Huck

Merz 1

Dan Merz

Ms. Berryman

English 102

15 May 2005

Big Money! Big Problem!

Although current oil reserves are supplying the world with more than enough energy, the supply will be running out sooner than we think, making oil and other fossil fuels (natural gas, coal, crude oil, and propane) very expensive and unattainable for the masses. As a world leader the United States needs to seriously pursue alternative forms of energy now! Mentioning them in speeches and acknowledging them is simply not going to solve the problem, President Bush and his administration need to solve the issue as soon as possible.

World population growth has slowed little in the last half century, while the amount of fossil fuels has not grown nor will they ever. With the current raise in oil prices globally we can start to see one of the main problems with fossils fuels, the cost. Oil prices are currently at an all time high, over fifty dollars a barrel. Experts say that the price will never again be below fifty dollars. As the supply of oil becomes less and less, the price will continue to rise and soon people will not be able to afford it. They will then be forced to either find alternative sources of energy or live without it. When discussing oil prices most people will think of gas prices, and that will be their main concern. Over 60% of the world is powered by oil energy, so the world would literally stop running with out the amount of energy it is used to having all the time. The definition of energy is the ability to do work, so loss of energy equals the loss of the ability to do work.

Merz 2

The situation has many opinions especially concerning the US involvement in Iraq. "Blood for Oil" is a popular saying of those who think that our investment in Iraq is less about democracy and more about covering our interests in oil. The case is that oil available to anyone will to pay the high prices, so it is possible that the US might have a legitimate interest in the democracy of Iraq, but not very likely. The idea that the military is where our interests lie is a viable one, but is it crazy, should people be concerned about that? No, because we need to protect our investments. We need not waste resources around the world in areas where nothing is going on, we have an agenda just like everyone and everything else.

There are dozens of alternative forms of energy in the world, existent or developing. With our technology and resources we could be find the next great main energy source. The key to future energy will be renewable energy, fossil fuels are not renewable therefore not ideal when it comes to long term energy. What would be ideal is a source that is naturally occurring and renewable, like for example hydro-electricity. Damming up rivers and using gravity to turn the turbines, this is great form of energy. Hydro-electricity could easily power the state of Washington; there are many dams in Washington and multiple rivers for future damming. But Washington does more than provide energy for itself, it also provides for other states as southern as Nevada and as eastern as the Dakotas. Hydro energy could potentially provide up to 50% of all energy needs, most of the larger damns have already been dammed so we would need to use the smaller ones. Problems with hydro are that it kills fish and their habitat, turns rivers into a series of lakes, and there is always the chance that the dam could burst killing thousands of innocent people (Odell).

Merz 3

Another common form of renewable energy is solar energy, potentially able to support 15% of energy needs. Solar energy is mostly used in two different forms; the first being the most popular, solar panels. Where large panels are lined up usually on a roof with running water through them, the water can then be used or stored for use in the house. The other method is more of a greenhouse effect in which there thermal reservoirs in a glass room, the sun comes into the room and is trapped there, the reservoirs allow for later use. The problems with solar energy are that there are only available during the day, and in especially sunny areas. The power they provide is not always but usually limited to heating, although that is usually for private users (Odell).

Geothermal energy is an option although it is non-renewable. Geothermal energy takes advantage of areas where the earths outside layers are thinner and magma is heating the ground. There are reservoirs full of