Introduction

toc Here is some background information about the topic we will be studying. It is taken from the IPC guide. = = =**Introduction**= Petroleum, or crude oil, is a naturally occurring oily, bituminous liquid composed of various organic chemicals. It is found in large quantities below the surface of the Earth and is used as a fuel and as a raw material in the chemical industry. Modern industrial societies use it primarily for mobility—on land, at sea, and in the air. Petroleum and its derivatives are used in the manufacture of medicines and fertilisers, foodstuffs, plastic ware, building materials, paints, and cloth and to generate electricity. Modern industrial civilisation depends on petroleum and its products; the suburban communities that surround the great cities are the result of an ample and inexpensive supply of petroleum. The goals of developing countries – to exploit their natural resources and to supply foodstuffs for the growing populations – are based on wide petroleum availability. In recent years, however, the worldwide availability of petroleum has steadily declined and its relative cost has increased. Petroleum may no longer be a common commercial material by the mid-21st century. Petroleum contains gases, liquid, and solids. The consistency of petroleum varies from as thin as petrol to liquid so thick that it will barely pour.

=** Origins **= Petroleum is formed under the Earth’s surface by the decomposition of marine organisms. The remains of tiny organisms that live in the sea mix with the fine sands and silts that settle to the bottom in quiet sea basins. These deposits, rich in organic materials, become the source rocks for the generation of crude oil. The process began many millions of years ago with the development of abundant life, and it continues to this day. The sediments grow thicker and sink into the sea floor under their own weight. As additional deposits pile up, the pressure on the ones below increases several thousand times, and the temperature rises by several hundred degrees. The mud and sand harden into shale and sandstone; skeletal shells harden into limestone; and the remains of the dead organisms are transformed into crude oil and natural gas. Then it begins to rise. Frequently, the rising material reaches an impermeable shale or dense layer of rock that prevents further migration; the oil has become trapped, and a reservoir of petroleum is formed. Surface deposits of crude oil have been known to humans for thousands of years. They were long used for such limited purposes as caulking boats, waterproofing cloth, and fuelling torches. By the time of the Renaissance, some surface deposits were being used for lubricants and medicinal products, but the real exploitation of crude oil did not begin until the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution had by then brought about a search for new fuels including good, cheap oil for lamps so that people could work and read after dark.

=** Drilling **= James Young of England, with others, began to manufacture various products from crude oil. The Canadian physician and geologist Abraham Gessner in 1852 produced a relatively clean-burning, affordable lamp fuel called kerosene; and in 1855 an American chemist, Benjamin Silliman, said that many useful products that could be derived through the distillation of petroleum. The first significant oil well was drilled near Oil Creek, Pennsylvania, by ‘Colonel’ Edwin L Drake in 1859. Drake’s success started the rapid growth of the modern petroleum industry. With the invention of the car and the energy needs brought on by World War I, the petroleum industry became essential to industrial society. The only way to prove that oil is present in the ground is to drill a well. In fact, most of the oil in the world has initially been found because of surface seeps, and most of the actual reservoirs have been discovered by so-called ‘wildcatters’ who relied perhaps as much on guesswork as on science. Most of the oil that has been discovered and exploited in the world has been found in a relatively few large reservoirs. In the US, for example, 60 out of approximately 10,000 oil fields have accounted for half of the productive capacity and reserves. Then it is taken to be refined.

=** Refining **= The first material to be distilled from crude oil is petrol, followed in turn by naphtha and then by kerosene. Lubricants and fuel oils are obtained from the upper regions and waxes and asphalt from the lower regions of the distillation apparatus. The heavier portions of the crude oil can be heated under pressure and at higher temperatures. Then the yield of gasoline from a barrel of crude oil is greatly increased. Catalytic cracking produces a wide range of chemicals. This has led to the gigantic petrochemical industry, which turns out alcohols, detergents, synthetic rubber, glycerine, fertilisers, sulphur, solvents, and the raw materials for the manufacture of drugs, nylon, plastics, paints, polyesters, food additives and supplements, explosives, dyes, and insulating materials. The petrochemical industry uses about 5 percent of the total supply of oil and gas in the US. A barrel of crude oil gives almost 21 gallons of gasoline, 3 gallons of jet fuel, 9 gallons of gas oil and distillates, and less than 4 gallons of lubricants and 3 gallons of heavier residues. The world’s reserves of crude oil are estimated at about 700 billion barrels, of which some 360 billion barrels are in the Middle East. The Prudhoe Bay field on the North Slope of Alaska is the largest field ever discovered in the western hemisphere. The ultimate recovery of crude oil from this field is anticipated to be about 10 billion barrels, which is only enough to supply the current needs of the US for less than two years. Because of the reserves available and the dismal projections, it is clear that alternative energy sources will be needed to sustain the civilised societies of the world in the future.

=** Children and Energy **= Ultimately, virtually all energy comes from the Sun. The Sun’s energy may be used directly, as heat and light; it may change weather patterns, causing winds and turning windmills or creating waves on the sea; or it may be converted, by the miracle of photosynthesis, to the material and growing force of plants. When we burn wood, we are also tapping this energy source. The energy is released as heat and light, and also as sound when it crackles. The energy is transferred to new forms: heat, light and sound. When early plants died, and became fossilised, they became coal. When tiny marine animals ate the plants and died in turn, they gave us oil. These fossil fuels are a finite resource that we are using up at tremendous speed. For convenience, we use these, and other energy sources, to generate electricity, a handy resource that will go anywhere you can take a wire. Electricity is generated by burning fuels that heat water. The steam produced turns turbines; the turbines drive the generators and electricity is produced. This is a very inefficient process; and it is easy to forget that pollution is produced by energy generation, simply because it is produced at the power station, not in our homes. Burning these energy sources, especially for electricity generation, produces pollution. We may pollute the environment, creating greenhouse gases which turn the rain acid, or surround the Earth with a layer that holds global warmth in – the Greenhouse Effect. This is melting the polar ice caps, and threatens flooding. Therefore we need to reduce energy use, to conserve energy, and prevent waste.

=** Climate Change **= The Earth needs the Sun’s heat. But there is much more heat coming from the Sun than we need. Much of the heat should be reflected back into space. Usually, that’s what happens. But as the blanket of waste products builds up around the Earth, this heat is trapped. It’s making the Earth warmer and warmer. This is climate change. We can reduce its impact in two ways – by burning less fossil fuel and by using energy more efficiently. This will mean insulating to reduce energy loss. Many ‘Save the World’ projects have little impact because children feel so inadequate in the face of global problems. This is not true of energy conservation. Children //can// make a significant difference to energy wastage, saving energy and money for their homes and school, and developing good practices for life. Remind them of the number of children in the school, in their town, in this country. If we //all// made an effort, the impact would be great. (Note that many children link energy production and pollution with damage to the ozone layer; this is a different effect, more caused by the release of harmful chemicals than by energy production.) none