BIOL 2650                              Video: Crude Awakening

There are several reasons for presenting this video to you. 

First, it emphasizes the incredible usefulness of petroleum and how cheap, abundant petroleum has shaped the latter half of the twentieth century.

Second, it demonstrates the boom and bust nature of oil exploration and “production”. It is definitely a two-edged sword; nations or regions prosper for awhile, and then suffer as production falls.

Third, you can see the horrendous mess produced and left behind as a result of oil production. Obviously, most countries or regions are not using any of their profits to clean up or mitigate the environmental damage.

Fourth, oil is so valuable, it is a magnet for conflict and war. It has distorted politics and power around the world.

Fifth, within the oil industry, and within the countries that produce and use oil, there seems to be little or no recognition that oil is a finite, depletable resource. As a result, there is little planning for the future. What will happen when the oil “runs out?”  Do we have other options sufficient to take up the slack? I guess we’ll find out in the next decade or two.