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Oil industry effect on the environment
Importance of oil
Impact Of Oil Pollution On Marine Environment
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Oil plays a immense and vital role in our society as it is organized today. Oil represents much more than just one of the main energy sources used by mankind. The oil and petroleum industry plays an extremely important role in the economy and politics of our country. Petroleum products, besides being an important energy source, serve as feedstock for several consumer goods, which in turn plays a growing and relevant role in people’s lives. But apart from all pertinent role the oil industry plays in our society, it holds a major potential hazards for the environment, and may impact it at different levels: air, water, soil, and consequently all living beings on our planet. Pollution is connected with virtually all activities throughout all stages of oil and gas production, from exploratory activities to refining. Wastewaters, gas emissions, solid waste and aerosols generated during drilling, production, refining and transportation amount to over 800 different chemicals, among which, prevail oil and petroleum products.
One of the most negative impact to our environment is the oil pollution. Technically, 45% of all marine pollution comes from tank vessels and consumption leaks oil spillage. Oil spills can have disastrous consequences for society; economically, environmentally, and socially. Cleanup and recovery from an oil spill is
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One of the most popular is the Guimaras oil spill, considered as a major disaster to date in terms of volume of oil spill and environmental impacts. Gross damages from the oil spill is placed at over a billion in 2006 with net damages at over PhP 352 million. Attribution of the total cost across ecosystems is based from the area and the productivity. The worst affected are coral reefs because of the total area affected covered over 27 km2. (Padilla,
In conclusion, Oil impacted social change over time, which helped us grow as a society. If you took my proposal into consideration I would really appreciate it. My proposal is going to have all of the factors of Oil and how oil has change our state. After reading the documents that you have given me I was able to answer question “What story should be told”. As H.L hunt always said “money is just as way of keeping score”. - H.L
Almost every single nation in our world today, the United States included, is extremely reliant on oil and how much of it we can obtain. Wars have been started between countries vying for control of this valuable natural resource. The United States as a whole has been trying to reduce its reliance on foreign oil and has had some success, especially with the discovery of the Bakken formation and projects like the Keystone Pipeline.
Most people believe that one man-made natural disaster would teach us to be better, but we have learned that history repeats itself. The Exxon Valdez oil spill (in 1989) and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, or BP oil spill, (in 2010) were both devastating oil spills that shocked the nation. The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred due to a tanker grounding. The BP oil spill was caused by an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform. These two oil spills were both disasters and had greater effects in certain categories. In this essay, I will be comparing the cause of both oil spills, the damage/effect of both oil spills, and the cleanup of each oil spill.
Oil provides us with many necessities in our lives. Cosmetics, medicines, cleaning products, asphalt, food, plastic, and most importantly, petroleum. But of course, nothing comes without a price. The oil that makes our lives so much more convenient, is also ironically gradually killing the environment, this very Earth that we live in. One of the biggest environmental concerns come from oil spills. Oil spill is defined as “ the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution.” Let’s look at some examples of these oil spills.
People need oil for daily life and work. Since World War II, oil has caused many serious problems in the United States and throughout the world. Remarkably, economic and social problems were heightened by the emerging energy crisis. By 1974, the United States gained a third of its oil by importing from the Middle East. James Oakes, et al.
Petroleum seepages, in some form or another have been around since ancient times for boat caulking, road mending, and as medicine, however, the modern petroleum industry was truly born with the first drilled oil well in August 1859 by Edwin L. Drake at Titusville, PA. (Laudon, 347) At first, in the United States, oil production was controlled by small operators but by the late 1870's John D. Rockfeller had purchased most of the nation's refineries-controlling the United States industry. The Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1911 split Rockfeller's Standard Oil Trust into three smaller companies; today they are known as Mobil, Chevron, and Exxon. (Lynch, 214) Since that time, oil has become a major part of everyone's way of life. Oil is used to provide fuel for automobiles, tractors, trucks, aircraft and ships. Petroleum products are the basic materials used for the manufacture of synthetic fibers for clothing and in plastics, paints, fertilizers, insecticides, soaps, and synthetic rubber etc... (Lynch, 207) Due to this demand, companies are constantly searching for more oil deposits.
This is especially obvious within the context of the lower Mississippi Delta, where for many Louisianans; oilrigs provide them with jobs. Humans are dependent on oil as one of Earth’s limited resources, and it is central to our way of life: transportation, heating fuel, electric generation, common materials, and even plays a role in making our food (Catherine Gautier). The economic profits of oil are many; new technologies and innovations with oil as a key contributor are making for a prosperous future.
Natural gas extraction and consumption has risen over the past thirty years. Also known as hydraulic fracturing or fracking, a tremendous amount of uproar is being made in the environmental and political communities. Natural gas use is a great source of energy worldwide, only in America have we had a gold rush affect when it comes to extraction. Natural gas provides less dependence on foreign oil, less need for coal plants, and a more affordable energy source worldwide. There are many advantages to using natural gas but the way in which it is being extracted has caused many people to become sick. The detrimental environmental impacts caused by hydraulic fracturing continue to rise. Not to mention the political pull on big corporations and water quality standards. Currently in the Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania and the Barnett shale in Texas, the air and water quality have diminished over the past years since drilling sites ran rampant. Natural gas is natural in terms of how it came to be, but not natural in how they extract it and the problems it is causing everyone involved. To make aware the dangers of hydraulic fracturing, environmental impacts, water quality and air emissions, must be considered.
The modern world of today runs on fossil fuels with crude oil being the live blood of industrialized countries. Though much of the twentieth century old was plentiful easily acquired and low in cost it has only been in the past thirty years that we have seen oil prices rise substantially. This can be attributed to many different reason. These price changes have challenged the industrialized world to become more creative with their techniques of both acquiring oil and using it.
Because it is the most highly publicized of the different forms of ocean pollution, oil spills, oil leakages, and general oil contamination are something that we all seem to be aware of. Since the Exxon Valdez incident, the American public in particular has been more and more critical of oil companies.Each year, over 700 million gallons of oil end up in the ocean. Contrary to what you may have thought, most oil pollution doesn't come from tanker accidents. In fact, tanker accidents account for less than 90 million of the g...
The oil & gas industry is among the largest industries in the world. The sector generates large revenues and employs a large number of people in order to meet the worldwide demand for energy.
To begin with, pollution of the ocean such as oil spills play a major role in corrupting the marine life. Oil spills occur due to numerous reasons. For instance, people may make mistakes while using equipment containing oil and cause an oil spill. A representative epitome would be the 2007 South Korea oil spill. Around 7:30 am on 7 December 2007 in Korea’s local time, Samsung Heavy Industries’ crane barge crashed into Hebei Spirit, a crude carrier anchored by Hong Kong, while being towed. The tragic accident took place near the Daesan port on the coast of Yellow Sea, spilling approximately 260,000 tons of oil in the sea. The situation worsened as the barge freely floated around after the tug cable had snapped. Fortunately enough, no casualties were reported from this incident. However, the region that the spill had affected was one of the major homes used migratory birds, and contained a national maritime park along with 445 sea farms as well. People reluctantly assumed the oil spill would not widely spread because of severely low winter temperatures of Korea. Such unwilling attitude essentially exacerbated the situation. Unexpectedly warm climate alo...
It is small minded to think that the only issues our earth faces with petroleum is when there is a major oil spill in the ocean. The visuals from massive oils spills make sensational and emotionally charged pictures. Who can forget the BP oil spill of 2010? But a lot of the petroleum that is harming our natural environment comes from less astounding sources. On a day-to-day basis, refined oil finds a way to enter our environment from small deposits such as a leak from a car or dumping down municipal drains (McNerney). This petroleum
The worst imaginable environmental catastrophe that could occur in Maryland has just become a reality. The lifeblood of Southern Maryland's Watermen has been forever affected. The ecosystems of the Patuxtent River and Chesapeake Bay have been irreversibly contaminated. The Three Mile Island and Chernobyl Nuclear Accidents have affected the world ecosystems; but the Chalk Point oil spill has reached us here in Southern Maryland. The ethical considerations with generating electricity from fossil fuels, specifically oil, has a profound impact on us all. We all use electricity to make our lives easier and more productive. By using this electricity have we given our permission for the oil companies free reign in order to provide us with the service we demand?? Are we just as responsible for the oil spill as the corporate leaders who run the companies? As citizens we are in a position to develop and enforce regulations to protect ourselves. Do we also protect the environment; or is the environment just something for us to use? These and many other moral dilemmas exist for modern man.
In order to better understand the problems of plastics in the ocean, It’s important to know the harm it causes to wildlife animals, and the negative effects it has on humans and finding out the causes of pollution, and how it enters our oceans and a way to try and prevent future problems.