Robertson Chapter 9

Extraction processes for these sources are more expensive and difficult and carry even higher environmental risks than conventional drilling, with a lower net energy yield. The difference between the energy used to produce a fuel and the energy contained in the final product is the energy returned on energy invested (EROEI). The EROEI for crude oil is an average of 15:1; the EROEI for tar sands is from 5:1 to 3:1 (Wijkman and Rockström 2012, 70).

If the extraction processes for these sources that are already harmful towards the earth, then why bother? We're in a generation where technology has the capability to replace every single mechanical process. Prime example being Tesla; Tesla has sparked the new trend of electronic cars that run on batteries and are safe for the environment. Soon many companies will want to follow on their footsteps due to the demand becoming higher anytime Tesla releases a new vehicle. I personally think that technology will end up replacing a lot of mechanical processes that are harmful to the environment and soon sources such as petroleum can stay within the Earth and be preserved.



MLA (Modern Language Assoc.)
Robertson, Margaret. Sustainability Principles and Practice. Routledge, 2017.

APA (American Psychological Assoc.)
Robertson, M. (2017). Sustainability Principles and Practice. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

Petroleum forms the basis of contemporary society. It is difficult to find any non-metal object in everyday life that does not have a petroleum component. Some are obvious: oil, grease, Energy159solvents, paint, credit cards, computer keyboards, and almost anything else made of plastic begins with petroleum. Others may be less obvious. Among the millions of examples are artificial vanilla flavoring, red food coloring, vitamin capsules, shampoo, lip balm, shoes, shoe polish, fertilizer, and glue.

Our biggest problem is that petroleum is the prime source for anything we use in our daily lives. It's to the point where we aren't considering any other options to substitute the use of petroleum to produce our daily utilities. I was actually shocked to see that so many of the things that we use in our daily lives are being created by fossil fuels. It's crazy how you have to actually do research in order to find these things out. What's going to happen when our already scarce resource of fossil fuels depletes and the world starts to wonder why theres a shortage in quantity of our daily utilities and a surplus in the prices of them, maybe it's happening today as we speak, guess we'll never know.

MLA (Modern Language Assoc.)
Robertson, Margaret. Sustainability Principles and Practice. Routledge, 2017.

APA (American Psychological Assoc.)
Robertson, M. (2017). Sustainability Principles and Practice. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

We live in a high-energy society based on fossil fuels. One of the hallmarks of modern society is the private automobile, powered by the very portable, very high-energy fuel, gasoline. Diesel has nearly as much energy per volume, and its use in farm equipment has led to a revolution in agricultural output. We will eventually run out of this nonrenewable resource, and before that happens we will be forced to make changes to our lifestyles to prevent runaway climate change.

My biggest question, is what are we going to do when we actually do run out of this nonrenewable resource. Is there already a plan to substitute these resources? How drastically are we going to have to change out lifestyles to avoid climate change? So many questions but so little answers. Everyday we hear the same thing, that we need to change our lifestyle or the world will soon collapse but it's as if we are just waiting until the signs of the world ending happen. We need to make an impact before it's too late. We need to start coming up with substitutes for our daily resources. All throughout history we've always moved forward, I'd hate to see us have to move backwards just because we didn't prepare things in time or 

MLA (Modern Language Assoc.)
Robertson, Margaret. Sustainability Principles and Practice. Routledge, 2017.

APA (American Psychological Assoc.)
Robertson, M. (2017). Sustainability Principles and Practice. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.