The Problem and the Solutions-Overview

In a society where owning a gas guzzling car is expected of a modern family, many people don't realize that our reserves of finite petroleum are decreasing in quantity as they are burned within cars and used to power our society. Now that gas prices are rising, potential car buyers should be ever more conscience that their buying decision will not only pay at the showroom but also at the pump. That's why the word about energy conservation will not only help our future but also your wallet. I'm not saying that we all have to have to buy a hybrid or that we need to invest in ultra-modern bio-fuel vehicles, but still we should be encouraged to take small steps to increase our energy efficiency and lower our energy dependence. A lot of the focus in this area is on the automobile industry and there is a lot of technological progress being achieved from before to help bring efficiency up. Globally there are petroleum problems but the largest concern at hand is on America where an ever increasing demand of petroleum cannot be matched by U.S. oil production. In America, companies like Toyota/Lexus, GM, and Honda however, are taking proactive steps to increase efficiency throughout the model line whether or not the model is a hybrid. With a new wave of 2-mode and plug-in technologies covering hybrid ground and new developments finding their way into conventional vehicles there are more smart choices for people to choose from. This shows that change is being done, and this is ever more apparent at the auto shows where even more new efficient technologies and more energy effective vehicles are unveiled each month. However, saving energy in not limited to the automobile area. There are changes that can be done to the home and to bad habits that will pay off in the long run and will affect your community in a positive way. Many of these changes can be as simple as sealing off a window or as significant as investing in a new furnace. Any way you choose to save energy, you can feel good knowing that you are not only cutting gas/energy costs but also making your community a better place.

 

Author-Peter H: Student of Bothell High School-Bothell, WA; Dedicated months of time to research and learn more about energy efficiency and petroleum; interested on the issue of excessive energy and petroleum consumption 

 

Reccomended Read: Out of Gas- David Goodstein

 

From Publishers Weekly

Description Found on amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Out-Gas-End-Age-Oil/dp/0393058573)
Everyone agrees we will run out of fossil fuels someday-Goodstein, a Caltech professor, argues it will be sooner rather than later based on the petrochemical data available. In this alarming little book, portions of which were originally published in a bioethics journal, Goodstein explains with limited jargon that we will completely exhaust oil supplies within 10 years. He warns that we have reached, or even surpassed Hubbert's Peak, the moment when we have consumed half of all oil known to exist and will likely use the rest up even faster, due to ever-increasing demand and decreasing discoveries. What will we do when all the oil is gone? Goodstein outlines two scenarios, both chilling. In the worst case, we might run out of oil so fast that the only affordable alternative is coal. In this throwback future, Goodstein writes, "the greenhouse effect that results eventually tips Earth's climate into a new state hostile to life." The best case scenario involves a methane-based fuel economy that would bridge the gap until we could build up nuclear and solar power sources to meet our long-term needs. Goodstein admits that some geologists disagree that we will deplete all oil sources within this decade, but even conservative calculations predict the price of oil will increase beyond the reach of most people within the foreseeable future. "No matter what else happens," Goodstein states, "this is the century in which we must learn to live without fossil fuels." He maintains a cautious optimism about alternative energy sources, but readers may find little comfort imagining nuclear fission energy as the next best thing.
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