Alternative Energy and the Global Reliance on Petroleum
To date, app. 85,000,000 petroleum barrels are being daily consumed all over the world, which means, that we purchase over 13 milliard litters of petroleum per day. About 25 % of this consumption is used for industrially manufacture of plastics, asphalt, lubricants and cosmetics. Another 70% is used for transportation and the remaining 5% is used for energy production. The dependency on petroleum has reached a peak level in which the world cannot exist without it. There are two main environmental damages created by the usage of petroleum. Both of them are affected primarily by the use of petroleum for transportation (70%) and energy production (5%) whereas the remaining 25% of the petroleum consumption for different industries carries negligible environmental impact. The first damage is caused to the Earths’ atmosphere by the emission of CO2 and other gasses while using fuel - and by that worsening the greenhouse effect. The second damage is caused to human beings by toxic substances such as CO and sulfates that are created through burning petroleum process. In addition to the ecological difficulties, there are three severe political problems the dependency on petroleum creates, due to the fact that several countries control petroleum production and export, while others are forced to depend on them. To begin with, there are countries such as Saudi Arabia, Libya and Venezuela that are using their financial profits from petroleum export in order to support directly or indirectly terror organizations. Secondly, some controversial countries which constitute a threat to the world’s safety are using their petroleum export profits to develop nuclear armament, i.e. Iran, and in the past Libya and Iraq. Thirdly, the more fortunate countries which have vast petroleum resources in their territories are using their power to maximize petroleum prices at all times. This activity began in 1960 with the foundation of OPEC, The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, led by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela and today is assembled of 12 of the world’s largest petroleum exporting countries. This maximization of petroleum prices is severely hampering the world’s economics. In the past, there were several successful measures that were taken in order to reduce petroleum consumption in the world. Most important, almost all power stations that were activated by petroleum were restructured to be activated by coal. In addition, smaller cars have been manufactured and their engines’ efficiency has been improved; as well as the usage of non-polluting bio-fuel such as ethanol. In spite of the significant improvements and those changes which contributed to the process of reducing the dependency on petroleum, the problem is still existing and is far from being solved. Today, the main solutions concentrate on alternative transportation means which relay on electric energy and legislation which is going to enforce the limited use of petroleum.
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