Our Society Over A Barrel - Oil Barrel That Is
Over the last century, humankind experienced an unprecedented expansion of industrialization.
Here's a perspective: Only 100 years have passed since autos have even existed, and electrical power didn't exist in a majority of the country until 50 years ago.
Now consider: -Industrialization is a global phenomenon so energy resources are being consumed at an unprecedented rate the world over.
- Japan is the world's second largest economy, and China is growing into a tremendous world power, consuming resources faster than any country the world has ever seen.
- U.
S.
consumption of petroleum has risen steadily since 1950, and promises to continue unabated.
- In 2000, the U.
S.
consumed 20 million barrels of crude oil per day.
That's a lot of crude.
- U.
S.
net fossil fuel imports fell during the '70s as a result of the OPEC oil embargo, but have risen sharply since the mid 1980's.
In 2005, over half of the crude oil consumed in the US was imported, and it's projected that this number will increase to over 65 percent within 20 years.
Over reliance on fossil fuels All of the growth and expansion has been shouldered by fossil fuel energy sources, which creates all sorts of havoc: Politically it makes us beholden to foreign nations.
Economically it creates uncertainty in markets, and wild price fluctuations result.
Economies need consistency in order to thrive, and there is no telling how much the fossil fuel price fluctuations have cost the US economy in terms of lost growth potential.
Declining supplies While consumption has skyrocketed, US domestic supplies of crude oil have declined in the last half of the century, and after checking out the following facts, you can see that at some point US domestic supply will simply run dry: - At present, US production of crude is only 1.
9 million barrels a day.
Current estimates put US domestic reserves of crude petroleum at 21.
3 billion barrels.
But current production rates are around 8 percent of the reserves per year.
This means the US will run completely out of domestic crude in about 12 years.
- current estimates of us natural gas reserves are 192.
5 trillion cubic feet.
But production from these reserves is growing at a rate four times that of new discoveries so the situation is only growing worse.
At present, production represents around 4 percent of proven reserves per year, which suggests that the US will run out of domestic supplies in 25 years.
Even if offshore drilling platforms are allowed to proliferate around the coastlines; even if ANWR is opened up to drilling; even if future generations of extraction and processing equipment exceed expectations; and even if new domestic reserve discoveries exceed the wildest expectations, the United State will run completely out of domestic supplies for it's most basic forms of raw energy.
The US has two options in the face of declining reserves: - Seize foreign reserves, by war if necessary.
Although this may sound outlandish, when the US economy starts to grind to a halt, things will get truly serious.
- Develop alternative energy sources.
Here's a perspective: Only 100 years have passed since autos have even existed, and electrical power didn't exist in a majority of the country until 50 years ago.
Now consider: -Industrialization is a global phenomenon so energy resources are being consumed at an unprecedented rate the world over.
- Japan is the world's second largest economy, and China is growing into a tremendous world power, consuming resources faster than any country the world has ever seen.
- U.
S.
consumption of petroleum has risen steadily since 1950, and promises to continue unabated.
- In 2000, the U.
S.
consumed 20 million barrels of crude oil per day.
That's a lot of crude.
- U.
S.
net fossil fuel imports fell during the '70s as a result of the OPEC oil embargo, but have risen sharply since the mid 1980's.
In 2005, over half of the crude oil consumed in the US was imported, and it's projected that this number will increase to over 65 percent within 20 years.
Over reliance on fossil fuels All of the growth and expansion has been shouldered by fossil fuel energy sources, which creates all sorts of havoc: Politically it makes us beholden to foreign nations.
Economically it creates uncertainty in markets, and wild price fluctuations result.
Economies need consistency in order to thrive, and there is no telling how much the fossil fuel price fluctuations have cost the US economy in terms of lost growth potential.
Declining supplies While consumption has skyrocketed, US domestic supplies of crude oil have declined in the last half of the century, and after checking out the following facts, you can see that at some point US domestic supply will simply run dry: - At present, US production of crude is only 1.
9 million barrels a day.
Current estimates put US domestic reserves of crude petroleum at 21.
3 billion barrels.
But current production rates are around 8 percent of the reserves per year.
This means the US will run completely out of domestic crude in about 12 years.
- current estimates of us natural gas reserves are 192.
5 trillion cubic feet.
But production from these reserves is growing at a rate four times that of new discoveries so the situation is only growing worse.
At present, production represents around 4 percent of proven reserves per year, which suggests that the US will run out of domestic supplies in 25 years.
Even if offshore drilling platforms are allowed to proliferate around the coastlines; even if ANWR is opened up to drilling; even if future generations of extraction and processing equipment exceed expectations; and even if new domestic reserve discoveries exceed the wildest expectations, the United State will run completely out of domestic supplies for it's most basic forms of raw energy.
The US has two options in the face of declining reserves: - Seize foreign reserves, by war if necessary.
Although this may sound outlandish, when the US economy starts to grind to a halt, things will get truly serious.
- Develop alternative energy sources.
Source...