“America is addicted to oil.” PETROLEUM: “America is addicted to oil.” President Bush in his 2006 State of the Union address.

America’s addiction to oil: Great news for oil company profits —in the short term Bad news for the environment —in the long term

https://www. americanprogress https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/news/2014/02/10/83879/with-only-93-billion-in-profits-the-big-five-oil-companies-demand-to-keep-tax-breaks/ Still profitable, even during current low prices.

Crude Oil & the Environment: Why it is an issue Most crude oil is used for transportation —the moving of people and goods from one place to another—has increased dramatically in the last hundred years, along with the world population, and the industrialization of China and India.

America’s crude oil addiction cannot last for 2 reasons: There is a limited amount of fossil fuel; after just 100 years, peak oil is nearly or has already passed. 2. Extracting, processing, and burning the remaining oil will cause excessive environmental damage.

Crude oil, natural gas, and coal are often called “fossil fuels,” a reference to the slow processes that transform the remains of organisms that lived tens of millions of years ago.

How oil and gas deposits form: Dead marine animals settle to the ocean floor and are covered with sediment, restricting oxygen. Heat and pressure build. Over millions of years a chemical change takes place leaving oil & gas. Oil and gas move toward the surface, some getting trapped below dense rock.

Who uses the world’s oil? Top 4 oil-consuming countries (2014): United States China Japan India

World oil production is about 30 billion barrels/year. On average each American consumes about 20 barrels of oil per year.

Oil production, 2014 Country Production (bbl/day) 1 United States 13,973,000 2  Saudi Arabia (OPEC) 11,624,000 3  Russia 10,853,000 4  China 4,572,000 5  Canada 4,383,000 6  United Arab Emirates (OPEC) 3,471,000 7  Iran (OPEC) 3,375,000 8  Iraq (OPEC) 3,371,000 9  Brazil 2,950,000 10  Mexico 2,812,000

Natural gas production 1 United States 728,200,000,000 2014 est. 2 Russia 578,700,000,000 3 Iran 172,600,000,000 2013 est. 4 Qatar 158,500,000,000 5 Canada 151,200,000,000 6 European Union 132,300,000,000 7 China 121,500,000,000 8 Norway 112,600,000,000 9 Saudi Arabia 102,400,000,000 10 Turkmenistan 84,800,000,000

America’s addiction causes Environmental Damage and External Costs Normal oil & gas extraction, processing, and distribution damages landscapes, and releases pollutants to the air, water, and soil.

Environmental Damage and External Costs America’s addiction: Environmental Damage and External Costs Accidents, like the Deepwater Horizon, kill or injure people and wildlife, and damage ecosystems and human livelihoods.

http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-02-01/just-how-big-natural-gas-leak-california http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/california-natural-gas-leak-just-one-of-thousands-across-country/

What makes petroleum so valuable that we will risk so much? Petroleum comprises hundreds of types of hydrocarbons—organic compounds of hydrogen and carbon—that are refined into a multitude of products.

We use petrochemicals, the products of distilling crude oil for many useful products: organic chemicals fertilizers pesticides plastics soaps synthetic fibers explosives paints medicines

The production of a desktop computer consumes 10 times the computer’s weight in fossil fuels, mostly oil.

Good news about oil: Peak consumption reached! The U.S. consumption of oil has declined since 2005. But no longer continues to decrease Why?

What is Energy Security? American businesses and lifestyle depend on access to affordable energy. Hostile people or governments could interrupt the flow of energy causing damage to the economy. Thus, energy is considered a part of national security, a concept called energy security.

So how do we get oil & gas out of the ground and usable? Oil derricks or rigs on the ground or on platforms in the ocean drill down as much as 9,000 meters (5.5 miles) to reach oil and gas deposits.

Water or steam is injected to push out the oil or gas.

Don’t forget fracking (unconventional oil/gas)

Crude oil is distilled to refine it into useful products, producing a variety of pollutants and requiring large amounts of energy to reach temperatures of 600ºC (1040ºF).

The crude oil distillation process

Unconventional Petroleum Reserves: Increasing energy security Retrieving oil from tar sands or oil shale requires large mining operations with high levels of energy input.

The U.S. and Canada have large deposits of tar sands and oil shale.

The Environmental Costs of Tar Sands Tar sand operations produce huge amounts of acidic and toxic wastewater stored at mining sites, and is thus susceptible to leakage or flood.

The processes of extracting, refining, and transporting energy from fossil fuels is expensive and causes damage to the health of individuals and ecosystems.

Remediation and Solutions: How to increase energy security and reducing dependence on fossil fuels Import energy from multiple sources. Reduce energy usage overall. Exploit local energy sources. Develop alternative energy sources.

Remediation and Solutions: Finding creative solutions The petrochemical industry has spent decades developing products from hydrocarbon molecules in crude oil. More money and time must be spent on developing products from alternative raw materials.

Remediation and Solutions: How you can make a difference Conserve energy by reducing driving and taking public transportation. Reduce your use of disposable products, especially plastics. Turn your thermostat down in winter and up in summer. Become a part of the public conversation.

Keystone WTF?

What’s the big deal? Honestly, not sure. Jobs benefits limited and short-term. Only 35 post-construction jobs. Environmental damage? Tons from extracting tar sands, but not really relevant in this discussion. Some along pipeline for construction and leaks. More CO2? For export, not use in US. Argument for? Higher oil company profits. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/25/keystone-pipeline-permanent-jobs-trump-claims

OK… let’s talk oil prices OK… let’s talk oil prices. And why they got as low as about $27/barrel in 2016

Sigh… America, wtf? http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUSKCN0WA06Y http://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2017/01/25/u-s-solar-energy-employs-more-people-than-oil-coal-and-gas-combined-infographic/#5761bd397d27