The Oil Apocalypse

Desiree Little

November 9, 2015

Geology 113

Dr. Jon Powell

The Oil Apocalypse

According to the video “Oil Apocalypse: What If the Oil Runs Out?” It’s not the question of if but when the oil is all used up. This is going to be a huge problem because oil is a source of energy used widely across the globe and is allowing people to live in luxury the way we do today. Oil is used as fuel for transportation in vehicles, trains, and jet fuel as well as heating and electricity generation. It is also used in tires, asphalt, chemicals, plastic, and several other everyday items. When oil runs out completely it could be disastrous for people everywhere. It is very important that we come up with alternative resources to replace oil before this “Oil Apocalypse” takes place.

There are several things we are working on that is currently replacing oil or using much less of it. One of the main uses of oil is fuel for vehicles. It is a necessity that we create vehicles that are not dependent on the use of oil in order to operate. This is idea is already in place and so far is successful. We have access to hybrid vehicles, which have an electric engine. They still need oil but a much smaller amount and they’re very conservative and much better for the environment. Fully electric cars don’t use oil at all. They just need to be plugged in and solely run off of electricity. These are just a few things that we are working on that would greatly help conserve oil and delay the oil apocalypse if we were to get everyone to use this new technology.

Another alternative source for oil that has been used is Ethanol. It is made from a variety of plant material such as grain, corn, and sugar cane. Much of the gasoline in the United States contains a small percentage of Ethanol. Other countries such as Brazil are using 100% Ethanol as their main fuel source. The problem with using Ethanol is that it is expensive to produce and harsh on the environment. Another huge issue is if we start using large amounts of crops to produce fuel and energy that may eventually result in running out of food, which would be even more devastating. There are several different sources of energy that we use and are extremely dependent on other than oil like coal for example, which are also slowly diminishing. The main issue is that we have so many people on the planet that use the same products and the resources we have are never going to last forever.