Oil and Our Overdependence on It

Oil has greatly Influenced the world, and the economies of many countries. Countries shape their economy and industry around the availability of oil and the price of oil in the country. Oil rich nations, such as those from the Middle East, have industries and economies centered on oil. Certainly, the world is too dependent on oil as being termed as" black gold", it is one of the most important sources of energy, and is used as a major component in many modern goods and appliances today.

Although many countries in the world are very reliant on oil, there are some countries, like the USA, Canada and several other countries that are trying to reduce their dependency on oil. These countries spearhead research programs to find alternative sources of energy sources. There may be some countries that are trying to reduce dependency on oil, but in this world, the majority of countries still need oil as a major economic input in their industries and economies, and so I feel that the world is too dependent on oil.

Oil is highly valuable and many countries depend on it a lot, as oil is needed as both a fuel and a major component in the making of plastics. In the modern society, the use of plastics has increased exponentially since the invention of it. Thus, oil is still very much cherished and needed by countries. Furthermore, many Newly Industrialized countries (NIEs) are importing more and more oil from oil-rich stats, to fuel their bustling industry and economy. China, for example, has had a 30% increase in oil imports from African states and Venezuela in the past two years. Sources point that this rise can be attributed to the fact that China's economy is expanding at lightning fast rate, in both manufacturing and service industries. The statistics show that there are many more NIEs that would need greater amounts of oil in the future.

We can clearly state that the world is too dependent on oil as we can see that there are numerous countries that deal in the trade of oil and the refining of oil. There are countries that have strong and rich economies because they have a lot of oil. Many Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, have their economies centered on oil. They rely on the sales of oil as the major source of revenue. As more and more countries keep industrializing, the demand for oil would increase, and these oil-rich nations would keep making money.

As for the countries that process the raw materials from oil, they too use oil as a major source of income. There are many countries that rely on the processing and refining of crude oil as a major component of their economy. Singapore, which is situated at the crossroads of their international sea and air routes, is particularly reliant on refining crude oil at its offshore islands. These facts show that the world is too dependent on oil. As oil runs out, many countries may find themselves trying to defuse this ticking time bomb. Imagine what would happen if oil supply ran out. The world would be in almost complete paralysis.

Another issue that proves that the world is too dependent on oil is on the issue of energy security. Energy security is a term used to describe the state at which a country needs to secure its current and future energy needs. The notion of energy security has been very common in countries like China and the United States. The fact that these countries strive so hard for the maintenance of flow of oil into their country shows that they need "black gold" so badly. During the Iraq war, the United states justified their invasion of Iraq in 2003 and occupation of Iraq as an operation to find Weapons of Mass destruction in Iraq and to stop the oppressive regime in Iraq. However, many experts and people believe that the invasion of Iraq was more of a matter of energy security, as Iraq is an oil rich nation, and the US wants to keep the oil flowing into the economies.

Another example is China, who is often accused of silently building and modernizing its army and navy, without showing their actual defense budget. China is modernizing its army and navy most probably to challenge the US, but more importantly, it is building a "blue water nay" to ensure energy security." Blue water navy" is a term used for navies that have extensive reach and can sustain prolonged operations from the mainland. China wants to ensure that major oil shipping lanes, such as the Straits of Malacca will not be choked, to ensure that they have sufficient toil. Thus, they justify their need for a blue water nay. From this, we can see that it is oil that controls and influences governmental decisions and practices and we are too dependent on oil.

Fourthly, oil can be seen as an important commodity. In the current stocks and shares markets, people are investing more and more in commodities, which include oil, as it is a rapidly growing part of stocks. Oil prices have risen, and are continuing to rise, and the price of oil is now standing at an all time high of $US 128 a barrel. Experts believe that it can rise to $US 200 by the end of the year. Many people and stock traders rely on their investment in commodities as a lucrative source of income.

However, even with the all these events and occurring that are centered on oil, there are parts of the world which are tiring to ease their dependence on oil. Some countries, like the United States are putting in effort to address the issue of dependence on oil. There has been a surge in research funding and efforts to find alternative sources of fuel, in some countries across the world. The aim of these efforts is to reduce the need of oil as a major source of fuel and to cut air pollution cause by burning oil. In the United States, green proponents like Al Gore continually spearhead activities that push programs that aim to find alternative sources of energy.

Currently, there are alternative sources of energy, like hydroelectric energy and solar energy that are used by some countries to reduce their dependence on oil and to cut emission rates from the combustion of oil. In Canada and some parts of America, hydroelectric power is used as a source of electricity. All these technologies and the fact that countries are in the pursuit of alternative sources of energy goes to show that some parts of the world is trying to reduce dependence on oil. I believe that these efforts and research would be successful in the future, as we are capable of making technological breakthroughs with the current effort and determination put in by scientists and politicians.

There are also small groups of people around the world that do to depend on oil for their activities and daily life,. Indigenous tribes and some extreme green activists do not use oil in any form, be it electricity, fuels for cars, plastics, etc. These people feel that the usage of oil is a sin and the do not want to use oil. For example, the tribes in certain parts of Asia Still live in the forests and live their life the way they have done since the past centuries. These groups of people are only a minority in the world, and they do so, because they want to show the world the "right" way to live on Earth.

In conclusion, I feel that the world is too dependent on oil. Even though there are countries that are reducing their dependence on oil, with new and different technologies, they still need oil some way or another, because oil, is the universal commodity just like how water is described as the "universal solvent" It would be a long time before the world can find a way to stop their dependence on oil given the difficulties faced by researchers worldwide to find an alternative for oil. Many economies still need oil as a major input as oil is found in almost many of our daily items and necessities, like fuel, plastics and maybe we can say, a political weapon that can be used to threaten other countries, or gain leverage on other countries. Thus, the world is still very dependent on oil, in its economy especially and we will still be needing oil in the future.