ein umstrittener Energielieferant - Stiftung Bildung und Entwicklung

11
Stations
Station 1
What does petroleum have to do
with globalization?
Station 2
Why is it so difficult to predict how long
petroleum will be available?
ezioman, flickr
KMJ, wikipedia
Oil barrels at the coast of East Greenland
To answer this question, we need to take a
look at the use of petroleum. Globalization
is usually described as an increased exchange
of goods and services. Petroleum is needed
for all means of transportation: planes, ships
and cars. No oil = no transportation. So to
this day, petroleum is extremely important
for economies around the world. On the
other hand, petroleum consumption severely
impacts the environment – think of accidents
with oil tankers, climate change, etc.
The demand of oil has consistently increased,
most recently because emerging countries
like China, India and Brazil need this resource
to fuel their growing economies. Even so,
the United States remains the main consumer
of petroleum.
Interesting links
–– Rising Oil Prices - YouTube
keywords “rising oil prices”, film by
ChoicePrideChange
–– www.need.org/needpdf/infobook_activities/
ElemInfo/PetroE.pdf
Two pages with images and basic information
on oil and its uses.
Stock Exchange
Petroleum is a non-renewable energy source
and there is an ongoing debate on how long
petroleum reserves will last. Scientists have
been predicting an end of oil reserves as early
as the 1970s. Current predictions vary between
thirty and a hundred years of petroleum
reserves. Some scientists doubt that petroleum
will ever cease to exist, but they are in
the minority.
1. Technological advances I: It is now possible
to drill for oil in very deep water and in
regions that used to be difficult to reach.
New petroleum sources are still being
discovered, although new findings are on
the decrease.
2. Technological advances II: As cars,
heating systems, etc. become more energy
efficient, they will require less oil. Rising
oil prices make it attractive to exploit
“unattractive” resources such as tar sands
in Canada. Even though it is very expensive
to extract oil from sand, high oil prices
guarantee a profitable business.
Interesting links
–– YouTube keyword „CNN Global Oil Reserves“
RenewableEnergyZone, Peak Oil
–– money.cnn.com/2010/06/07/markets/oil/
index.htm