Petroleum As Vital For Human Existence As Water - 1410 Words

Austin Kiesewetter Mrs. Ioanna HCC English - 3 Petroleum as Vital to Human Existence as Water From the development of the Industrial Revolution to the Information Age we live in today our civilization has been able to progress with the help of the Industrial Revolution’s basic necessity known as petroleum. This resource is so valuable that it has been the reason of 6 global conflicts and the creation of a trillion dollar industry. James Buchan a Financial Times correspondent stated, â€Å"A century ago, petroleum - what we call oil - was just an obscure commodity; today it is almost as vital to human existence as water.† The uses petroleum have are relevant from transportation to everyday synthetic materials. It is the sole reasoning†¦show more content†¦In order to keep up with demand, the United States has been forced to rely on importing 80% of its crude oil. This niche was filled from the creation of OPEC who uses price gouges to create an economic boom in their country, through unifying and controll ing the industry. This economic boom produced by OPEC amounts to an annual 730 billion (U.S.) dollars. In order to fully understand the magnitude of power this organization has, we can compare their annual income to every country s GDP. After doing this we notice that OPEC would be the 20th wealthiest nation trumping 167 countries in the process. This fact is mind boggling because when we talk about GDP we are talking about the value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country. When we talk about OPEC we are talking about a single product which is crude oil. This is worrisome for many reasons, first and foremost being that countries who are not members of the organization don t want one organization controlling and monopolizing such a valuable resource. The effects of monopolizing a single product is the power of setting a single price that everyone else needs to follow. This is why America and other non-OPEC countries deal with gouging oil prices. The reasoning for OPEC doing this is clear from ridiculous profit margins to political influence. The power that OPEC holds was never more prevalent than in the 1973 embargo on the U.S. and European nations over the Arab-Israeli War. TheShow MoreRelatedThe World Is One That Is Driven By Oil1611 Words   |  7 Pagesmoney or the environment? The answer is sadly very simple. Oil is the most used resource on the planet. The world humans have built is an empire built on oil. It is what has allowed us to grow as a population at an exponential rate over the past 100 years or so. This paradox of oil when broken down is very simple. Humans need oil to live, however oil is also what is killing humans. 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