Future of Petroleum
... This issue, the future of petroleum, will make times tough for the human race. ... Which countries have the most petroleum reserves? ... What are scientists doing to find a petroleum substitute? ... Petroleum is defined as a naturally occurring, oily, flammable liquid composed principally of hydrocarbons. Petroleum is also known as a fossil fuel. How is petroleum formed? “Petroleum is formed by plant matter which was buried in the earth’s crust millions of years ago as a result of erosion and the geothermal movement of the Earth’s surface. ... Petroleum is often found in springs or pools, but is most often drilled up from wells underneath the earth surface. All petroleum products come from the processing of natural gas, crude oil, and other hydrocarbon based substances. Some of the petroleum products that are used in today’s society would be asphalt, lubricants, kerosene, waxes, jet fuel, gas for your car, oil for your car, diesel fuel, heating oil, grease and so on. So all in all, petroleum is used heavily in today’s society. There is a group called OPEC, which is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. ... It is OPEC’s job to keep everything with petroleum fair in today’s society. ... Those facts are just some of the basics of petroleum. There is a large amount of petroleum left in the world. ... So is petroleum going to continue to be human’s most important resource of power? ... “OPEC forecasts that oil demand will continue to grow strongly and oil will remain the world’s single most important source of energy for the foreseeable future” (Stanislav). ... It will take some time for petroleum to run out, but it will definitely run out within our lifetimes and our children’s lifetimes. ... “OPEC has cut back on quotas, says John Felmy, chief economist at the American Petroleum Institute (API)” (MSN Money). Another reason gas might go up in the near future is a shortage of petroleum. Petroleum isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Not only is petroleum rather expensive, but it seriously pollutes earth. Humans pollute the environment daily due to the extremely large use of petroleum. ... Petroleum does a fairly good job polluting the air, but somehow also ends up in the ocean(s) as well. “The amount of petroleum products ending up in the ocean is estimated at . ... And some of that pollution of petroleum into our oceans is caused by oil spills. ... If it is not yet apparent, humans are seriously hurting our environment by means of pollution due to petroleum. ... It seems only fitting that the number one user of petroleum also be the number one polluter of our oceans. So then what is the future for coastal areas in the United States? ... Whether it’s accidental or whether it’s on purpose, petroleum seriously pollutes our environment. When the petroleum reserves on this earth run out, it will become disastrous for mankind. ... When petroleum supplies begin to wear thin, it is suspected that countries with larger oil supplies will become greedier. Some countries could start to seriously increase the price of petroleum (which is already starting to be seen). Some countries may choose not trade any petroleum whatsoever. This could cause other countries to become angered, and could possibly cause a war over petroleum or what is known as “black gold”. ... One solution would be to continue to search for more petroleum.