The Coal Comeback

Although coal is responsible for lifting millions of people living in China and India out of poverty, the damaging effects of its widespread use is coming back to haunt the rest of the world. While millions benefit from coal’s recent success, using this type of fossil fuel is the most damaging on the environment. Coal has penetrated every aspect of the people’s lives, good and bad. It is presented as the foundation of the country’s economic development, credited with making possible everything from the railroad to skin care products. Although it makes their world possible, it makes their world, and everyon’es dirty. China’s pollution travels across the Pacific Ocean and appears in America as acid rain. The soot from power plants boosts global warming because coal emits almost twice as much carbon dioxide as natural gas. Although mandates have been made in China to reduce energy consumption and thus reduce pollution, it remains the largest producers of toxins in the environment. The situation is so grave the inhabitants of Taiyuan, China, a coal mining town, cannot be outside for fear of breathing too much coal dust.

The Oil Drama

This past Thursday, former Washington staff staged a political crisis based on America’s dependence on oil. The issue was $150-a-barrel oil, another war in Iraq and the reimposition of the draft. All this was done to force the energy situation into the ongoing presidential debates and to call Congress to action on the matter. The purpose of this political drama was to prove that Congressional inaction and political inattention could lead to dire, yet completely foreseeable consequences. “Once a crisis actually hits, policy tools are largely ineffectual,” said Jason S. Grumet, president of the Bipartisan Policy Center. “The participants recognized that Congress has to get out in front on oil security before events overtake it.” Although “players” in this theatrical performance over dramatized the situation and their roles in it, these types of issues – increased instability in countries such as Venezuela and Iraq that could spark another war – are real possibilities and ones we must not only acknowledge but also be prepared to solve.

China + India = Economic Slowdown

China and India are about to dominate the oil markets and because of their increasing demand, the prices have climbed to extremely high levels. In fact, China’s demand will soon equal all of Saudi Arabia’s oil exports. These high prices could be the cause for a major economic slowdown. However, more than the economic consequences that will result from this increase in oil use, the most pressing concerns are environmental. While China and India are the some of the greatest offenders of green house gas emissions, they could, if they introduce greater efficiencies, build up renewable sources of energy, and use more nuclear power. These two countries have a voracious appetite for fossil fuels because the need to catch up to the standard of living of developed countries. The bottom line, as Mr. Birol reports, that if “governments fail to limit growth in oil demand or to find alternative energy sources, especially in China, India and developed nations, we may see price levels much higher than we conventionally believed in the past.”

Oil and Socialism: the venezuelan dilemma

In a country where gasoline costs seven cents a gallon, there is a direct link to demands for oil and social order. These low gas prices are due to an old and very complex government subsidy which is currently costing the Venezuelan government approximately $9 Billion dollars a year, money which could be spent on social programs as the government is transforming the country into a socialist society. One citizen commented, “If you raise [the price of] gasoline, the people revolt.” However, this subsidy has two evil faces. One, it bypasses the poor while benefitting only the rich, car-owning citizens. Two, those who can afford cars chose gas-guzzling SUV’s like Hummers because it costs only $1.50 to fill up the tank. And yet another problem resulting from this subsidy is the increase in overall use of oil and thus is attributing the greater world-wide demand for oil.

Is China helping or hurting?

New advances in green energy are becoming popular in China, however, alternative energy resources are still far more costly and less efficient than the ever-popular coal-fired plants.

Where to? If all the oil on land is gone, where do we drill next?

In Hammerfest, Norway, a town located on the coast of the waters of the Artic Circle, the first far-offshore plant and one of the most advanced natural gas plants is being developed – its completion signifies a new age of energy production. The first plant of its kind, this facility will send gas, by ship, to the American East Coast. Jad Mouawad reports, “before Christmas, furnaces in Brooklyn and stoves in Washington will be burning with [this] gas.” Companies turn to remote places such as the Artic Circle of Norway, vertical wells six miles deep in the Gulf of Mexico or horizontal ones in Russia to keep up with the growing demand for oil but with these new projects come more difficulties. These include. One such problem is the increasing cost of discovery and development of new projects for this oil. However, increased production costs mean higher costs for the consumer. It is not a question of whether there is oil; it is now a matter of moving to remote places to find it because consumption has increased so drastically. At our current rate America will need to import about a fifth of the natural gas in uses by 2030. Because of this demand, producers have turned to Norway – an inhospitable location located hundreds of miles from the nearest pipeline. This plant includes new technology to the field of oil production but has come with a ten billion dollar price tag. Ironically, the more we use this newly found oil, the more the effects of global warming make Norway a more hospitable place to drill for oil.

Breaking News

This is my breaking news section