How has the evolution of the automobile as the major terrestrial type of transportation gone hand-in-hand with petroleum?
Non-renewable resources are the resources that cannot be readily replaced by natural means. Few non-renewable resources are fossil fuels such as coal, oil or natural gas. These resources are also called depletable resources as they are depleting and leading to a worldwide power crisis (Epstein, 2014). The energy consumption has increased throughout human history with the increase in population. There is a great need and demand for non-renewable energy as it is used to run conveyances, provides light, run machineries and various other reasons. The usage of non-renewable resources leads to economic growth (Pao & Fu, 2013). The human beings are highly dependent on the non-renewable sources of energy as it forms a part of their daily life. With the continuous demand of fossil fuels, it has always been in use. The non-renewable resources take centuries or millions of years to form naturally. With the increased usage, the researchers have estimated that these fossil fuels would cease to exist over time (Nyambuu & Semmler, 2014).
Crude oil is a non-renewable resource of energy that is used to make liquid petroleum products. Crude oil is the only fossil fuel that is available in liquid form and is used in preparing gasoline, heating oil, diesel fuel, jet fuel, residual fuel oil, asphalt, propane and various others. The above mentioned family of products are put to various uses, a few of which are discussed (Abdel-Aal & Alsahlawi, 2013).
Crude oil is used to prepare plastic that can be further used in production of cases, toys and countless number of everyday items. Petroleum is used to make clothing colourful and non-flammable. It is also used in the production of polyester, nylon, rayon and various others. Petroleum is used in carpet or linoleum flooring. It is also used in preparing various kitchen equipments such as door liners, non-stick pots and pans. Heating oil is used for heating homes in many cold countries across the world. Gasoline is used in conveyances like cars and vans. Asphalt is used in recreation of bicycle paths, playgrounds, running tracks and tennis courts. Diesel oil is used for running motor vehicles and power generators in factories (Speight, 2015).
Petroleum was high in demand even before the evolution of automobiles. The first automobile, Benz Patent-Motorwagen, was invented in the year 1886 (Parment, 2014). During the Industrial Revolution, the fuel was used to power the economy. In the mid 19th century, petroleum demand had risen to global prominence. America put the petroleum industry to a new level and used it to power automobiles, airplanes, ships and so on for generating electricity. Petroleum consumption also increased because the popularity of automobile grew with time and had a boom period after World War I (Ross, 2012). During the war, automobiles were in short supply and there was unsatisfied demand. The automobiles grew in demand as it narrowed the gaps between rural and urban life. Automobiles run by petroleum made commutation easy for farmers, officials and regular lives of people. Automobiles were used for personal as well as industrial uses that brought stronger competition and increased the demand for fuel hand-to-hand (Bridge & Le Billon, 2013).
Health impacts
Exposure to automobile-related air pollution has a number of heath outcomes. Such pollution leads to increase in health and death risks. Leaded gasoline has various health impacts as the chemical is distributed to the bones, brain, liver, kidney, teeth and blood. There are serious health impacts such as impairment of brain function in children, increase in heart diseases, lower IQ and respiratory diseases. The developing nervous system is affected and leads to decline in intelligence quotient, aggression and attention deficit order (Grabow et al., 2011).
Lead can also be harmful in pregnant women as it can cause still birth, miscarriage, low birth weight, premature birth and minor malformations. Longer exposure to lead can cause headache, lethargy, muscle weakness, convulsions, paralysis, cancer and anaemia. Major respiratory disorders are asthma, bronchitis leading to COPD and cardiovascular diseases. The male fertility also seems to be affected by automobile-related pollution. Carbon monoxide (CO) when inhale affects bloodstream, reduces the availability of oxygen and can be extremely harmful to public health (Akumu, 2012).
Environmental impacts
Increased use of automobiles has resulted in various environmental problems such as climate change, water quality, air quality, land take and biodiversity.
Climate change- The transportation activities release million tons of gases into the atmosphere such as carbon monoxide, lead, methane, nitrous oxide and various others. These gases lead to ozone depletion.
Air Quality- The toxic air pollutants emitting from automobiles reduce the quality of air. Acid precipitation, smog and other effects damage air quality causing forest decline and lack of natural visibility (Lera-López, Faulin & Sánchez, 2012).
Noise- The automobiles lead to noise pollution as there are continuous irregular and chaotic sounds. The hearing organs can be affected as the sounds are unpleasant.
Water Quality- The automobiles also impact the hydrological activities by contaminating rivers, lakes, oceans and wetlands. Accidents like oil spills cause serious water pollution.
Biodiversity- The natural vegetation is also affected by transportation. Many animal species are becoming extinct as a result of changes in their natural habitats and reduction of ranges (Dixon, 2013).
According to Waldman (2015), Saudi Arabia plans to extend the age of oil. The aim of the petroleum minister is to diversify away the overreliance on oil revenues. The minister intends to decline demand for oil. Energy plays a central role in the global economy. The risks must be assessed and following insights for policy makers are listed as follows:
The policymakers could focus on reducing coal consumption and minimize asset stranding. The operating hours of industries must be made flexible and consistent. The plants must be retired that do not imply air pollution control standards. The energy demand can be reduced by raising energy taxes or removing the subsidies applicable on fossil fuels. This would help in giving the consumers price signals higher than fair cost. This would eventually lead to decline in demand. Taxes are the primary mechanism for consumption reduction. The windfall would be greater than the cost to consumers (Golosov, Hassler, Krusell & Tsyvinski, 2014).
Pricing and innovation policy complement each other. Low-cost alternatives are identified that would reduce the use of fossil fuels. Government may seek to maximize the value of non-renewable resources (Kütting, 2011). The policies would not only influence the value at risk but also the ultimate financial cost. Biofuels has advantage over conventional fossil fuels as there is reduction in emission of greenhouse gas (GHG) (Atabani et al., 2012).
One of key competitive advantages the fossil fuel industry has had is the huge capital, complexity risk and high level engineering skills required to develop them. Commodity pricing, incumbent corporate structures and investor practices have been designed around, and therefore favor, fossil fuel. It is suggested that the coal-fired generation in countries like India and China must be slowed (Lin & Li, 2012). Renewable energy provides another potential option, but unlike most fossil fuels, renewable energy is typically financed at local financial market conditions that can significantly increase the cost of renewable energy (Ouyang & Lin, 2014).
The industries must convert sunlight, nuclear power, earth’s heat into energy that can be used by people. If prices of fossil fuels were raised, there would be no disincentive to invest in the renewable resource energy plants. Addressing the climate change issue is more likely to reduce the value of fossil fuel resources. Financial mechanisms can also reduce the impact of stranding. Changing the financing and business models can be developed for addressing budget consequences and phasing out fossil fuel production (Nelson et al., 2014).
Finally, a Carbon Tracker Initiative can be taken for aligning capital markets with the climate change policy agenda. Lower carbon sources must be articulated, planned and accepted generally by the investors (Carbontracker.org, 2016).
There is a great need and demand for non-renewable energy as it is used to run conveyances, provides light, run machineries and various other reasons. . The non-renewable resources take centuries or millions of years to form naturally. With the increased usage, the researchers have estimated that these fossil fuels would cease to exist over time. Crude oil is used to prepare plastic that can be further used in production of cases, toys and countless number of everyday items. Gasoline is used in conveyances like cars and vans. Petroleum was high in demand even before the evolution of automobiles. The toxic air pollutants emitting from automobiles reduce the quality of air. Exposure to automobile-related air pollution has a number of health outcomes. Such pollution leads to increase in health and death risks. The risks must be assessed and it can be controlled by reducing energy demand and creating low-cost alternatives.
References
Abdel-Aal, H., & Alsahlawi, M. (2013). Petroleum economics and engineering.
Akumu, J. (2012). Harmful Effects of Leaded Gasoline. Algeria. Retrieved from https://www.unep.org/transport/PCFV/PDF/Algeria/Harmful%20Effects%20of%20Leaded%20Gasoline,%20Jane%20Akumu-%20UNEP.pdf
Atabani, A., Silitonga, A., Badruddin, I., Mahlia, T., Masjuki, H., & Mekhilef, S. (2012). A comprehensive review on biodiesel as an alternative energy resource and its characteristics.Renewable And Sustainable Energy Reviews, 16(4), 2070-2093. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2012.01.003
Bridge, G., & Le Billon, P. (2013). Oil. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
Carbontracker.org,. (2016). What is Carbon Tracker?. Retrieved 22 February 2016, from https://www.carbontracker.org/
Dixon, J. (2013). Economic analysis of environmental impacts. London: Earthscan.
Epstein, A. (2014). The moral case for fossil fuels. New York: Penguin Group.
Golosov, M., Hassler, J., Krusell, P., & Tsyvinski, A. (2014). Optimal Taxes on Fossil Fuel in General Equilibrium. Econometrica, 82(1), 41-88. https://dx.doi.org/10.3982/ecta10217
Grabow, M., Spak, S., Holloway, T., Stone, B., Mednick, A., & Patz, J. (2011). Air Quality and Exercise-Related Health Benefits from Reduced Car Travel in the Midwestern United States.Environ Health Perspect, 120(1), 68-76. https://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1103440
Kütting, G. (2011). Globalization and the environment. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Lera-López, F., Faulin, J., & Sánchez, M. (2012). Determinants of the willingness-to-pay for reducing the environmental impacts of road transportation. Transportation Research Part D: Transport And Environment, 17(3), 215-220. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2011.11.002
Lin, B., & Li, A. (2012). Impacts of removing fossil fuel subsidies on China: How large and how to mitigate?. Energy, 44(1), 741-749. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2012.05.018
Nelson, D., Zuckerman, J., Goggins, A., Vladeck, T., Hervé-Mignucci, M., & Szambelan, S. (2014).Moving to a Low-Carbon Economy: The Impact of Policy Pathways on Fossil Fuel Asset Values. Retrieved from https://climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Moving-to-a-Low-Carbon-Economy-The-Impacts-of-Policy-Pathways-on-Fossil-Fuel-Asset-Values.pdf
Nyambuu, U., & Semmler, W. (2014). Trends in the extraction of non-renewable resources: The case of fossil energy. Economic Modelling, 37, 271-279. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2013.11.020
Ouyang, X., & Lin, B. (2014). Impacts of increasing renewable energy subsidies and phasing out fossil fuel subsidies in China. Renewable And Sustainable Energy Reviews, 37, 933-942. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.05.013
Pao, H., & Fu, H. (2013). Renewable energy, non-renewable energy and economic growth in Brazil.Renewable And Sustainable Energy Reviews, 25, 381-392. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2013.05.004
Parment, A. (2014). Auto Brand: Building Successful Car Brands for the Future (p. 172). Britain: Kogan.
Ross, M. (2012). The oil curse. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Speight, J. (2015). Handbook of petroleum product analysis. New York: Wiley-Interscience.
Waldman, P. (2015). Buying Time: The Saudi Plan to Extend the Age of Oil. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 22 February 2016, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-12/saudi-arabia-s-plan-to-extend-the-age-of-oil
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