When we learned how to convert oil into fuel for transportation, we changed the world. The vehicles, aircraft and vessels needed for the growth of our modern society are based on the oil.
What is oil?
Far down in the bedrock are old plant remnants that did not decay before it fell below the soil surface. They then formed the black mourning we call oil. The actual designation is petroleum, but also rock oil, mineral oil, and crude oil are common terms. To access the oil, we drill deep into the bedrock. The oil is then pumped up and sent via tankers or giant pipelines to refineries where it is refined into various products, such as gasoline, diesel and heating oil.
Gasoline is a highly refined form of crude oil, diesel is somewhat less refined and so on down to the so-called thick oil which is full of pollution and used, among other things, as a ship’s fuel. At the refineries and in connection with the oil extraction, gas is often created that no system has been created to handle. The gas is therefore often burnt up, which means that large amounts of carbon dioxide are created without us using the energy.
Diesel-powered generators are an important source of electricity in less developed areas of the world where national electricity grids have not reached or where electricity generation is deficient. Large power plants for electricity generation can also be run with oil. However, it is more common for large-scale electricity generation to be done using the oil’s fossil “cousins” coal and natural gas.
Negative consequences of the oil
Oil spills contaminate the sea and beaches.
The extraction and use of oil has damaged humans and the environment to a great extent since the 19th century. It concerns everything from emissions from ships that destroy the marine environment to substances in exhaust gases that cause cancer. In line with improved purification, such as the use of catalysts, the harmful substances from refineries and engines have been limited.
Something that, on the other hand, cannot be cleaned out is the carbon dioxide emissions of the engines, which steadily increases the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere. Despite the realization that this is causing climate change, it is difficult to change the social structures that have been created around the oil.
The so-called oil dependency also has a political dimension. The world depend on the fact that the countries that have large oil deposits can really deliver. This creates tension both globally and in the countries where the oil is located. The power over the oil drives bloody conflicts and even from that perspective, many demand a world order that is less dependent on oil supply. This presupposes that renewable electricity generation and vehicles powered by electricity or biofuels take up more space than today.
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