...Resource Depletion and Peak Oil Peak oil and resource depletion are two very real issues that our world is facing. These issues are controversial topics and this report is going to critically analyse these concerns. Firstly, we will look at what the peak oil and climate change theories are and then discuss the on-going debate from opposing sides of the arguments for and against the peak oil theory. We will examine how these two issues are intertwined and identify the key consequences facing society. Then the current evidence that is proof of the early stages of both issues. The second part of this report will be based on a post peak oil paradigm and how the effects of peak oil, climate change and economic contraction will have on the direct investment in low density suburban property market. Firstly we will look at the concept of peak oil. The peak oil theory arose in 1956, when M. King Hubbert addressed the United States Oil Convention. His theory observed the production rates of individual oil reserves and how the production rate would increase at an exponential growth, reach a point and then decline rapidly, producing a bell shaped curve, now referred to as Hubbert’s curve. His prediction was that the United States oil reserves will reach its peak in 1970, and then decline rapidly as the demand increased and then become totally depleted. His theory was met with ridicule, however in the 1970’s the US reached its peak of 10 million barrels per day, and has been in decline...
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...Property 380 Issues and Trends Report on the Affect of Climate Change and Peak Oil on the Auckland Property Market September 19th 2011 Contents Part One: Background on Main Issues 1.1 An explanation of Climate Change and Peak Oil (presenting both sides including the ongoing Climate Change debate and Peak Oil debate). 1.2 An identification of some key consequences the world faces if these threats are left unmitigated (including economic, ecological and social consequences). 1.3 An explanation of how the two purported challenges are intertwined (beyond the fact that burning fossil fuels emits greenhouse gases). 1.4 A presentation of current present evidence (or ‘purported evidence’) of the early stages of these consequences which are currently unfolding. Part Two: S.W.O.T. Analysis on the post-peak Auckland property market An analysis of the associated Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats from the perspective of a property investor making direct investments, using a retail property product type. 2.1 Strengths 2.2 Weaknesses 2.3 Opportunities 2.4 Threats Section 1.1: Climate Change and Peak Oil Climate Change Human activities such as driving cars, burning coal and deforestation produce greenhouse gases (mainly carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide). These gases gather in the atmosphere, wrap around the earth and consequently trap the...
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...We model two major oil and gas companies. * We examine causes of Climate Change * Increase in further research may produce other alternative to exist source of energy * Combined efforts will help to meet carbon reduction target ABSTRACT Playing a major role in the world, the oil and gas industry is faced with the challenge of climate change. This paper establishes the fact that climate change troubles our planet today. In establishing this fact the paper examines the causes of climate change, the relationship between climate change and the oil and gas industry through CO2. It further evaluates the various methods available to reduce CO2 emissions and the challenges the companies have in implementing the methods. This paper uses two major oil companies as case studies, to establish the above stated facts and concludes that oil and gas companies need to be involved in more research and development of alternative supply of energy, in order reduce CO2 emissions, in collaboration with other sectors of the economy in achieving the targets made regarding climate change, environmental laws and policies. Keywords: CO2, Climate Change, Industry, Oil and Gas. 1. INTRODUCTION Climate change is a global topic that is continually deliberated on by companies in the oil and gas industry. The oil and gas industry is accountable for six per cent of global CO2 emissions, but the dispute over reduction of global greenhouse gases (GHG) related with climate change laid emphasis...
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...the world and our effects on it. Climate change is a highly debated topic with implications that reach into various sectors. A change on how we look at our effects on the climate requires a change in how we look at transportation, manufacturing, farming, and even how we light our homes. Furthermore, it requires the participation of actors the world over. When multiple nations are required, the actions of nations are not focused on what is best for the world and its people and animals, but rather what is best for the nation itself. Climate change reaches outside our borders. Unlike an invading force, a nation cannot form an army to combat the CO2 emissions of another country. Ill-fated actions by a single nation affects the world together. How can nations ensure global cooperation using traditional political means? Climate change, and by extension oil use, affects nations differently. In order to understand the reasons of resistance or acceptance from various nations of combating climate change, the effects of the change in procedure must be examined. Each nation is invested at different levels in the fight in climate change. Money or power, survival, and public outcry are major factors that may influence a nations stance and fervor on fighting climate change and the changes required by such a fight. It is obvious that a change in energy production habits results in a change in how a nation will provide energy to its people over time. As climate conscience nations move towards...
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...1.0 Environmental and Social Issues in Oil and Gas Industry 2.1 Safety Safety is one of the biggest concerns in every manufacturing industry, especially in petroleum industry. Petroleum industry easily identified as very dangerous industry especially those working at a oil rig. Petroleum companies are drilling oil in the mid desert, shores, and even at Artic seas. The condition of the sea bed is a huge concern on safety as well as the ice on the Artic region which can melt at any time causing death and injuries to thousands of workers. Its dangerous level is best represented by the wages in Petroleum Industrial which is soaring high tremendously. High wages paid to compensate the dangerous activities the workers involved in this Oil and Gas industry. Besides that, human errors such as carelessness or recklessness, delays in equipment maintenance or repair, failure to give proper training, failure to properly communicate, and incompetent safety procedures are also main reason of safety concerns in petroleum sector. Meanwhile, the nature of industry itself might cause the accidents involving explosions, mishaps while raising pipeline, oil rig, salt dome accidents, and contamination in storage and derrick safety violations. The safety in oil and gas industry is growing but at the same time increases in oil and gas activity correlate with an increase in the rate of fatal occupational injuries, particularly when inexperienced workers are not sufficiently trained in...
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...Phenomena like climate change and extreme weather events have evidenced the effects of relentless use and overuse of natural resources. The need for environmental sustainability has become important now more than ever following the occurrence of repeated natural disasters and studies showing the ill effects on human health. It has been established that the misuse of natural resources can threaten the existence of future generations. The role of businesses, civil society and governments has been discussed in the context of environmental sustainability in this report with focus on climate change. The oil and gas sector is an important sector in terms of sustainability related to the environment. The sector has been scrutinized widely for occurrences like leakages and oil spills. The companies in this sector have a huge impact on the environment. The importance of oil companies in the path to sustainable development has been discussed. The multinational giants British Petroleum and ExxonMobil have been used as case studies to understand the kind of initiatives being taken in this sector for a sustainable environment. Lastly, the challenges related to the sector in implementing these initiatives have been discussed. Table of Contents Introduction 4 Development and sustainability issues 5 Climate change 6 Role of business, government and civil society 6 Role of government and regulation 8 Civil society 9 Oil and gas...
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...2000 levels by about 50 percent for wheat, 17 percent for rice, and about 6 percent for maize because of climate change. C. In East Asia and the Pacific, yields in 2050 for crops will decline from 2000 levels by up to 20 percent for rice, 13 percent for soybean, 16 percent for wheat, and 4 percent for maize because of climate change. D. With climate change, average calorie availability in Asia in 2050 is expected to be about 15 percent lower and cereal consumption is projected to decline by as much as 24 percent compared to a no climate change scenario. E. In a no-climate change scenario, the number of malnourished children in South Asia would fall from 76 to 52 million between 2000 and 2050, and from 24 to 10 million in East Asia and the Pacific. Climate change will erase some of this progress, causing the number of malnourished children in 2050 to rise to 59 million in South Asia and to 14 million in East Asia and the Pacific, increasing the total number of malnourished children in Asia by about 11 million. F. To counteract the effects of climate change on nutrition, South Asia requires additional annual investments of 1.5 billion USD in rural development, and East Asia and the Pacific require almost 1 million USD more. Over half of these investments in both regions must be for irrigation expansion. Source: International Food Policy Research Institute, Climate Change: Impact on Agriculture and Costs of Adaptation, 2009 As the world population continues to grow...
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...Climate change is a modern fact of science that can not be denied. It is slowly shifting and changing the environment around us and we are not merely innocent bystanders to the whole affair. California’s as well the world’s dependence upon fossil fuels, largely oil and natural gas has only contributed to the increase in carbon in the atmosphere hastening climate change and its effects. It is with this knowledge that therefore California must look towards means of alleviating its contributions to climate change as well as fighting it. The state of California along with the entire United States of America, must shift from the dependence on fossil fuel and non-renewable energy to renewable energy sources by the year 2050 to deal with the...
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...Controversy Drilling in Alaska has been debated for more than a decade and this topic is still unsettled. Oil companies are urging the United States and the Alaskan government to let them start drilling for the good of the United States economy; the essence of this complicated conflict splits in two main arguments that the Arctic contains a significant oil discovery and will bring more opportunities for Americans, on the opposing view the Arctic contains the last true “Wilderness” in the country. Both viewpoints are debatable and hold good points while drilling could save the United States millions, environmentalist argue that it will do little good for the United...
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...researchers’ experiment aimed to determine what material would stay and remain the same with the most heat after being heated and cooled. In this way, one could see how climate in different countries and places are being affected with the materials around them. In this experiment, the materials that were used were water, salt, oil, 2 thermometers, containers, lamp/flashlight and a stopwatch. All these materials were arranged in a way that light from the lamp could be directly reach the 2 containers; this point was where the temperature of each was being recorded with the time allotted. In order to come up with a good result, the temperature was being checked after every five minutes and placed into data. The procedure was done three times for every material for the three trials. After testing, the oil absorbed a lot of heat, the water absorbed a little heat but kept it in while the soil did not absorbed much heat but when after, it was released easily. This experiment was to show how heat was being absorbed and released by different materials around. In this manner, one could associate it with the climate; how the materials surrounding the place can affect the climate and the specific materials that would greatly affect the climate in one place. CHAPTER 1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE Introduction Climate change is a lasting and significant change in the distribution of weather patterns over a period of time that may be ranging from decades to even millions of years. It may...
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...Oil, gas and their renewable counterparts need to be considered as commodities. Even though they are often highly politicized, the exploration, trading and consumption of these commodities is predominantly organized by private actors that interact with one another through market-based transactions. It is companies that are drilling, buying and selling oil and gas and it is not governments that decide on allocation of capital, technology and manpower, but primarily markets. In the case of oil, these markets are truly global; in the case of natural gas, they remain regional but still international in nature. The institutions organising energy markets are very political since they are created by governments; states are vital in determining whether energy is provided by the market at required quantities and reasonable prices, also whether investment is secure and capital is apportioned...
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...News Critique 1 This article describes how the oil industry in Russia is the most polluting of all oil industries in the world. Russia is responsible for 13 percent of the world’s crude oil. With so much piping and an extremely harsh climate leaks are very common and are responsible for 5 million tons of crude being spilled into the environment. The crude oil leaks into soil, destroys plant life, and pollutes rivers and lakes that provide valuable fresh water to the world. Due to the harsh climate, regular maintenance is needed for the pipes so that leaks are controlled and less harmful for the environment. Many other countries leak tons of oil into the environment but take measures to control the pollution. Canada, for example, has similarly harsh climate and does not nearly pollute as much as Russia. Russia’s excuse is that the leaks are not polluting too little oil at a time to be considered a hazard. But over the course of the year, and the extreme number of leaks, 18,000, the amount of oil being spilled piles up and causes severe polluting. Russia usually goes unnoticed for its polluting because most of the oil reservoirs are in very unpopulated areas. Russia needs to realize even though it may be costly to routinely fix oil pipes and may be able to escape persecution because of the unpopulated areas, regular maintenance is important to maintaining the surrounding natural environments for it could have devastating effects on the delicate balance that allows certain species...
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...TITLE PAGE CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS EFFECTS IN SOUTH-SOUTH PART OF NIGERIA DEDICATION This term paper is dedicated to Almighty God, for His divine love, inspirations and care over the years. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My acknowledgement goes to my parents for their financial provision towards my academic and to my lecturer for his high level of punctuality and commitment to lectures. PREFACE This term paper is about the effects of climate change in South-South part of Nigeria. It has four chapters .Chapters one is about the introduction and definition of terms. Chapter two discusses Climate change and Environmental issues in South-South Nigeria, environmental degradation and Changes resulting from climate change, Socio-Economic Consequences of Climate Change in South-South Nigeria and Landslides as a consequence of climate change in south-South Nigeria. Chapter three narrates Erosion as a consequence of climate change in south-South Nigeria, Water Scarcity, Activities of Farmers that Contribute to Climate Change, and Patterns of Climate Change impact on agriculture. Chapter four is the summary and conclusion of the topic. TABLE OF CONTENTS Title page - - - - - - - - - - -i Dedication - - - - - - - - - - -ii Acknowledgement - - - - - - - - - -iii Preface - - - - - - - - - - - iv Table of contents - - - - - - - - - -v CHAPTER ONE 1.0 Introduction - - - - - - - - - - 1.1 Definition of Terms - - - - - - - - - CHAPTER TWO 2.1 Dealing with Climate Change in South-South Zone - - - - - 2...
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...wrong on climate Change Although the argument has changed over the last 20 years from global warming to climate change, the one thing that has been consistent over time has been on the science aspect of it. This year, Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement, in which over 170 countries pledged their commitment to cutting carbon emissions. In his announcement, President Trump shifted the discussion away from the science of fossil fuel’s effect on the environment toward economics: “The Paris climate accord disadvantages the United States, to the exclusive benefit of other countries, leaving American workers, who I love, and taxpayers to absorb the cost in terms of lost jobs, lower wages, shuttered factories and...
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...question, Natasha Lamb and Bob Litterman were able to use this as a metaphor of what would happen if we continue burning fossil fuels. At some points, we will face a "dangerous cliff"- one would call it a tipping point- where an irreversible catastrophic impact will happen. By leaving out the risks and potential environmental damages involved in their carbon asset risk reports to the public and shareholders, ExxonMobil has made it much more difficult for us to estimate how far ahead of us is "the cliff", so one would slowly hit the brake. Corporations and their marketing departments are very experienced at getting inside the minds of consumers and use that as an advantage to increase profits. Imagine the world's biggest and most powerful oil company launching its new TV ad promoting natural gas development and its name brand by claiming "natural gas is one of the world's cleanest fuels"(Brand Republic). The ad definitely seems to be convincing and valid, thus, luring consumers into choosing natural gas instead of other energy alternatives. Many adults are more inclined to buy eco-friendly product even if they would pay more for them .That’s the reaction ExxonMobil seeks: the thoughts of doing something good in connection with environment, and human rights, etc. However, is this really is the whole truth? There are raised questions whether or not the ad's claim is just an overstatement or possibly straight wrong and misleading. The ASA agreed and decided to ban ExxonMobil's ad...
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