount of oil that is taken from the ground will become less and less. “I think they are on decline in the biggest oil fields in the world today and I know what’s it like once you turn the corner and start declining” (DesLauriers) This also means that oil is at its peak or past its peak and prices will continue to rise. “T. Boone Pickens has become increasingly vocal about his view that peak oil is upon us and high prices are here to stay.” (DesLauriers) After the oil runs out what should the world do? What will the government do? How will people deal with transportation? What will happen to all the old cars that have gasoline only engines? These are just some of the many questions that could be brought up when the oil crisis really becomes relevant.
When the oil runs out hopefully the government will have a plan of action for when the time comes, but all they can do is do many researches on different types of fuel, as well as continuing to look for more oil. Both of these options would be very expensive to partake in. When the world runs out of oil, we will need to have some other type of fuel that can replace oil. There are already several options for different types of energy production. The new frontier for internal combustion vehicles is ethanol-85. Ethanol is a type of chemical that comes from decomposition of certain natural resources such as fruits that have natural sugars in them, “fermentation of various sugars from carbohydrates found in agricultural crops and cellulosic residues from crops or wood.” (Austin City Connections) Solar powered machines have already been put to use in several applications such as solar powered panels and solar powered cars that collect the energy from the sun and store it in a battery, but this form of energy has not been perfected yet. After the world runs out of oil, what will happen to all the cars that have to use regular gasoline? Many cars will most likely be put towards part cars unless scientists create something that will allow a mixture of chemicals that allow the same effects as gasoline. Another factor that might play a role in automobiles for the next fifty years is the conversion from gasoline engines to the ethanol and other types of engines. Some major car companies have already started making engines for cars that can run on gasoline as well as ethanol-85. As time goes on more and more car companies will do the same thing with their production line.
Since the availability of oil over the next fifty years is going to decline people need to start thinking of alternative ways for transportation as well as ways to conserve oil. The simplest way to conserve oil is to cut down on the amount you drive your car. If one must drive their car then one should at least carpool with others that are going to the same place. Some major cities already have a mass transit system in place. In large cities people could park their car in a central location and take busses, trains, taxis, or even bicycles let alone one might just be able to walk to their destination. If a person can not do any of these possible options, it would be in that persons interests to buy a car with high gas mileage, low emissions, and an engine that can run on gasoline or ethanol.
The oil crisis affects all people all around the world. When the world is out of oil, there will be problems people will have to face. Right now is the time to start thinking about how and what we will do when the time comes. Again the issue is among us all right now and people need to realize this is our future and changes need to be made. If people do not find a way to better conserve oil products, as well as find other solutions for fuels, people will have many problems in the near future. Humans need to find a solution for mass transportation to better conserve oil. Humans need to find other ways of transportation. People need to find another source for fuel because the oil will eventually be one-hundred percent depleted. The easiest way to prevent these major problems is to find solutions now rather than later.