Student

In this paper we will discuss the steady increase of world wide oil consumption resulting in a possible recession that may lead to future problems such as Peak Oil and other environmental issues. In our nation alone, there are dozens of sporting events that capture our hearts and souls, some of these events leave devastating scars to our economy and our environment. We as people of one, mother... earth, must make sacrifices that can prevent a devastating outcome. Motorized forms of entertainment have captured our attention for decades, but few seem to realize that these pastimes equate to the use of massive amounts of petroleum that are being consumed irresponsibly.

What is peak oil? In order for us to understand what were doing, we must realize what we have caused already. This term is the pinnacle of our decadence; it marks all of the destruction that we have created ourselves as far as pollution and procrastination of finding alternative solutions. Peak Oil has come to be known as the point where we as mankind have exhausted all means of energy, mainly natural gas to the extent that we are slowly killing our planet and ourselves. We have barely begun to realize our critical error and miscalculation. ''In fact, some say in 20 years the world will consume 40% more oil than it does today'' (Klare, para. 2). We are in a generation that heavily relies on energy; whether it is water, electrical or natural gas. Mankind has evolved faster than anyone could have anticipated, burning 50 times more energy than what we used to in the early 19th century. It is scary to think that we are wasting so much energy without noticing it but the ugly truth is that we waste energy doing things that we don't even notice; using the watching TV, watering the lawn, but especially driving. 'It took us 125 years to use the first trillion barrels of oil. We'll use the trillion in 30 years'(Klare, Para. 2) This clearly shows that we were not ready for an energy crisis of this magnitude, for us to actually think that we will end up having enough time to find an alternative source of fuel is blasphemous, it's unthinkable to produce a solution in such a little time frame. Since we are already using too much petroleum as it is, this increase will affect how much we use it on a daily basis. According to analysts at Goldman Sachs 'oil could reach as high as $105 a barrel in the near future' (Kalre, para. 10). This is something that will have a big impact on the economy. Some say that gas prices may 'spike up to $65 to $80.' (Klare, para. 9). At these rates, the petroleum industry can go both ways, it will either make trillions until it's eventual capsizing and bottoming out or it will slowly die out as more people begin to use less and eventually find an alternative fuel source altogether.

This brings me to my main concern, being as we can't stop time and find a solution to our ever-growing problem we can prolong it by cutting back on certain things that contribute to the problem. We have many pastimes; some are harmless to the environment while others are a big deal because of the current issue we are fighting against. I bring these concerns to the limelight because they are heavily involved in the Oil Age, without natural gas these sporting events would not exist. I believe that all forms of racing that include the use of natural gas should be removed from our daily lives completely if not minimized so that they are not such a big factor in the on going polluting of our planet. NASCAR, the BAJA 1000, Monster Truck Rally are all contributing to the problem in a significant way, all of these pastimes have something in common in that they use massive amounts of gas without which they would not exist in the first place. Some may think that this would not a make single difference but if you take into consideration that we are losing time as it is trying to find alternative sources of fuel without wasting the fuel that we use currently, it is a helpful start. Now we understand changes definitely need to me made. Changes don't necessarily mean ridding of ourselves from a favorite past time but limiting or substitution for another less harmful activity. Of course I think it would be so much easier to get rid of all these sports altogether so that we have one less thing to worry about. But I'm sure that if put in a realistic setting, none of this will ever be considered. There is too much red tape to go over in order for these demands to be made or even be considered. Since I myself am fan of some of these forms of entertainment I can not say I would want for these pastimes to be removed completely from my life, it is best to say that they should be limited. Instead of having so many events during a year, there should be one main event for each type sporting event in order to cut back on the emissions of the vehicles used in these sports. There are about 20-30 racing events for NASCAR in a single year alone, it's numbers like these that make you wonder how much gas is being used in order to entertain us. We don't ever consider things like these because it is uncommon for us to question the good. We tend to turn the other cheek towards things that do us no immediate harm. We are considered 'energy illiterate' (Para. 3) Now we can't really do the things that are stated here because of the sheer fact that theses sporting event and all the people involved