ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES

Are Alternative Energy Sources the answer to ending Human Dependence on Oil?

Are Alternative Energy Sources the answer to ending Human Dependence on Oil?

Introduction

Standard fuel sources include nonrenewable energy sources such as petroleum-based products, natural gas, coal, propane, and nuclear power. Alternative fuels on the other hand refer to any non-conventional source materials that include bio fuels (e.g., biodiesel, ethanol), hydrogen, wind power, hydroelectricity, geothermal energy, and solar power. The energy from alternative fuels may also be stored for later use using chemical storage systems (e.g., batteries, fuel cells). Alternative fuel sources are non-fossil fuel based and are an integral a part of a renewable and sustainable energy practice. Although fossil fuel substitutions have notable drawbacks, the development and implementation of alternative fuel technologies coupled with extreme conservation measures may provide industrialized nations a means to wean their historical dependence on fossil fuels without comprising economic prosperity.

Discussion

The inexpensive fuels of the previous century are no longer and high fossil-fuel consumption among western nations shows trends of declining. In 2008, global oil consumption decreased by 0.6 percent, the largest decrease in nearly three decades that was driven primarily by 2 to 3 percent declines in traditionally major oil consuming nations such as the United States, Canada, and western Europe (Scheer 2005). However, the oil consumption decline of western nations is being countered by increasing consumption by developing world economies, particularly China and India. The world has already consumed about half of the recoverable fossil fuels since the modern industrial age, remarkable given fossil fuel development requires millions of years and specialized biological, geologic and climatic conditions (Kemp 2005). For instance, oil forms from the decomposition of marine life deposited in sedimentary basins that undergoes compaction from the increasing pressure of the overlying materials, thus trapping the hydrocarbons and the gas byproducts from the organic breakdown deep into the Earth's crust. The majority of oil and natural gas worldwide are found in sedimentary rock layers of the Cenozoic Era about 50 million years ago. The process of oil and natural gas creation took millions of years, while the process of extraction is on the order of a couple centuries.

Oil Production

Although uncertainty exists about when world oil production will peak and when viable oil reserves will cease, experts generally agree supplies will be severely limited within the next generation and a fossil fuel energy crisis may be unavoidable. The ratio of oil consumption to oil availability is nearly 3:1. Based on 2009 global consumption and production levels, British Petroleum (BP) estimates 42 years are left before current oil reserves are completely depleted. However, the BP estimate does not incorporate several key parameters that can influence oil consumption, such as: consumption pattern changes, including those stemming from population increases and conservation measures; alternative fuel usage; increased oil extraction costs from less accessible reserves; pricing and production strategies from oil producers (e.g., the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC); or new oil reserve discoveries (Goettemoeller 2007). Whether current oil reserves will be sufficient to ...