...Fossil Fuel Dependency and Americans | SOC120 - Sociology | University of Phoenix | Lena M. Ward | 10/9/2011 | America’s primary sources of energy come from fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. The cost of using fossil fuels includes labor cost to mine for coal or to drill for oil, labor and material cost to build plants to generate and transport coal and oil to plants; these hidden costs are included in electricity bills or in the purchase price of gasoline. However, some costs are not included in utility or gas bills, and they are not paid for by companies that produce or sell these energy sources (Payne, Dutzik, & Figdor, 2009). This external cost creates additional problems; such as, health issues related to the air pollution caused by the burning of coal and oil, the damage to land from coal mining and to the miners from lung disease, environmental problems like global warming, acid rain, and water pollution including national security cost to protect foreign sources of oil. This pricing system hides the true costs of fossil fuels which results in damage to human health, the environment, and the economy (Payne, Dutzik, & Figdor, 2009). This paper will examine each hidden cost and evaluate their effects to enlighten individuals on the true cost of America’s dependency on fossil fuels. America’s dependency on fossil fuels began innocently enough with the start of the Industrial Revolution. These changes were small at first with the invention...
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...there is no immediate solution out of oil dependence in the United States. We rely heavily on oil in our transportation sector with trains, planes, boats, and vehicles depending on gasoline and diesel fuel exclusively. Our dependency in oil is followed by our dependency in coal and gas as they are primarily used to produce electricity. Oil, coil and natural gas are called fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are non-renewable because they take millions of years to form, and reserves are being depleted much faster than they are made. The production of these fuels raise environmental concerns because carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere leading to long-term climate changes (global warming). An alternative energy solution called solar power is now on the rise. There are multiple benefits associated with solar energy and many in the private and public sector are taking the lead towards lower costs and self-sustainability. Solar energy is considered the greenest and cleanest renewable source of power. The largest solar thermal power plant is located in California and they use various techniques to concentrate the sun’s energy as a heat source. The heat is used to boil water to drive a steam turbine that generates electricity in a similar matter as coil does. This inexhaustible fuel source is pollution and noise free and always renewable with 173,000 terawatts striking the earth continuously. The U.S Department of Defense (DOD) is the world’s largest energy consumer ands they have...
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...2 We need to get off our dependency of foreign oil. There are two major suggestions on how to solve this issue. One is to follow President Barack Obama’s plan. He proposes that the best way for us to get off of oil dependency is to create alternate energy resources. This would offer more jobs for the people. Most of the Republicans on the other hand, want to do more drilling in the United States and more offshore drilling. They say that having more oil companies will create more jobs. Who is right or wrong? We need to look at the situation for a long term fix. Drilling more yes will offer more jobs but who is to say for how long? Also, as more fossil fuels are being burned, we are polluting our air and our country. Offshore drilling is dangerous to the environment, it is dangerous to the people, and it is not a long term solution to freeing our dependency of foreign oil. When drilling off shore you run into the chance of having another oil spill like we had last year. There were millions of sea life animals that were affected by this event. Fishing companies were unable to fish in those areas because of the oil contaminate in the fish. How many lives are we going to put in danger by drilling offshore? If there is another accident like last year can be we really be sure that it will be stopped right away or will it take up to three months to get through the red tape from another country to fix it? By drilling and mining for fossil fuels, we are destroying our land...
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...population of 9 Billion people by 2044. That is a 50% increase in population from 6 to 9 Billion in 45 years . This means the demand for food, water and shelter will increase by the same margin. Is the worlds infrastructure ready to accommodate the newcomers? How can we cope with this issue? In this essay, I will be talking about the distance between food and individuals and how reducing that distance may help us in terms of sustaining a better a future. According to Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA), it is estimated that the average American meal travels about 1500 miles to get from farm to plate. There are many fundamental problems associated with this long distance. The effort and consumption related to the distance is highly disturbing. Long distance travel of food equates to consuming extremely high quantities of fossil fuels. As per CUESA, today, we put almost 10 kcal of fossil fuel energy into our food system for every 1...
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...and broad to summarize it in several sentences. Some people believe that environmental policy refers only to human relationships to nature; they understand that much environmental policy deals with human health concerns (Kraft & Furlong, 2009, p.341). Putting environmental policy even at a broader context, it can be defined as government actions that affect environmental quality and the use of natural resources (Kraft & Furlong, 2009, p.342). There is no doubt that environmental issues are global issues. Entire world is facing important environmental problems that need to be addressed at both state level and collaborative international level. United States alone is “the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels” (www.cia.gov). Besides that air pollution in the United States resulting in acid rains; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and...
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...Human are far too dependent on oil to what extent do you agree with this statement. As Fossil Fuels Dominate the Global energy situation, oil provides 34.8% of the world’s Energy being the number one source of energy in 4 out of 6 regions, especially in the Middle East with 50% and is also the number one extractor and exporter of oil. Oil Dependency is when a country is in need of oil to be able to function properly and without oil, it may crumble. Oil is the biggest single source of the world's energy. In the short-term vital public services like ambulances, fire-engines and public transport are all put in jeopardy when fuel supplies run low. The U.S. is the largest consumer of oil in the world, burning through 18.83 million barrels per day. Even if the U.S. produced all petroleum products domestically, Americans would still feel the shocks from market volatility. Oil is a global market, and market prices prevail regardless of origin. Despite policies to improve vehicle efficiency, America remains dependent on oil. This dependency presents several problems, especially in the long term. And it has happened before, The 1973 oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries proclaimed an oil embargo in response to American involvement in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The US supplied Israel with arms. In response to this, OAPEC announced an oil embargo against Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the US. The...
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...simply cannot yet compete effectively with fossil fuels.” (Roberts, 2004, Para 19) However, the era of cheap oil is almost certainly at the end with the price of a barrel of oil going for 80.20 to 104.08 on the Stock Market. The price of oil continues to climb quickly and relentlessly. Global oil production will be soon hit a ceiling and drop, even as the demand continues to rise. The result will be an extremely large energy cost, political instability, and an uncertain energy future. The fact is many countries with the largest oil fields build in decade old and had in bad condition. Another fact is that fossil fuel use causes global warning. Scientists haves gathered an unassailable amount of evidence to conclude the warming of the planet had caused mainly by greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuel. When many people use gas in a car the result is major amount pollution. When use hydrogen, the only product is water vapor. “Hydrogen can produce from diverse domestic resources, with the potential for near-zero greenhouse gas emissions.” (U.S Department of Energy, 2011) “Natural gas had been produced both worldwide and domestically at relatively low cost and is cleaner burning than gasoline or diesel fuel. Natural gas vehicles show an average reduction in ozone-forming emissions-80% compared to gasoline vehicles.” (California Energy Commission, 2002-2011) “Propane or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a clean-burning fossil fuel. LPG-fueled vehicles produce fewer toxic and...
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...The Effects of Alternative & Renewable Energy The Effects of Alternative & Renewable Energy The United States has massive dependency fossil fuels. Based on the US Department of Energy 2010 information, an incredible eighty five percent of the U.S total energy needs are directly related to the use of fossil fuels and seventy percent used for transportation needs. As stated by Lefton, R. & Weiss, D.J. the U.S accounts for three percent of the world’s population, however the U.S gulps down twenty three percent of the world’s oil. To satisfy its thirsty needs the U.S imports fifty seven percent of its oil needs. Fossil fuels come in three different forms, coal, oil and natural gas. This is a result of fossil remains of prehistoric plants and animals that have been in place for millions of years and trapped in sediments and rocks well below the earth surf. The leading exporting of crude oil are Canada, Mexico, ……..(Name top 5) Alternative/renewable energy are common “water cooler” conservation at work and dinner parties, they were also major discussions about alternative/renewable during the last presidential race. As we go about our everyday lives we constantly hear about the subject, from the evening news and our local to national print media. The increased use of alternative/renewable energy can ease the dependency on foreign oil from unstable counties and improve national security. Alternative/renewable would play a key in our efforts to also aid in reversing...
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...people get from point A to point B with a car. That car that society drives, however, doesn’t run all by itself. All cars need some form of energy to operate. The world’s primary use of energy for cars is oil. As we know, our global amount of fossil fuels, especially oil, gets a little more scarce everyday. Researchers have developed different kinds of alternative energy to help slow down the use of fossil fuels. Ethanol has turned into a top source of an alternative for oil. So why not use those alternative forms of energy like ethanol for every car? Through studies and research, scientists continue to evaluate the downside of fossil fuels, possible harm of alternative energy, the benefits of fossil fuels, and successes of alternative energy. Earth’s primary energy supplier has always been fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are made from animals and plants that lived many millions of years ago. Those plants and animals became buried underneath the surface of the Earth where they transformed into what we use today for oil. We have depended on those fuels to meet our most basic energy needs, to our most complex. Society runs into the problem that fossil fuels are a non-renewable resource. Once they have been depleted, the fossil fuels are gone forever. The problem comes up when miners, oil companies, and oil consumers destroy different ecosystems. The mining and oil production that occurs has caused a major dent our environment. When oil is refined to make gas and that gas...
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...contaminants or pollutants into the natural environment that causes unsteadiness and long-term effects to the ecosystem. Waste is slowly polluting the environment and killing humans, plant life, and animals. Waste comes in many forms: solid waste; plastic, hazardous waste material; nuclear waste, and fossil fuel; oil. The world has become a gigantic trashcan. With the expansion of technology, humans are gutting out the earth’s resources, the results are creating an imbalance in the climate, and millions are suffering from ill health. Biological diversity in parts of the world has become an important issue of discussion to environmental activist. Recommendations for illuminating waste are concerns of nations worldwide. Alternative solutions will make way for improvement to the environment and health for millions of people. Plastic bottles are washing ashore on beaches and polluting the oceans. Plastic bottles are the largest source of pollution (Plastic Pollution Collation, 2010). Such items as plastic utensils, straws, lids, and bottles are releasing chemicals into the ocean and destroying the marine life beneath. Although designed for temporary use, they remain around forever. The American Chemical Society studied water samples and found polystyrene, a commonly used plastic found in cutlery and Styrofoam, and went on to say that plastic is a new source of chemical pollution. Chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA) interfere with the reproductive organs of animals. Areas heavily polluted...
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...Alternative Energy The continued use of the planet’s fossil fuels will eventually come to an end and will require an ultimatum to be made. Other sources of energy must be found to sustain this dependency that society has created, so it can continue to fuel our everyday needs. Although scarcity is a leading factor in the search for newer resources, the damaged caused by fossil fuels need to be reversed, including pollution and global warming. Every day there are more and more advancements, innovations, or even inventions of new alternative resources that need to be taken advantage of to maintain a stable and reliable source of energy. Alternative energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydrogen energy are more durable and efficient to be used as a substitute for current natural resource uses. Foremost, fossil fuels have been a primary source for energy for years, and had some major consequences alongside them. Pollution is no new name to the harm our environment receives and it comes from the burning of fuel. As well as pollution being created, global warming, which is a huge debate in today’s society, is also caused by burning fossil fuels (Rinkesh “What are fossil fuels”). Not only does it damage our environment, but it causes health problems for its wildlife and our own lives. These hazardous effects will have a long term duration and require a cleaner solution and that is natural resources (Rinkesh “What are fossil fuels”). These alternative energy sources would need to...
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...Types and Uses of Renewable Energy and Their Influences DeVry University LAS-432 Professor Anthony Baker Team E Vincent Murr, Alisia Ngo, Mark Pick, Kristine Reed & Venrick Richards 02/25/14 Contents Introduction-Alisia Ngo 3 The Uses and Science of renewable Energy 7 History of Renewable Energy- Vincent Murr 10 Political Influence-Vincent Murr 15 Impact on the economy – Mark Pick 20 Cultural Issues-Kristine Reed 31 Environmental Effects- Kristine Reed 34 Moral and Ethical Concerns-Venrick Richards 38 Conclusion-Venrick Richards 46 References 50 Introduction-Alisia Ngo Throughout the 20th and 21st century, fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas have been essential to our way of life. In the past several decades scientists have warned that coal and oil have been diminishing and that it could take thousands of years for the earth to replenish what we have already used. With that being said finding other resources of energy is crucial to the conservation of our way of life as we know it. Evidence has shown that the U.S. relies heavily on oil, coal, and natural gas for its energy. So finding new ways to substitute these sources of energy through renewable energy like wind, and sunlight needs to be a high priority for local and state governments nationwide. In this paper I will explain why the need for renewable energy is so important to the environment and our way of life. I will speak specifically on the many types of renewable...
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...Fossil Fuel Dependency and Americans Deanna C. Rodeo SOC 120 September 30, 2012 Nada Feldman When the first Industrial Revolution came about in the late18th century, it started in the United Kingdom, and then spread through Europe, North America, and eventually everywhere. Nobody could have known the unseen consequences that the new found technology would use. The Industrial Revolution allowed us to change the way manufacturing, agriculture, mining, transportation and technology were all handled. When the replacement of organic fuels (that were based on wood), changed to the use of fossil fuels (based on coal) during the second Industrial Revolution, no one could have known the devastating effects it would have later. What they did not know was that with the continual use of fossil fuels we would endanger nature, the wildlife that lives in it, and our environment that we live in as well. They also failed to think that we would ever run out and now that our society is built around the use of fossil fuels, we need to come together to devise a plan that will keep our engines running, and the lights on for our children and our grandchildren. Fossil fuels are a non-renewable resource that can take millions of years to form, and the reserves are being used faster than new ones are having time to formulate. Fossil fuels that we mainly rely on would include; coal, natural gas, and most importantly, petroleum. With that said, this paper is going to talk about how our society...
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...JGE236 MDG Assigment By: Saarangan Yogarasa, Nick Priore and Sarah Jeong Introduction: The planet that is home to all known life in the universe has been facing hardships since its formation almost five billion years ago. However, the rapid evolution and advancement of the human race has put the Earth through its greatest challenge yet. The last few centuries saw the Earth undergo massive irreversible damage at the hands of the human race. Although previous attempts were made at dealing with the problem of environmental damage and the non-sustainable use of resources, none were as clear-cut and globally united as the Millennium Development Goals. The Millennium Development Goals, hereafter referred to as the MDG, was signed by all 193 members of the United Nations. The MDG focuses on a wide range of human problems; from poverty and health to environmental damage and the non-sustainability of the current resource usage (Nations, 2010). This was so important because it was the first time that so many nations united together to attempt to solve the world’s biggest problems. Although a lot of the set targets were very ambitious, they were certainly within the realm of reality with proper funding and planning. The following report proposes a plan to carry out a sub-section of one of the goals in one region of the world. Although it would be a very small scale when considering all the goals of the MDG and all the regions of the world, it would provide a morale booster that shows...
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...protection can get achieved (Growing Significance of Renewable Energy (Presentation), 2007). The threat emerges from the continuous usage of fossil fuels such as petrol and diesel that produce large amounts of emissions. Factories, households, transportation and offices continue to depend on fossil fuels as their primary source of energy for heating, lighting and other uses. The practice carries on despite the fact that they individual have the knowledge of the effects of the emissions that come from the fossil fuels. On the contrary, Craddock (2008) points out that individual choose to ignore the campaigns carried out by environmental safeguard activists across the world. As a result, the mitigation processes have had a slow but progressive response in the adoption of clean energy by various institutions across the globe. One of the focuses of the source of clean energy is solar power. The adoption of source of energy would significantly decrease the levels of global warming and ultimately, the termination of unpredictable climatic patterns (Craddock, 2008). The research paper will focus on the assessment of fossil energy versus solar energy in order to come up with comprehensive findings from which a conclusion can be drawn to make the world a better place for all living beings. The research shall look into the sources and forms of fossils fuels to investigate the reasons for the...
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