The Need For A New Oil
Video: The New Petroleum
The world uses a cubic mile of petroleum every single year. As we burn this petroleum, we release toxic emissions into our environment and create a huge carbon debt.
How do we break the world’s oil addiction without disrupting our infrastructure? The answer is algae, the “New Petroleum”, which can be refined into identical fuels to those we use today.
Exponential Demand for Oil Petroleum has fueled the world’s energy needs for the past century. Today, rapid industrialization in once-developing countries, such as China and India, is dramatically increasing worldwide oil consumption. In 2007, global oil demand rose twice as fast as it had the year before, reaching 36 billion barrels per year and a critical price point of more than $140 per barrel before finally pulling back in late 2008. The Energy Information Association predicts global oil demand of 43 billion barrels per year by 2030.
Old Oil is a Problem Unfortunately, oil supplies are decreasing. Producers are now drilling in ever-more-remote, war-torn and environmentally sensitive areas. On the way to running out of oil altogether, the world will experience serious shortages that will cause catastrophic economic dislocation and decades of continued fighting over the last remaining reserves. In addition to being a fast-depleting resource, oil is a dangerous polluter and a major contributor to global warming when it is burned as a fuel — emitting over 3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide per year into the atmosphere.
Replacing Oil Is a Challenge Alternatives like electric cars, hybrids and hydrogen as an automotive fuel are attractive but will take decades to phase in because they will require new infrastructure. Petroleum still powers the world today in the form of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, as well as chemical products like plastics, solvents, fertilizers and pesticides. Trillions of dollars are invested in the world’s oil infrastructure. The only viable replacement is a new fuel that is cost-competitive with petroleum and can be used directly in the existing oil network. The world needs a new oil. Continue to Petroleum Alternatives» |
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