Are you being affected by the Global Energy Crisis?
Today’s media has gone above and beyond when covering stories related to the Global Energy Crisis. Not only are media on top of this, but celebrities and politicians, notable Al Gore, have been reaching out to today’s society on how this crisis continues to be a problem and is continuously growing. The Nobel Peace committee has recognized their efforts in reaching to the public about this crisis.
With all the media coverage, documentaries and table conversations about this topic, you must be wondering if this is at all affecting you and your family. What importance is it to you? After all, you are one person. How can you stop global warming as one person? You’re not being affected by these problems, right?
You couldn’t be more wrong.
Today, we are so dependent on crude oil and fossil fuels for energy. This dire need for oil is one of the biggest dilemmas we face today. Oil takes millions of years to form. At the rate that we are using oil right now, it is estimated that we will run out of our oil supply within 100 years. With these numbers quickly dwindling, future generations are in danger of living without fossil fuels for energy. Because of this alarming fact, we need to start looking for alternative energy sources now.
There are two different types of fuel that are coming into play because of the rise of gasoline prices: ethanol and corn-based ethanol.
Ethanol is no stranger to our society. Ethanol has already been used in many places, but definitely has a way of affecting you. Do you have an older vehicle? Well, ethanol can cause serious damage to your engine because older vehicles don’t use ethanol the same way as newer vehicles. As ethanol becomes more and more wide-spread, you’ll notice it’s more difficult to find non-ethanol gasoline and when you do find it—it’s pretty pricey. So to be able to use the ethanol gasoline, you might find yourself looking at newer cars sooner than you thought.
Corn-based ethanol isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be either. It’s an expense that most people look right past. The United States uses corn-based ethanol in almost everything requiring ethanol. Corn grown in the country is now being used for fuel which inadvertently raises the price for production of this crop, which means that our food bill increases as well.
So, taking a step back and looking at this Global Energy Crisis, it does affect you. Prices of gasoline are going to continue increasing. Yes there are new, efficient alternatives, but you may have to change your vehicle to accommodate.
We don’t have much of our natural fuel sources left-there’s only a finite amount left. We need to start becoming more aware of our resources and try to preserve them as much as we can.