Alternatives to oil by Aiden Hughey https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec en-us 2018-12-11 17:20:40 UTC 2024-11-16 05:23:02 UTC hello@padlet.com Economic Lense of Alternatives to Oil ah02655 https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/313539460 2018-12-11 18:12:06 UTC https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/313539460 How much oil do we use? ah02655 https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/313542189 In 2006 alone, the United States used 317 billion gallons of oil for a variety of daily needs according to ProCon.org. 

ProCon is a nonpartisan organization showcasing information on a variety of controversial issues. They emphasize on being unbiased, giving them credibility in that regards. 

Our massive use of oil annually displays societies dependency on it, making it hard for people to support a switch to an alternate source of energy. Certain fields use more oil than others, like America's transportation sector compared to its industrial sector. This means that prioritizing the transportation sector to switch to renewable sources will provide a bigger reduction in oil usage than prioritizing the industrial or other sectors first. ]]> 2018-12-11 18:17:17 UTC https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/313542189 Counterarguments ah02655 https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/313669699 developmenteducation, is a educational website based in Ireland, discussing a multitude of world wide problems while providing accurate arguments and discussions. 

One argument presented by developmenteducation was that the change from fossil fuels such as oil to renewable energy sources in Ireland is quite the daunting task, lackin cost effectiveness and not being able to meet the demand of countries growing needs. ]]> 2018-12-12 00:20:42 UTC https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/313669699 Hydroelectricity ah02655 https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/313669720 Hydroelectricity is renewable and more efficient than oil. Fossil fuel plants normally use 50% efficiency, while hydroelectric plants are 90% efficient.

According to WVIC, hydropower is produced for an average of 0.85 cents per kilowatt an hour. Compared to fossil fuel, it is 40% cheaper. The con to this alternative is that it can negatively impact the environment and can disrupt habitats. 


]]> 2018-12-12 00:20:51 UTC https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/313669720 Background Information ah02655 https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/314380936 2018-12-13 17:56:36 UTC https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/314380936 Instability of the oil market ah02655 https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/314496743 The oil market fluctuates greatly, causing prices of a barrel of oil to increase or decrease depending on a variety of factors like supply and demand, political influence, and the weather.

According to Investopedia, high oil prices can create jobs and increased investments, but they also cause businesses and consumers to spend more on manufacturing and transportation. 

The dilemma with oil is that it creates jobs, but costs the consumers more money. While creating more jobs would help the economy of the country, the increased spending on transportation erases the previously stated benefit completely. Switching to alternative sources of energy such as electric cars, would eliminate the instability of the oil market while also providing jobs to.

]]> 2018-12-13 23:00:29 UTC https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/314496743 How much does America spend? ah02655 https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/314975886 As seen in the chart above, America's transportation sector uses over 200 billion gallons of oil annually, 70% of all the oil. The average person uses about 500 gallons of gasoline every year, costing hundreds, if not thousands of dollars every year.

According to Harvard Magazine, 12.4 million barrels of oil were imported into the U.S in 2006, the average cost being $66 per barrel, adding up to $299 billion dollars spent. In 2008, the cost of a barrel shot up to $100, which can be referred back to the instability of the oil market.

While oil may seem as a necessary commodity for American society, there are more efficient replacements for oil that cost less for the average consumer and also decrease our reliance on other countries, meaning we can be more self-sustaining and less dependent on tariffs or policies set by other countries.]]> 2018-12-16 15:21:32 UTC https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/314975886 Why does this matter? ah02655 https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/315263031 It is paramount of understand the economics of oil to grasp the idea of how dependent the world is on it. Showing usage rates and total cost of the oil goes in hand with visually understanding this issue. Likewise, understanding the alternative energy source side is important to analyze why its more efficient and economically better. Like any issue, there are advantages and disadvantages. Oil is not an infinite resource and one day we will run out. When that time comes, countries hopefully will have moved to a more renewable resource. On the other hand, alternative energy has a high initial investment cost, possibly turning the idea of supporting these alternative energy sources around. ]]> 2018-12-17 17:30:11 UTC https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/315263031 What are some alternatives? ah02655 https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/315288986 2018-12-17 18:24:26 UTC https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/315288986 Wind Power ah02655 https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/315289506 Wind power is also a renewable source of energy which also provides over 100,000 jobs in the U.S and could possibly provide more than 600,000 jobs in manufacturing according to energy.gov.

Furthermore, it has a $20 billion dollar economic impact annually. Its installed cost of capital around $88 per megawatt an hour and its operating cost is around $21 megawatt an hour. 

One con to this alternative is that requires a higher initial investment in comparison to fossil-fueled generators and wind farms are usually in remote locations, away from where the power needs to go. While this con needs to be noted, the higher initial investment is countered by the low cost of the energy source after a period of time.
]]> 2018-12-17 18:25:21 UTC https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/315289506 Sources ah02655 https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/315862758 2018-12-19 14:10:31 UTC https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/315862758 Addressing the counterargument ah02655 https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/315915848 While this argument deserves to be noted, prices for renewable energy is declining, like the cost of wind power from 40 cents per kilowatt-hour to under 5 cents. According to a renewable energy argument from ProCon.org, the constant improvement of technology makes these renewable energy sources cheaper, more efficient, and predicted to overtake the fossil fuel market by the mid-century.]]> 2018-12-19 16:09:06 UTC https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/315915848 Hydroelectricity Extended ah02655 https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/316416682 According to UCSUSA, hydroelectric power industry employed 66,000 people in 2017 alone. In total, there are almost 300,000 jobs provided by hydroelectricity, ranging from manufacturing to facilities operation. 

UCSUSA is a nonprofit organization, comprised of scientist and engineers who tackle problems like climate change and sustainable ways to create power. They are funded and recognized by many organizations and charities. relying on the people and not governments which they state gives them independence and integrity.

Hydroelectricity is more labor intensive in comparison to oil, which means it provides more jobs to people. This betters the economy overtime and will lead to even more jobs being produced due to the improvement of the current hydroelectric technology. While the oil industry in America provides 1.3 million jobs, it's been in development for many decades while renewable energy sources have only begun reaching for the spotlight of the top energy source.]]> 2018-12-21 15:29:08 UTC https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/316416682 Bibs ah02655 https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/316418362 2018-12-21 15:35:09 UTC https://padlet.com/ah02655/hme43metpdec/wish/316418362