Chapter 27 summary of The Prize...
Post WWII: consumption of oil massively increased- all over globe. Didn’t even compare to the demand for oil though. Many reasons for switching from coal to oil.
How the world came to use oil so much/how grew rapidly: Rapid economic growth, rising incomes. Oil was used to fuel factories which made all the products consumers bought- cars, package goods, appliances. Oil and natural gas were transformed into plastics. In the 50s and 60s oil became real cheap. Each country that sold oil wanted more volumes of its own oil in order to gain higher revenues- put pressure on concessionaires to produce more oil- pushed oil into new markets. “Bigger is better” theme of world Oil production, reserves, consumption. Refineries grew in larger and larger in size; new technologies enabled some refiners to up the yield of high-value products (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, heating oil) from <50% to 90%. Also in consumers: American cars got bigger- powered by huge engines.
Following WWII was the war between oil and coal starting the U.S: economic and political consequences, impact on international relations, patterns of daily life- for hearts, minds and pocketbooks of consumers. Coal came first, cheap/available, material energy of the country, King. Oil was abundant, cheaper than coal now- and getting cheaper, better for the environment, provided a competitive advantage for energy-intensive industries.
Europe moved to oil: Slow. Because of the Suez crisis, Britain was questioning its security of Middle Eastern oil supplies; decided to push with its first nuclear energy program to reduce dependence on imported oil. Britain struggled with policies that would give coal some protection against cheap imported oil. Concluded that international trade position required growth in oil use.
Another reason to switch from coal to oil- help environment: Clean Air Act-favored. Coal burning creating killer fogs—pollution from open fires in houses. Result- “smokeless zones” were made where burning of coal for home heating was banned.
Japan: slower. Not until 1949 did the American Occupation let oil refining back Japan; end of the Occupation, regaining independence and the Korean war economic growth. Japan no longer was poor- began to run on oil. Gov wanted to reduce foreign influence on its oil industry. More oil consumption was near: The Japan auto export boom was soon to come. End of war- Japan and Germany set great standards for economic performance. Boom years of 50s and 60s were powered by cheap oil.
Europe- most competitive market in 50s and 60s. American companies were limited the amount of imported oil from Europe- had to find somewhere else to get oil.
Price wars/ Competition among suppliers: drove down gas prices. Gas stations advertized lower prices than other stations. Advertisements published. Gas additives.
Suburbs developed. Made car a necessity more than before. Shopping centers, motels, restaurants had opened, theatres, car shows. Became a drive-in society. First highway built in 1949- Eisenhower signed the Interstate Highway Bill in ’56 for system.
Six-Day war: Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser wanted to have power again and ordered a blockade against Israeli shipping in the Gulf of Aqaba. Jordan, Arab military and Egypt military joined. June 5 war began- Israel defeated opponents after day 3. June 6- “oil weapon”- Arab oil ministers called for an oil embargo against countries friendly with Israel. June 7- no oil shipped to U.S. why cut off oil shipped to sources of revenues?
Flow of oil down to tankers and logistics: flow had to be reorganized. U.S. got oil from other embargoed countries. Development of super tankers. Arab countries calmed down; a month after it was clear that the Arab oil weapon and embargo was a failure.
Result of the Six-Day war: confirm how secure oil supply was, men continue to take petroleum for granted- oil was pervasive, readily available, defined and motivated his life- hardly thought about it. Economic advisor for the Coal Board, Schumacher said oil was finite and not be used excessively. Would not always be cheap, reserves will dwindle and warned about the dependency of the Middle East. No one took him seriously.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Sources for essay
Forgot to put some of my sources in the previous post...
Bloomberg News. “Oil supply to trail demand by 2030, study predicts.” The Boston Globe
19 July 2007. 22 Sept 2008 http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/07 /19/oil_supply_to_trail_by_demand_by_2030_study_predicts/.
Hurd, Dale. “Will America Face an Oil Crisis Soon?” CBN.com 22 Sept 2008
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/politics/060411a.aspx.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). 2008. 22 Sept 2008.
http:///www/opec.org/aboutus/history/history.htm.
Bloomberg News. “Oil supply to trail demand by 2030, study predicts.” The Boston Globe
19 July 2007. 22 Sept 2008 http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/07 /19/oil_supply_to_trail_by_demand_by_2030_study_predicts/.
Hurd, Dale. “Will America Face an Oil Crisis Soon?” CBN.com 22 Sept 2008
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/politics/060411a.aspx.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). 2008. 22 Sept 2008.
http:///www/opec.org/aboutus/history/history.htm.
Essay Thesis/Outline on peak oil
I am doing my thesis paper on topic #3. This is just a start to the outline, and will be revised during the course of the assignment. I have many sources but to try to organize it, here’s a start.
Thesis statement:
History of oil crises and current events of oil prices fluctuating tell us that peak oil is upon the United States and over the globe. The impact of future crises on America will be long lasting. Americans are learning to preserve our recourses and will continue to, even after we overcome the next crises due to the need of prevention of the next crises.
Main points:
1.Intro/ Par. 1: History of oil production, what is peak oil, what experts are saying. What government and local actions are being done to maintain our well-being and keep our life-style.
2.4 Past oil crises of price increases in 1973 (Arab Oil Embargo), 1979 (Iranian Revolution), in 1986 and then fluctuated again in early 1990’s. Currently, since the start of war in Iraq in 2001, prices are continuing to fluctuate. Will there be another crises in the near future? Sources say that peak oil will happen within the next 10 years.
3.What America and Cleveland, OH have done to prevent peak oil; what actions/ programs have we maintained; how have we adjusted to the prices increasing and decreasing.
A.Car pooling, walking, biking, buses, work closer to home
B.The “going green” campaigns
C.Alternative gas recourses
4.Reasons for our dilemma. What we’ve learned from history of oil crises. What America/Cleveland need to do in the future to prevent peak oil
A.Recourses won’t last, there needs to be changes happening right now
B.We’ve learned to preserve our oil and not waste what we have
5.Impact of a future crises on the U.S.: Long lasting. The amount of life-style changes needing to be made and how long it will take the nation to overcome and get back to normal will take a while. Changes being made need to be permanent so supplies last.
Counter argument:
The changes that need to be made are too severe for the nation or globe to make. We will have to completely change how we get supplies/ oil and start over with something new.
Thesis statement:
History of oil crises and current events of oil prices fluctuating tell us that peak oil is upon the United States and over the globe. The impact of future crises on America will be long lasting. Americans are learning to preserve our recourses and will continue to, even after we overcome the next crises due to the need of prevention of the next crises.
Main points:
1.Intro/ Par. 1: History of oil production, what is peak oil, what experts are saying. What government and local actions are being done to maintain our well-being and keep our life-style.
2.4 Past oil crises of price increases in 1973 (Arab Oil Embargo), 1979 (Iranian Revolution), in 1986 and then fluctuated again in early 1990’s. Currently, since the start of war in Iraq in 2001, prices are continuing to fluctuate. Will there be another crises in the near future? Sources say that peak oil will happen within the next 10 years.
3.What America and Cleveland, OH have done to prevent peak oil; what actions/ programs have we maintained; how have we adjusted to the prices increasing and decreasing.
A.Car pooling, walking, biking, buses, work closer to home
B.The “going green” campaigns
C.Alternative gas recourses
4.Reasons for our dilemma. What we’ve learned from history of oil crises. What America/Cleveland need to do in the future to prevent peak oil
A.Recourses won’t last, there needs to be changes happening right now
B.We’ve learned to preserve our oil and not waste what we have
5.Impact of a future crises on the U.S.: Long lasting. The amount of life-style changes needing to be made and how long it will take the nation to overcome and get back to normal will take a while. Changes being made need to be permanent so supplies last.
Counter argument:
The changes that need to be made are too severe for the nation or globe to make. We will have to completely change how we get supplies/ oil and start over with something new.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Short Essay Idea: Gas Crises
For my first English short essay, I would like to write on topic #3. This topic discusses the current oil dilemma and will determine if “gas crises” will have a lasting or temp result on our nation’s habits.
It was hard for me to choose just one of the four topics because I want to learn about all of them. This one caught my attention and interest the most because I want to learn about the history of the few other “gas crises” in the past and what we can do to prevent another one. There are a number of questions the topic brings up. Such as whether the U.S. has learned from the crises, have we adjusted at all and learned from them, what government actions have we taken and local actions. What actions should our government and other nations take to prevent long term or even permanent problems from oil usage?
I want to see how my hometown, Cleveland, has handled the crises and what the city has done. I think it’ll be interesting to learn what my city can do to try to prevent long lasting results from the crises.
This topic brings up other points from the other three topics on the essay list. I want to know what we’re doing right now to prevent peak oil. If our country doesn’t do something quick, peak oil will happen in a few years and consequences will be harsh. We need come up with alternative ways of using oil in a more conservative way to preserve our supply. I think that relates to what we discussed in class about wasting oil in the past and us now over using it.
By researching and writing my thesis paper, I’ll get a chance to dig and find out this important history about our nation and other nations. I’ll also get to state what steps we can take to help our nation out.
It was hard for me to choose just one of the four topics because I want to learn about all of them. This one caught my attention and interest the most because I want to learn about the history of the few other “gas crises” in the past and what we can do to prevent another one. There are a number of questions the topic brings up. Such as whether the U.S. has learned from the crises, have we adjusted at all and learned from them, what government actions have we taken and local actions. What actions should our government and other nations take to prevent long term or even permanent problems from oil usage?
I want to see how my hometown, Cleveland, has handled the crises and what the city has done. I think it’ll be interesting to learn what my city can do to try to prevent long lasting results from the crises.
This topic brings up other points from the other three topics on the essay list. I want to know what we’re doing right now to prevent peak oil. If our country doesn’t do something quick, peak oil will happen in a few years and consequences will be harsh. We need come up with alternative ways of using oil in a more conservative way to preserve our supply. I think that relates to what we discussed in class about wasting oil in the past and us now over using it.
By researching and writing my thesis paper, I’ll get a chance to dig and find out this important history about our nation and other nations. I’ll also get to state what steps we can take to help our nation out.
Friday, September 5, 2008
There Will Be Blood
The film, ‘There Will Be Blood’ showed me visually and made great connections with the book, ‘The Prize.’
First thing that it shows me and connections with the book is that oil production was very dangerous in the 1880’s. The Prize told us it was dangerous and described explosions, injuries and fires occurred. Watching the film this week gave me a visual on how badly it really was. What sticks in my mind still was the scene when Daniel’s son was at the heart of the first burst of the derrick and he became deaf from the blow. The blow turned into oil bursting out and right after huge flames filled the Sunday ranch with fire and thick smoke. A scene just before that showed a man dying in the well from getting hit in the head. Even after the first man died, they still built more derricks to pump oil. It seemed like they didn’t care and they just continued to pump.
The film also displayed how serious people took oil production. The book describes buying, selling, dealing, hunting and transportation plans of land with oil. We still take it seriously, but for the business just getting started, I think they were going overboard. Businessmen lived for the drive, competition and the gain of power. I’m not sure what personality Eli is supposed to have, but he was greedy when he asked for $10,000 for his church when selling the ranch. The way he looked at Daniel all the time, he was only in it for the money….His character just bothered me.
I keep thinking about what was talked about in class today. We were described in the book and shown on the screen how men pumped more oil out of the ground than we knew what to day with it. With all the excess oil around, they just would dump it in a river or lake. Today, the U.S. doesn’t have enough oil and are fighting over it now oversees. This bothers me how we wasted all that oil.
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