...To Drill or Not to Drill To Drill or Not to Drill Renewable energy and drilling are both great resources, but there are various viewpoints on which one is better for the nation. Renewable energy means “going green” and helping the planet, while drilling and using the world’s natural resources to create energy may create problems later. One must determine which resources are renewable and which are non-renewable to understand if the natural resources used for energy will deplete over time. This controversy over the Earth losing the non-renewable resources over time creates many leaning toward renewable energy sources, but “One of the big knocks against renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and solar arrays is that it would be nearly impossible to impose the uniform grid frequency of 50 Hertz needed to maintain order and avoid outages” (Investors Business Daily, 2012, pA02). Texas is a state where both energy resources are practiced and they both provide jobs, but drilling in the state of Texas provides many more jobs than renewable energy jobs, such as the windmills. Drilling is beneficial to the Texas economy and Texas families. The Gulf of Mexico is also a resource for drilling that provides Texas families with employment. Possible perceptual blocks that hinder my thinking about this issue is that I am from the state of Texas, and that may make me bias towards drilling because this is an oil state. Texas has plenty of land that windmills may be able to be constructed...
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...To Drill or Not to Drill Robyn L. Marell HUM/114 May 27, 2012 Esteban Soto To Drill or Not to Drill To drill or not to drill, that is the question. I am of the opinion that we should not continue to drill but look for alternative methods in which to produce energy. Oil prices for a barrel of oil have skyrocketed and rise continuously without regulation when demand is high or the economy is not doing well. Natural gas and the cost of coal have also risen. OPEC has the ability to manipulate the supply, although prices are determined by supply and demand (Smith, 2004). The United States is too dependent on foreign energy when it pertains to our consumption. Clean and renewable energy is the direction we should be headed in. There are growing concerns regarding the use of traditional energy sources. Local and federal government, media and many industries are watching the development of alternative and renewable energy. According to Holahan (2008) “The Energy Policy Act of 2005 increased funding for clean alternative energy by twenty-two percent and included tax credits and additional incentives for alternative energy development”(p. 321). Unfortunately there is opposition from local government and groups (Holahan, 2008). No one wants to have sites that develop, test or produce alternative energy in their communities. Once these communities come together and realize the advantages of alternative energy sources would reduce our dependency...
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...To Drill or Not to Drill? April Augello HUM/111 2/24/2013 Bruce Bennett To Drill or Not to Drill? There are many types of energy used for our industrialized nation uses, there are only two types of energy; there is fossil fuels and renewable energy. These would power our factories, automobiles, electrical appliances and many other features of modern life. Fossil fuels like petroleum, natural gas, and coal are not a renewable source of energy. Renewable energy is found in our sun, rain, wind and from heat from in the earth, and many more sources, these renewable energies are replenished constantly. Renewable energies are significant and bring many opportunities for energy efficiency to exist all over the world. This would not only give us significant energy security, but would benefit us economically. There are four areas that renewable energy would replace conventional energies or fuels; it would bring electricity generation along with hot water and space heating and a big one motor fuels. With our global warming and our ozone, we are in desperate need of alternative energies, and they are being developed. Some politicians and environmentalists and others do not think that the world is really getting hotter, global warming is not really happening. That this renewable energy is just too costly, and would we really benefit from this spending to have a renewable energy. That disturbing the soil will release green house gasses into the atmosphere...
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...Critical and Creative Thinking To Drill or Not To Drill Mary Crook 9/15/13 The issue is that there are many people who think that the carbon economy will always exist. They would like to see the United States use the abundant coal reserve and turn that into liquid fuel to power cars, trucks, and planes. Those opposed to renewable energy would like to see the United States continue to drill off the Gulf Coast, Alaska, and other areas in our country. On the other hand, you have those who think that creating more power by solar panels and wind turbines is the way to go. Yes, it may be expensive, but I believe that it will free America from depending on foreign oil and add more jobs. “According to some estimates, the world will run out of coal sometime in the twenty-third or twenty-fourth century. These same estimates predict that the world will run out of natural gas and oil during the twenty-first century”. (GALE|EJ3010573101) I have not given too much thought about renewable energy. I will have no choice but to purchase what is available. If oil will not be available for whatever reason, then I will have to purchase the alternative. But I think I would have to take the side of those in favor of promoting renewable energy. “Solar and other renewable energy sources will not only help create a more stable energy supply that will never run out, but can also reduce pollution and environmental degradation, reduce the need to import oil and other fossil fuels from foreign countries...
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...To Drill or Not to Drill Aloma Chase HUM/111 03/10/2013 Jennifer Beaman To Drill or Not to Drill Alaska drilling in the ANWR refuge is a controversial debate because of the issues which are associated with destroying the wilderness. The ANWR is located in the “North Slope area of Alaska and eight million acres of this selected segment of the landscape is in the National Wilderness Preservation System, which is intended to protect pristine and untouched land areas” (Burley, 2010, p.1). Drilling for oil in the ANWR will destroy the environment; endanger the caribou herds, birds, and other wildlife. However, the opposing viewpoints contend that it would provide jobs, help with our oil supply, and not destroy the land. Examining other alternatives for energy shortages in the United States would prevent the destruction of the ANWR and other protected habitats. Renewable sources of energy like solar energy, and wind power would not affect the environment or cause pollution. The dependence on oil and other fossil fuels needs to be curtailed, so, the Alaska Refuge is not destroyed. Additionally, “each year oil operations on Alaska’s North Slope emit more than 70,000 tons of nitrogen oxides, which contribute to smog and acid rain” (National Resource Defense Council, 2010, p.1). Toxic oil spills kill the plants and vegetation, air pollution caused from drilling and emissions affects the air quality, and hazardous waste contaminates the water supplies. The drilling on...
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...To drill or Not to Drill Brett Bartlett HUM/114 November 28, 2012 Brian Townsley The United States uses about 18 million barrels of oil per day and most of that oil is imported from other countries. I believe that we can drastically reduce that number by looking into using renewable sources of energy such as solar, wind, geothermal, and hydro energy. Using this type of energy reduces the amount of pollution in the air and will always be there for us to use. Fossil fuels are a perishable item and resources will soon run out one day. What will we do then? The best way to avoid this situation would be to start investing money and research into these renewable sources of energy now while we have the time. I can understand some of the arguments on the other side of the matter with the reliability of renewable energy not being there. The whole world runs on fossil fuels and has been doing so for more than a hundred years. The geographical location makes a big impact on how efficient this renewable energy will be. For example in a climate that is mostly over cast and rainy solar panels have trouble absorbing the suns energy. With hydro energy you have to be near a large body of water. Wind energy needs a large open place to put up the large number of wind mills needed to create a sufficient amount of energy and it has to have constant wind. Although renewable energy can be cost effective in the long run it is expensive for the initial start up. This usually deters people from...
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...To Drill or Not to Drill Kaiulani Kuehnel ETH/316 Ethics and Social Responsibility October 22, 2015 Imran Anwar To Drill or Not to Drill In 2004, the Bush administration expressed the need to expedite the set-up of drilling rigs on a crucial part of land to many wildlife species to drill for natural gas. This area of land is a corridor for wildlife migration of many species, a big trout population in the Colorado River, and home to the dwindling population of Sage Grouse. The government wants to drill on this land because of the natural gas that is lying hundreds of feet below the ground, enough oil to supply the nation for one year (Nightline, 2004). The implications of such a project has the potential to throw the ecosystem into a downward spiral. There are already thousands of drilling rigs, numbering 5,200 in an area crossing five states. The government wants to expand this number to about 10,000. What are the ethical issues of such a project? Encroaching industrial civilization poses a migratory issue for the wildlife. Roads will be built that the animals have to cross, fences made of barbed wire are springing up everywhere, drilling run-off is polluting the rivers, streams, and lakes that harbor a big trout population. The barbed wire fences alone causes much grief for the animals. The wildlife has to choose to jump over the or crawl under the fence. Either way can cause great bodily harm to the animal and in some cases death, if the animal gets snagged...
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...To Drill or Not to Drill In the United States fossil fuels, coil, natural gas and oil provide more than almost 80% of all the energy held in America, almost two-thirds of our electricity, and worldwide all of our transportation fuels. It’s common that the United States dependence of fossil fuels to power a growing economy will increase over at least the next two decades even with powerful development and deployment of updated renewable and nuclear technologies. The fact is, alternative energy and renewable energy should be a major investment for everyone. Energy conservation itself could lead to increased environmental quality, financial capital, national security, comfort, and personal security. I have fallen on many issues I do not believe that my position on off shore drilling is an issue of stereotyping. I have reassured my stance by reading and researching this position. My community is against drilling for natural gas in our state at this point in time. Developing our energy resources cannot ‘come at the expense of our environmental resources such as our land, water, and our ecosystem. Drilling has a very strong impact on the environment and is not good for our community it jeopardizes the clean water we have. The fact is alternative energy and renewable energy should be a major investment for everyone. Drilling the earth for fossil fuel is one of the worst things people could do to the earth. My perceptual blocks are that oil companies only have one thought...
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...To Drill or Not to Drill HUM/114 06/28/2011 In the “To Drill or Not to Drills” question the side that I agreed with is that the United States should search for oil in Alaska, the Gulf Coast, and other areas within the country that are currently not being explored. The United States has always been so dependent on outside resources to get oil and energy from and that’s one of the reasons why we stay into these wars with other countries. Gas prices and oil prices skyrocket continuingly and as that happens, the people of America pay for it at the pump. According to fair disclosure wire (06/02/2011).” Alaska, with the oil and natural gas industry supports 43,000 American jobs, and that makes up 60 percent of the percent of the state wealth.” If we were to use these resources, it would help decrease our dependence on foreign sources. Some of the key habits that were effecting my thinking was analyzing the both agreements was kind of unsure about the use of oil and energy from foreign resources and I had to make sure I did the proper research before I had a judgment. I found myself going through both the production phase and the judgment phase trying to come up with a good argument to why the United States should find other resources for energy and oil. What I should do to overcome those habits would be to be more confident in what I believe in, take more time to do better research be open minded and listen to both sides, the good and bad of the United States energy needs...
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...* To Drill or Not To Drill 1 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Renewable Energy vs. Nonrenewable Energy * * * * Cheryl Mills * * Hum111 * * October 5, 2013 * * Courtney Connelly * * * * * * * * * * * 2 Energy plays a critical role in our ever day life. Without some form of energy we would not have the essentials such as: refrigerators, lights, cars, etc... Now we are faced with the decision, whether or not we should continue using non-reusable energy or should we invest in renewable energy. Non-renewable sources of energy productions come from the ground and cannot be used again and again. These sources are from fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. The advantages of non-renewable energy are; naturally found in the earth, easy to mine, and cheap, which make it available and affordable. The disadvantage from using this energy sources are; one day we will deplete these natural resources and they take about a hundred million years to replenish. Unfortunately...
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...Assignment: To Drill or Not to Drill? That Is the Question Mayce Torres HUM/111 June 5, 2011 Bethany Bigler Assignment: To Drill or Not to Drill? That Is the Question Throughout time we have seen the changes of use and misuse of our natural resources. Tapping into these sources have pros and cons. Now in the year 2011 we have serious concerns about our way of living, the planet, the wars. President Obama has pushed forward his agenda to free America from dependency on foreign oil and proposes that this will enhance America the great in many ways included the growth of new work opportunities. It is absolutely true that for any transformation we must see a wide spread revolution. Is the revolution part we all fear as it is a testing and difficult time we all must go through to be able to succeed in the end. We all know the energy we consume today is not renewable energy not to mention that the energy we consume causes many deaths via the current war. Today, we can see all of these changes happening from buying a Hybrid car to buildings powered by the solar system. We can see issues of other societies such as Spain trying to go green but have not been successful. The difference is that America has a democratic open to all politics as we work together collectively towards a successful self sustainable...
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...To Drill or Not to Drill? Many people are debating how to best meet energy needs in the United States. Some argue that the country must decrease its dependence on oil and invest in alternative sources of energy. The United States uses tons of oil daily which tends to be very expensive. Many people believe to best meet energy needs would be to find alternative sources , such as wind, and solar power. The simple fact is, renewable and alternative energy should be a major investment for everyone. Energy conservation can result in increased financial capital, environmental quality, national security, personal security, and comfort. Individuals and organizations choose to conserve energy to reduce energy costs and promote economic security. However, industrial and commercials users can increase energy use efficiency. Repeated use of alternative sources would help the United States to gradually clean up pollution and also save millions of dollars in the future. Renewable sources of energy vary widely in their cost-effectiveness and in their availability across the United States. Their cost comes in collecting, harnessing, and transporting the energy so that it can do useful work. The price of electricity will increase which will cause citizens to spend thousands of dollars on electricity because of the rising cost of oil. Also the oil supply is decreasing daily and eventually that source will be extinct so why not start with alternative sources. Some argue that alternative...
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...To Drill or Not to Drill? Many people are debating how to best meet energy needs in the United States. Some argue that the country must decrease its dependence on oil and invest in alternative sources of energy. The United States uses tons of oil daily which tends to be very expensive. Many people believe to best meet energy needs would be to find alternative sources , such as wind, and solar power. The simple fact is, renewable and alternative energy should be a major investment for everyone. Energy conservation can result in increased financial capital, environmental quality, national security, personal security, and comfort. Individuals and organizations choose to conserve energy to reduce energy costs and promote economic security. However, industrial and commercials users can increase energy use efficiency. Repeated use of alternative sources would help the United States to gradually clean up pollution and also save millions of dollars in the future. Renewable sources of energy vary widely in their cost-effectiveness and in their availability across the United States. Their cost comes in collecting, harnessing, and transporting the energy so that it can do useful work. The price of electricity will increase which will cause citizens to spend thousands of dollars on electricity because of the rising cost of oil. Also the oil supply is decreasing daily and eventually that source will be extinct so why not start with alternative sources. Some argue that alternative...
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...Alternative energy – Why is it a game changer? * Compare the difference between old days and now. * How alternative energy influence nowadays life? Introduction (background) http://renewable-solarenergy.com/non-renewable-energy-sources.html What was used before to generate energy? * Fossil fuels(The term ‘fossil fuel’ refers to fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. ) * Where do it come from? How can it be used? It can be used to produce electricity, heating, cooking, transportation and manufacturing. 85% of the energy used in the industrial processes is form the non-renewable type of energy. * Transportation?... http://renewablegreen.net/?p=124 What limitations or disadvantages does non-renewable energy have? * However, after never-ending mining and ‘drill baby drill,’ we realized that there is was limitation to how much we can use them. Because one day, the mines will be empty and drilling pipes would dry out. Over the years, their demand has been far outstripping their availability. * Pollution created (air, water) => Global warming and greenhouse effect * Increasing oil price (because of limited resources) And with demand overpowering supply, prices will continue to rise dramatically. Combustion of fossil fuels emits harmful gases like sulfur dioxide (causing acid rain) and carbon monoxide (contributing to greenhouse effect). Due to the adverse affects, the globe is heating up and the polar ice caps are melting faster. A need...
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...on a perpetual price ladder. The price of gas has doubled in the past decade and will continue to rise at an even faster rate than ever before. Why do gas prices continually swell? Who owns the oil being drilled and pumped from all over the world? Oil is a non-renewable resource owned by oiling companies such as Exxon Mobile, Chevron, BP, and other name brand gas providers. The prices are skyrocketing because of supply and demand. The world supply of natural oil is being syphoned and used every day at an alarming rate. Oil companies have gotten and are still getting their more than fair share of money for providing these fuels. In fact, these big oil companies have enough money to change their businesses almost over night. So why don't they, you might ask? The simple answer is that they are stubborn. Oil companies still see a profit to be made and seem to write off the pollution of machines and burden of the gas prices on every day citizens of the United States and the rest of the world. What am I proposing? Big oil companies have either nothing to lose or everything to lose depending on whether or not they choose to reinvent themselves to support alternative energy or stubbornly decline alternative energy to further pursue Earth's dwindling oil supply. Let's take a look at how oil businesses think and what drives their way of thinking. The supply of oil and natural gas is on the decline, especially for American oil companies. The land in the United States is not...
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