OIL - HOW DOES IT AFFECT YOU AS AN ENERGY SOURCE

OIL - HOW DOES IT AFFECT YOU AS AN ENERGY SOURCE

"Without Energy, the wheels of industry do not turn……No cars, trucks, trains, ships, or airplanes could be built……without energy, houses would remain cold and unlighted , food would be uncooked…….without energy resources, we would literally be back in the Stone Age" - US Geological Survey World Petroleum Assessment 2000

What would life have been like without petroleum and its products which constitute one of life's most dependable sources of energy? Take a close note that oil is made from petroleum and has been used to lubricate the economic and social life of each one of us- oil is used to lubricate motor vehicles, bicycles, strollers, and other things with moving parts. Oil without doubts, lessens friction, thus slowing down breakdown of machine components.

Oil have been in hot demands in so many industries such as the Aviation Sector for their commercial and private airlines; authomobiles, heating systems, e.t.c. Many by-products of oil are too numerous to mention e.g cosmetics, paint, inks, drugs, fertilizers, plastics e.t.c Daily life activities for many if not all would have been drastically different without the use of oil. No wonder, its reputably noted that " Oil has a greater variety of uses than perhaps any other substance in the world after water". No one can deny that modern industrial civilization depends on petroleum.

However, one of the basic question that would never be far from the lips of all and sundry as far as oil is coincerned is "Oil – is it a Blessing or a Curse?" or "Is it both a Curse and a Blessing?" This is no doubt a question that requires quick attention in the light of the soaring oil prize in the international market; the wealth it has brought to its producers and ironically, the attendant poverty that stares hard in the faces of the various indigenous communities from where this king of the energy industry is been drilled, extracted and exported.

Oil – and Natural Gas - are essential, and this has created, as Daniel Yergian sated in his book, "The Prize", a "Hydrocarbon Society". Just think of heating oil, greases, waxes, asphalts, gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and the other item made from petrochemicals – aircrafts, automobiles, boats, adhesives, paints, deodorants, makeup, recording discs, computers, TVs, telephones e.t.c Everyday, many people use a good number of the over 4, 000 oil derivatives or products to shape their modern life. No wonder, this great natural product has been life's anchor from generations till date, yet many experts would rather turn a blind eye to the question of "what harm to the fabric of life that has characterized the history of oil since its first discovery, and its impact as an energy source?"

The Oil industry has long been accused of adding to the damage done to the environment by carbon dioxide emissions, which may constitutes to global warming and its attendant climate change. The hot politics been played with oil has equally added to the soaring prize crisis of this indispensable commodity. Not only is oil essential to modern life, it has become an deeply rooted issue in the very heart of politics and the special interest a few powerful people and among few nations. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), recently stated, that oil is not an ordinary product but a "a strategic asset". If not, what could have been the essence of the 1990 gulf war, and the recent invasion of Iraq, among too many oil related conflicts?

Energy experts have theorized that oil supplies may eventually become exhausted. It has been estimated that within a 63 to 95 years period, the last drop of oil would have been drilled from the ground. Happily though, other sources of energy are now been romanced with. Some of which have been used for decades. Among these are the following- Solar, Wind, Wave, Hydro-electric, Ocean thermal e.t.c Even though these sources of energy are not only reliable and equally efficient when properly harnessed, it is without doubt very expensive, yet their friendly effects on the environment seems to overcome whatever debate that could go against it as the future source of energy recourses way-long before the oil wells dries up!