It was on August 28, 1859 at a site on Oil Creek near Titusville, Pennsylvania, that American entrepreneur George H. Bissell, a New York lawyer, and James Townsend, a New Haven businessman, made the first effective use of a drilling rig to produce oil. In this woodland valley along a creek in remote northwestern Pennsylvania, the American oil history began with this well that was drilled just 69.5 feet deep. John D. Rockefeller then founded Standard Oil of Ohio, the largest corporation in the country, with $1 million in capital. By 1878, Standard Oil was responsible for roughly 90 percent of the refining capacity in the U.S. This forever changed America’s economy, standard of living, and culture. Since that time, oil has evolved to be used for many purposes. Oil has been utilized for transportation to fuel our airplanes, cars, and trucks, for heating and electricity generation, asphalt and road oil, and as an additive for making chemicals, plastics, and synthetic materials. As oil has undoubtedly made life easier, finding, producing, moving, and using it has serious consequences. Unquestionably oil has proved to have clear assets, advantages, and benefits in its ease of use and efficiency, but the continued use of this non-renewable resource is causing major harmful effects in our world, with wildlife and their habitat, as well as causing negative economic consequences with rising oil prices directly affecting inflation and reducing economic growth.
Oil has been of great significance in some of the biggest industries like chemicals, transport, power, petrochemicals etc., and is clearly one of the most important commodities in the world. Despite this global contribution, this consumer good has had tremendously damaging and hazardous effects on our world air pollution. When burning petroleum products as fuel for any of the above uses, emissions and byproducts are given off into our environment. The following emissions are put into our air when oil is burned as fuel: carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX) and volatile organic compounds (VOC), particulate matter (PM), lead and various other air toxics such as benzene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and 1,3-butadiene may be emitted when some types of petroleum are burned. “Nearly all of these byproducts have negative impacts on the environment and human health” (Gaia). Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and is a source of global warming. “SO2 causes acid rain, which is harmful to plants and to animals that live in water,” and this chemical also worsens, or causes, respiratory illnesses and heart diseases, particularly in children and the elderly (Factors). NOX and VOCs contribute to ground-level ozone, which irritates and damages the lungs. PM results in hazy conditions in cities and scenic areas, and, along with ozone, contributes to asthma and chronic bronchitis, especially in children and the elderly. Very small, or “fine PM” is also thought to cause emphysema and lung cancer. Lead can have severe health impacts, especially for children, along with air toxics and probable carcinogens. As proven by the study done in June 2011 at a location surrounded by oil and gas development in the Barnett Shale in Fort Worth, TX, the results suggest that biogenic and oxidized VOCs contribute significantly to ozone, and that oil and gas emissions contribute incrementally to local ozone (Rutters). Severe air pollution has been an extreme and dangerous repercussion and trade off to the world using oil for their gain and advancement (Gaia).
Oil spills that occur throughout our world into rivers, bays, and oceans severely affect our wildlife and their habitat. These oil spills are most often caused by individuals making mistakes due to human error, carelessness, or accidents that involve tankers, barges, pipelines, refineries, drilling rigs, and storage facilities. However, there are also individuals who illegally dump crude oil into the ocean because they don’t want to spend money, or take the time, to decompose their waste oil. Lastly, natural disasters, like hurricanes, can also cause an oil spill by flipping over an oil tanker, causing the oil to come pouring out. When oil spills occur, the oil floats on the water and quickly spreads out across the surface of the water which forms a thin layer, also known as an oil slick. This oil causes extreme harm to wildlife through physical contact, ingestion, inhalation and absorption. Proven in “EFFECTS OF OIL SPILLS ON MARINE AND COASTAL WILDLIFE” by Holly K. Ober, the study shows that “The consequences of oil exposure to marine and coastal wildlife include both immediate impacts on health as well as long-term changes in behavior (Ober). This floating oil can contaminate plankton, which includes algae, fish eggs, and the larvae of various invertebrates. Fish feeding on these organisms can consequently become contaminated through ingestion of contaminated prey or by direct toxic effects of oil. These toxins also spread to shellfish, which include bottom dwelling lobsters, crabs, etc., and also intertidal species, such as clams, oysters, etc. Larger animals in the food chain, “including humans, can consume contaminated organisms as they feed on these fish” (Effects). Although oil causes immediate effects throughout the entire spill area, there are also disastrous effects on larger wildlife species. Birds such as brown pelicans are likely to be exposed to oil as they float on the water’s surface. Oiled birds can “lose the ability to fly, dive for food, or float on the water which could lead to drowning” (Effects). Oil interferes with the water repellency of feathers and can cause hypothermia in certain weather conditions. As birds “groom themselves, they can ingest and inhale the oil on their bodies” (Tubbs). While ingestion can “kill animals immediately, more often it results in lung, liver, and kidney damage which can lead to death” (Effects). Bird eggs may be damaged if an oiled adult sits on the nest. Scavengers such as “bald eagles, gulls, raccoons, and skunks are also exposed to oil by feeding on carcasses of contaminated fish and wildlife” (Effects). Oil is also toxic to marine and onshore plants such as seagrasses, mangroves and wetland vegetation, which provide habitat and food for many species. What starts off as an oil spill becomes extreme destructive and disastrous pollution that escalates to resulting in some species dying off, as well as potentially having long-term negative effects on plants, fish, wildlife populations and the environment.
Rising oil prices have negative economic effects that directly impact inflation and reduce economic growth. Economic growth in our world is a factor that undoubtedly corresponds with the price of oil. When the economy grows, there is an increase for the oil demand in our daily lives. If the world’s production of oil is unable to meet that growth, the price of oil will definitely be on the rise. As a result of this increase in pricing, a hindrance occurs in the growth of the economy. The price of oil influences the costs of other production and manufacturing across the United States. Increasing oil pricing affects the cost of gasoline or airplane fuel, as well as transporting goods and people. High oil prices add to the costs of doing business, and therefore, these costs are ultimately passed on to the customers and businesses. “Whether it is higher cab fares, more expensive airline tickets, the cost of apples shipped from California, or new furniture shipped from China,” high oil prices trickle down and result in higher prices for consumer products and services (Beattie). Furthermore, with increasing oil prices, there is a reduction in the supply of other goods because they increase the costs of producing them. Oil is clearly a necessity, but it negatively impacts and controls our everyday life by influencing the essential needs in our world.
Since the mid-1950’s, oil has become the world’s most important source of energy. Oil has provided tremendous advancements to make our lives easier. Though along with the positive growth and headway that oil has brought, negative effects have come as well. Due to various properties of oil, our world has seen casualties in air pollution, devastation in wildlife and their habitat, and restrictions and control of inflation and economic growth.
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