When the first Industrial Revolution came about in the late18th century, it started in the
United Kingdom, and then spread through Europe, North America, and eventually everywhere.
Nobody could have known the unseen consequences that the new found technology would cause.
The Industrial Revolution allowed us to change the way manufacturing, agriculture, mining,
transportation and technology were all handled. When the replacement of organic fuels (that
were based on wood), changed to the use of fossil fuels (based on coal) during the second
Industrial Revolution, no one could have known the devastating effects it would have later. What
they did not know was that with the continual use of fossil fuels we would endanger nature, the
wildlife that lives in it, and our environment that we live in as well. They also failed to think that
we would ever run out and now that our society is built around the use of fossil fuels, we need to
come together to devise a plan that will keep our engines running, and the lights on for our
children and our grandchildren. Fossil fuels are a non-renewable resource that can take millions
of years to form, and the reserves are being used faster than new ones are having time to
formulate. Fossil fuels that we mainly rely on would include; coal, natural gas, and most
importantly, petroleum. With that said, this paper is going to talk about how our society would
be able to transfer from fossil fuels to cleaner resource energies which are beneficial to our earth,
and our existence.
“Our food industry is a major factor into the usage of fossil fuels. We use a tremendous
amount of fossil fuels each year contributing to 10% of the energy used.” (Donner & Rodriquez,
2011) For the amount of energy used, we do not get very much back. Transporting foods,
fueling machinery, and chemicals are the main causes for the used energy. Pesticides and
artificial fertilizers are synthesized from atmospheric natural gas, and nitrogen, which use a large
amount of energy to complete the process. Other energies that are used up are due to the
production system allocated to processing and packaging food, as well as home refrigeration and
cooking. Food transportation is another top contributor to the amount of energy used in the food
business. The way the United States is set up, we get our wheat from the western Plains,
Midwest contributes corn, and “90% of all the fresh vegetables consumed here in the United
States originate from San Joaquin Valley, in California.” (NCCP, 2011) With the transportation
of food, it is estimated that food can travel 1,500 miles before being consumed! There is another
alternative to this issue, and it includes purchasing at local food markets. It is more of a
“seasonal based” eating which means that you can only find the type of food that is “in season”.
This cuts down on the amount of fossil fuels used to transport the food, and produce the food in
mass quantities. Since pesticides and fertilizers account for 40% of all the fossil fuels used, we
could cut down the costs by using local farmers, who fight to preserve their land because of all
the hard work they have put into it. This also would cut out the food processing centers which
paper and plastic packaging is used in order to keep the food fresh. This contributes largely to the
amount of water and air pollution.
Even though coal and petroleum are biologically based, they use condensed, stored
energy that has been building up for millions of years. Because of the time it takes for the energy
to build up, this is not considered to be a renewable resource. Once this condensed energy is
gone it will take millions of years for the energy to rebuild its’ supply. So, what are we going to
do while we are waiting for the energy to rebuild itself? To begin, we could start looking into
renewable sources of energy like; solar energy. Solar energy uses a process similar to the
photosynthesis that powers plant based renewable power. This active photosynthetic energy is
renewable (otherwise endless), so we need to start finding ways to incorporate this technology
into our energy resources. With all the demands of energy the three that are most important are;
industry, heating, and transportation. They have found a suitable way to change from the current
transportation we drive to newer, more energy efficient vehicle. They replaced the use of a
gasoline engine with an electric motor, which gets its power from a controller. The controller
gets its power from an array of rechargeable batteries. The most interesting thing I have found
about the use of an electric motor is the ability to take advantage of the motor’s momentum when
you use the brakes. The process is called “regenerative breaking” and instead of converting all
the energy in the motor into heat like a gasoline power car, it recharges the batteries while
applying the break!
Transportation in a vehicle may be taken care of, but I still see issues with air planes and
making them more energy efficient. What would happen if the world ran out of fossil fuels
today? What would happen to our economy? Would we be able to find ways to generate enough
energy to keep the planet afloat? I think we would because there would be an exposure to the
other alternative power sources that have already been developed. Unfortunately, they remain
suppressed because they are a threat to the existing power structure. Oil companies not want to
lose their control in our transportation industry, but if we were to run out of fossil fuels today, we
would have to find more energy efficient ways of living our lives.
We all know the damage of what oil can do if anything happens to one of their “oil
wells”. On April 20th of 2010, a massive explosion on the Gulf of Mexico that was
uncontrollable for three months! It has been a devastating year later; with the impacts continuing
even after it was fixed. Contaminated water caused the Gulf’s food industry, tourism industries,
and the fishing industries to plummet. The number of dead wildlife is uncountable. The numbers
of dead dolphins washing up on the beaches of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana has
spiked since February 2011. With the amount of oil spilt here, I think that we are going to be
seeing the effects from this one for a long time. Not only will it take years to re-populate the Gulf
Ocean with the lost wildlife, but our economy costs have sky-rocketed, and there does not seem
to be any relief in sight. The dependence on foreign oil has been an issue for the last thirty years
now. In a rough estimate close to 1 trillion dollars a year comes from the United States. It has
been proven that America has plenty of oil here in the United States, and yet we spend $1 trillion
a year getting it from another country? I am sure that we could come up with a new plan to
reduce America’s national debt by digging in our own backyard. “A common theme in the
region's renewable energy projects is that they bring together countries that don't otherwise get
along in pursuit of a constructive common agenda, giving them additional value.” (Braude,
2005) The oil trade symbolizes the largest transfer of wealth from the rich societies to the poor
societies in history. The social ramifications of the oil trade make it difficult to see anything ideal
about the situation. It seems that all the parties involved with the transactions are damaged in
some way.
Solar energy is something we all need to learn how to use. One day it will be the
technology that lights our house, and keeps us warm or cool (according to the weather). It is now
a possibility that you can have a solar paneled home. The solar panels are specifically designed
to absorb the sun’s radiation, and convert it to energy that can then be converted to batteries
ranging from DC to 120 volts. The government gives taxes relief to those who participate in self-
producing activities such as concerting your house to solar energy. I think the most important
thing we need to do when we create a new alternative to fossil fuels is to make sure that we
weigh the consequences and make sure that whatever the resource is; that it is endlessly
renewable.
“[Current technologies make it possible to provide first generation biodiesel, ethanol or
biogas to the transport sector to be blended with fossil fuels. Still under-development 2nd
generation biofuels from lignocelluloses should be available on the market by 2020. Research is
active on the improvement of their conversion efficiency. A ten-fold increase compared with
current cost-effective capacities would make them highly competitive.]” (Bessou, Ferchaud,
Gabrielle, & Mary, 2011) One of the more popular biofuels is called “ethanol” and is basically
fermented plant parts. This is a good because it uses something that used to be thrown away. We
have learned to recycle and reuse, but it does have its drawbacks. One of those would be that
creating a plant-based biofuels would require the use of too much farmland and does not seem to
be practical or sustainable. We could use that land for growing food instead of crops only to be
used for waste.
Energy is something that we have all learned to depend on. The increased use of energy
correlates with the gross domestic product; though the principle sources of energy are fossil
fuels. This causes us to face the dilemma of the greenhouse effect. When we burn fossil fuels, we
enhance radiative forcing, and contribute to global warming, and cause the temperatures of the
earth to rise. “Here in the United States, over 90% of the greenhouse gas emissions are directly
linked to the combustion of fossil fuels.” (Envirolink, 2011) The combustions produce carbonic,
nitric, and sulfuric acids which in return, fall to the Earth in the form of acid rain. This impacts
both natural environments, and built in areas. Any type of sculptures or monuments that may be
made from limestone or marble would be exceptionally vulnerable because of how the acids
dissolve calcium carbonate. Nitrous oxide is another one of the greenhouse gasses which is a
major contributor to global warming. In addition to acrid rain, hydrocarbons can react with
nitrogen oxides to create smog. Smog does not destroy like acrid rain by dissolving limestone
and marble, but it is harmful for humans. For example; nitrogen oxides can irritate a person’s
lungs. Soot and dust are two types of particle matters that can contribute to respiratory illness
and cardiac problems, including heart attacks and arrhythmias.
In conclusion, the use of fossil fuels seems to have become America’s addiction. Both of
the Industrial had unforeseen consequences that we are just now finding out. Society has gone
from the use of burning wood for energy to the use of fossil fuels in order to create energy. We
need them in order function in society better, but what are we going to do when we run out? If all
the countries could just come together on this one subject, and find alternative means to these
issues, then we could stop the irreparable damage we are causing the Earth. We can ensure the
safety of generations to come. The only thing stopping us is actually being able to “come
together”.
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