Oil ALternatives Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Oil ALternatives - Research Paper Example Impacts of Alternative Fuels 1. Environmental Impacts 2. Social Impacts 3. Economic Impacts Conclusion: More research must be done on the various sources of fuel other than oil, in order to identify the most suitable and environmentally beneficial alternative. Karen Duneen Margaret Wilhelm English 1102 24 Apr. 2012 OIL ALTERNATIVES Alternative and effective sources of energy to oil must be found, as oil is a limited resource which is extremely bad for the environment. Oil is a non-renewable energy which is obtained through the drilling of oil reservoirs in particular regions. In the contemporary world, our daily operations are driven by oil (Sherman and Freemuth 6). The industrial world is well aware of the significance of oil in its operations. Ostensibly, oil was a great catalyst of the industrial revolution and was instrumental in enabling the economic advancement of numerous countries. Petroleum is the fuel of choice for industrial equipment while others are run by diesel. In the past coal was the preferable fuel until oil became known as a better alternative. A vast proportion of automobiles for example, are reliant on oil since they encompass oil-dependent engines. In addition, modern ships and boats have a structure that requires oil to propel it to various destinations. The aviation industry also constitutes engines that require the introduction of oil into their systems to enable them to function properly. Evidently commercial industries have been integrated with oil since it is cheaper and widely useful in most of their operations unlike electricity. Petroleum has high-energy capacities; its transportation is relatively easy and efficient in initiating numerous operations (Sherman and Freemuth 6). Its relevance in modern society is growing with most of its producers emanating from the Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran. Processing of oil also gives rise to several oil products like kerosene, diesel, petroleum, and gasoline. Kerosene is instr umental in cooking and other domestic tasks that require fuel. Invariably, oil is an essential element in the manufacturing of products that comprise of clothing, ink, crayons, paints, upholstery, antiseptics, heart valves and many others. Oil is increasingly becoming essential and thereby its price fluctuates especially in recent years. Recently doubts regarding the abundance of oil are surfacing, together with the detrimental effects of oil pollution to the climate. According to Sherman and Freemuth (7), oil is a finite resource and hence upon exhaustion the suppliers cannot replenish it. This suggests that oil is not adequately dependable as a resource in the end. This element has facilitated the debate of adoption of other renewable resources of power as an alternative to oil. There is a simmering debate over the possibility of replacing oil as the predominant energy resource, due to its limitations. Irrespective of the high-energy capacities of petroleum, it is essential to ack nowledge the fact that oil is a limited reserve. There are dreadful assertions that some of the oil wells could be drying up since there is a reduction in the quantity of oil barrels that they produce. Such a stance also has undesirable ramifications politically, socially, and economically. Evidently, there is an increasing global effort in initiatives resulting from this awareness, for example, the introduction of electric cars and the manufacture of environmentally friendly containers. The alternative sources of energy will mitigate the