Adverse Effects on the Environment - Essay Example

Name Instructor’s Name Course Date Peak Oil: How Soon? How Serious? Environmental issues presented in the film Movies, films, documentaries and other forms of visual media are good sources of educative information on social, economic, and environmental issues. Presenters are able to explain to the listeners with detail that other forms of media cannot achieve. In addition, they are a good form of entertainment making the method less boring to the learners. However, some movies tend to incite the viewers by presenting radical ideologies on the subject matter such as encouragement of protests which lead to injuries or eventual death of the protestors. Over decades, oil has become the driving force of developed and emerging economies. It is a major ingredient for economic growth since it is the one that drives the industries, transport, and other related economic sectors that require propulsion. However, the available supply cannot satisfy the demand especially in the economies of the emerging Asian countries such as china. Therefore, the overdependence of the oil and its products has made the industrial world rethink of other sources of energy in order to offset the demand for oil. However, the alternatives have the same adverse effects on the environment and population as oil and its products. According to Brown, mining of energy products have damaging effects on the population patterns, living style, organisms at the mining sites, and the ozone layer. On the other hand, when energy sources reach their peak, there is a possibility of economic chaos, and potential wars between the contesting economies. To be able to suffice the rising demand, the presenters propose that alternative sources of energy such as tar from Alaska, or oil shells from beaches of South American countries. Although mining is a solution to the rising demand for oil, it has several negative effects on the ecosystem. The first effect is destruction of the environment that wildlife suited to the regions live. In order to construct the oil wells, large segments of land need to be cleared to make way for new structures. In addition, further clearance of land is done to accommodate the roads that lead to the mining sites. Once the natural environment is interfered with, the balance of the ecosystem is offset. The environment becomes hostile for the organisms making it difficult for them to find food, and places to shelter for comfort and their security from predators. That is why the presenter proposes that methods that do not interfere with the ecosystem be used so as to benefit the economy and maintain the environment. Brown also states that the mining process requires a lot of water to extract the energy products such as tar which bring the challenge of disposal of the waste water. In the video, Brown explains that the process introduces toxins in the water bodies which are ingested by the marine animals. When people consume products from the marine wildlife such as fish, they ingest the toxins into their body systems. Some of the toxins are causative agents of chronic diseases such as cancer to human beings especially if the animal has continually been exposed to the toxic materials. For humans, many communities living along the coastal regions of oil rich regions such as Brazil mainly depend on fishing and tourism. Offshore drilling to produce more oil to satisfy the rising demand adversely affects their economic activities. The drilling process introduces pollutants into the water and air surrounding the sites. Also, the marine life is disrupted through the introduction of toxic materials in the water. This makes the environment un-conducive for the aquatic animals forcing them to either migrate, or die in the process. In addition, marine products become unfit for consumption which kills the livelihoods of the fishermen who depend on it for survival. Offshore mining also interrupts tourism in the regions under consideration. Coastal communities are victims of the mining since their sources of income get disrupted possibly for decades due to pollution from the sites. Although the mining companies bring some development in the community such as hospitals, they cannot benefit from the jobs in the mining industry since external expatriates are the ones who provide labor. The facilities developed by the companies are not geared to helping the communities but as a method of enticing them to accept the mining companies to extract natural resources from their habitat. Brown further explains that the unconventional sources of energy are heavy with carbon which brings adverse effects to the environment. Governments have looked for ways to reduce carbon emissions by introducing carbon trading and taxing of industries according the amount of carbon dioxide delivered into the atmosphere. The overall goal is to convince the companies to reduce their carbon emissions by adapting cleaner technologies in their manufacturing processes (Brown). Carbon dioxide is one of the gases that influence the quality of air we breathe; therefore an increase in the quantity of the gas affects human beings negatively by causing respiratory diseases which reduce their life expectancy. The gases also increase the greenhouse gas effect in the environment causing fluctuation of global temperatures, and degradation of ecosystems. Brown further states that the greenhouse gas effect significantly influences cloud cover, weather changes, wind patterns, frequency and severity seasonal weather events such as storms. Another consequence of reaching peak oil production is the possible global economic instability. Many organizations have used several models to predict the peak time and their results vary from the year 2007 to the year 2040. However, the years change due to discovery of new oil wells which offset the global demand. The presenter states that we know when peak production is near by subtracting the quantity demanded from the supply quantity. If the result is negative, it means that the world is close to a point where the oil supply cannot meet the demand. This will lead to over drilling of wells in order to keep on the economies running since the diminishing supply is a threat to economic stability. Low supply of energy products means that industries will slow down production, citizens will be jobless, and there will be fewer products to keep the economy running. Therefore, it will spark intensive competition among economies for the scarce resource which may start wars in extreme cases. War uses weapons which destroy habitats, kill people and animals, and pollute the environment. In response to the possibility of low supplies, over drilling will be preferred which adds to the destruction of the environment. More exploration sites will be created to find the diminishing resource affecting the environment through pollution, and deposition of toxic substances on the surface of exploration. The toxic materials make the sites and the surrounding areas inhabitable for both humans and animals. To people, exposure to toxic materials poses health risks which may influence their life expectancy, immunity, or genetic changes. Although exploration of energy sources and their substitutes is increasingly affecting the ecosystem, Jeffery Brown proposes a new approach of handling the matter. He states that adaption of cleaner energy sources is a way of making the environment cleaner and safer to live in. For instance, use of combustible sources whose by product is water is the best option. The authorities can use oil as an alternative source of energy when other alternative sources fall short. By using the clean energy sources, dependence on oil which faces depletion is reduced. Many countries have adopted the cleaner energy sources leading to a reduction in the quantity of oil supplied by the oil producing countries. Although the quantity supplied has reduced, these countries are still earning more revenue from their oil exports. Brown attributes this to the fact that international oil prices have been increasing even though the demand has been reducing. Another solution to the problems caused by shortage of energy sources is diversification of energy sources. Due to the rising demand for energy sources from countries like India, China, and Japan, Catherine states that diversification to other sources such as coal, natural gas, nuclear and hydroelectric is another solution. However, she says that before implementing any alternative source, the participant should be conscious about its effects to the environment and the surrounding population. Hydroelectric power and natural gases have lesser effects on the environment as compared the coal and nuclear sources. In order to encourage companies to adapt technologies that purify the carbon dioxide produced from combustible energy sources, the government introduced carbon trading and carbon taxes. The companies that comply with the regulations are rewarded through carbon trading and tax reductions. However, the companies that do not adhere to the set guidelines are punished by use of carbon tax and they risk closure if their emissions are beyond the set limits. Up to date nuclear power sources are reserved to a few countries in order to avoid rogue states using it as a reason for creating weapons of mass destruction. In addition, the environmental effects of nuclear power are adverse in case of an accident; therefore strict control procedures have been put in place to protect both the environment and the population around the nuclear sites. This creates a safer environment to live in and at the same time ensuring that the ecosystem is not destabilized. Lastly, nations, individuals, and communities have been working hard to reduce the carbon emissions in order to slow down global warming. This is only possible by increasing the use of renewable energy sources such as solar power. An example is the solar power station residing in Nevada desert that injects over twenty one megawatts in the national grid. In addition, everyone should take it as a personal responsibility to expand forest cover, and choose a lifestyle that enables sustainability of the environment. Combined efforts from organizations, governments, and citizens will alleviate the adverse effects of reliance on oil and its related products. Work Cited Brown, Jeffrey J. “Peak Oil: How Soon? How Serious?” Online Vide Clip, You Tube, 11 Sept. 2008. Web. 22 Mar, 2013. Read More