Chap+8+Energy+&+Civilization+Patterns+of+Consumption

Chapter Eight Energy & Civilization Patterns of Consumption

Read the prompt "What's Your Take?" . " The price of gasoline is a hot topic. Although Americans pay less than half as much as people who live in other economically developed countries, many feel that U.S. prices are too high. Other people feel that increasing the price of gasoline is necessary to stimulate changes in the way Americans use energy. Interview 5 other individuals using this topic. Analyse your responses and publish your interview results here. Do you see patterns (age, socioeconomic factors, nationality, residence). What did you learn?

The video below is a quick over view of the history of oil usage and the possible future of renewable energy use. media type="youtube" key="y8j7hqYfp5U?fs=1" height="257" width="319"

media type="youtube" key="gwzyvkc1tb4?fs=1" height="248" width="358" align="right" Watch brief video of Jimmy Carter our last one term president. I remember watching this speech. I was in college studying environmental science. I often wonder how our present might have been very different if the country had been ready to hear his message of conservation. Please watch the video and then respond.

I want to go back in time, tap Jimmy Carter on the shoulder and whisper to him "Ohhh man, if only we could". Its good to know that some political leaders had the right idea before the crisis we are facing now. At the same time it is scary because these ideas were announced by the president, the most powerful man in the world. If he can't get the country moving in the right track than who can? I'm going to hide under my bed and pray for a time machine to go back and destroy the oil industry before it can gain too much power. Until then I'll just sit there curled up in a ball crying until pollution clogs my lungs and I die. I'll be rooting for you Obama but the Oil companies have most of the world in their pocket so at the end of it all don't expect anything more than a pat on the back and a ribbon reading 'Participant'.

﻿It is frustrating that our leaders have been concerned about energy issues for years, and yet, collectively, this country especially, has not made any major changes. Are there more hybrids on the road? Yes. Are more people using energy efficient appliances? Yes. But not enough to become independent of the big oil, the big gas, and the big coal industries. I wonder if this exact same speech was made today if people would have a more intensified, or less intensified reaction. What will it take? Irreversable disease caused by pollution?

After watching the speech, I can't help but think that we're still greedy. After 30+ years, we're STILL dependent on foreign oil. It appears that we're still stuck; we don't know where to go looking for more oil. We're depleting resources that can't be magically refilled (if only, huh?), not to mention the pollution caused by the combustion of oil. I'd like to think of this dependence on foreign oil as an addiction. America is addicted to foreign oil. Take it away, and America will have serious withdrawals, which can be manifested through anger (*cough*war*cough*)... Once oil has been depleted, I don't think the addiction will go away; a substitute will suffice as long as it's enviromentally friendly, such as natural gas and wind energy. America, listen to this speech and go to rehab.

Below is a graph from a site generated by the department of energy. I would like you to find a graph that tells a story. Post the graph and tell the story. [|Link for page.]I have created a story for the graph I posted as a model. This is a graph that shows energy use for the US 1635-2000. The first thing that jumps out to me is the large reliance the US has on petroleum. I find it surprising that the projection for petroleum continues to increase right through 2020. It is also interesting that we see that energy crisis of the late 1970’s. I wonder why the creators of this graph have not foreseen more growth in the renewable sources.

This graph is interesting because it shows the change in the major way petroleum is used. You can see that in the beginning (1950's) fuel efficiency in cars was low. The gallons per car was only low because people drove small cars that had only a frame, engine and seats. The beginning trend shows little progress, mpg went down and cars were still only lasted for the same duration of miles. The turning point were the trends change is the energy crisis in the 70's. Right as mpg was at it's lowest and the most gas per car was being used. Coincidence? perhaps. . . (my conspiracy theory: oil companies wanted to push up the demand for oil and when the nationalization of the Iran oil fields occurred those same companies were able jack up the price of their now scarce oil) After that it seems car companies got the message that consumers wanted a better, more efficient car. The trends start going in the right directions. Mpgs way up, car quality up and the average gas per car down. Now compare this graph with the one above. What is the next bump that occurs in the amount of petroleum? 1990! Now back to my graph, fuel economy hits it's peak in 1990. Both other factors start to change then as well. . . for the worse. Do we need another energy crisis to shock the auto market into keep improving their cars? I guess so. I'm going to Iraq to nationalize their oil reserves, who is with me?



Way back when Ms Voth and I were in high school and Jimmy Carter was talking about our excessive life style ... there was lots in the news about O.P.E.C.. It is still very important in terms of energy resources. What is it and why is it important?

OPEC stands for Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, and it is a cartel made up of about 12 oil producing countries. OPEC is incredibly important for it controls where the oil goes in the world. For one company to control a majority of the world's oil production puts it in a considerably high position, in terms of both politics and economics. As the brief history of energy and oil posted above, during the early 1970s, Arab members of OPEC imposed an oil embargo on the US and Europe. (I believe this was during the Six Days War in the Middle East?) These countries used oil as some sort of weapon. Powerful stuff, indeed. Economically speaking, they also used to control oil prices rather heavily, though not as much today. However, OPEC still controls a huge part of today's oil economy, so they hold influence over prices.

Getting at showing your learning! Find one review and one critical thinking question to answer. Post your question and answer in the space below....only one person per question. The quicker you do this the more choice you have!