Oil and the Environment

As we all know the effect of oil spills on the environment can be devastating especially in oceanic habitats. One big spill in particular was the Exxon Valdez oil spill which was the most devastating to the environment in the history of all the oil spills that ever occurred. The Exxon Valdez spill was also the 34th biggest in the world and the number 1 largest spill in the US but there have been many other spills throughout history that have harmed the environment seemingly indefinitely. When it comes to oil and the environment it is widely known that the emissions that occur from the burning of fossil fuels can have bad consequences for the future of our planet starting with global warming which can cause many more natural disasters to occur all around the world in the future. Many countries around the globe are contributing to this problem by extracting increasing amounts of oil out of the earth’s crust every year. Current numbers indicate that the US is the top oil consumer and the 3rd largest producer of oil in the world with 6.5 million barrels of oil being produced every single day to fuel cars and industries.

There are many other countries that have similar oil producing capabilities to the US and if something is not done about the amounts of oil produced and consumed on a daily basis oil reserves will soon be depleted. In regards to this more sustainable energy sources are necessary in order to help to save the environment. If we do not find renewable energy sources we may be doomed to a halt in technological and economic growth. Oil is responsible for gaining access to so many things that humans depend on including most cars and machines for food production so if we do not find another option for fueling the countries around the world there may be a very dark future ahead.