Ecological Concerns In The 1970s

Our society has faced two major energy related problems since the Industrial Revolution. The first is where our future energy resources are going to come from. The United States both consumes and produces an immense

Natural resources can be found all over America from dirt to diamond all the resources found help build our nation. “The great California gold rush began on January 24, 1848, when James W. Marshall discovered a gold nugget in the American River.”(California

In 1973, in the wake of conflict in the Middle East, US drivers were feeling the repercussions with every gallon of gasoline and oil that they consumed. The members of OPEC placed an oil embargo on the US and several other nations because of their aid to the Israeli military. This embargo greatly pressured the US, who was highly dependent on foreign oil. In the aftermath of this crisis, President Nixon called for the increased energy production to avoid this problem in the future. Yet, in this present day, the United States faces a similar, although not as extreme, situation. Measures must be made to make the United States energy independent.

From the dawn of modernization, our environment's problems have been a pivotal issue which seems to be a natural need for humankind that penetrates almost to every facet of people's life from all walks of life. Hitherto, preferable means of a possible way to preserve our world from catastrophic events have been discussed by a plethora of dignitaries. A question that might arise here is, whether the best way for protecting the environment is funding the research for developing new energy sources, or preserving natural locations, or enact laws. A consensus has yet to be reached; however, I am personally on the belief that the former carries more weight. Two prominent reasons that can support the contention would be elaborated in the following

Our energy use has dramatically improved our lives , but this energy is derived mostly from fossil fuels and has resulted in environmental change , and depletion of fossil fuels (Shahriar 181 ). This leads to continuing military conflict . This resulted in developing and using alternate resources for the increasing energy demand.

Since the oil embargo of 1977, there has been an increased awareness of our nation's energy security. As global population and energy consumption rise, the need for a stable energy supply has become a hot topic and a politically volatile issue. As our negative trade balance grows larger by the day, the United States finds itself in a rather precarious position. We are becoming more and more dependent on Middle East oil.

Being such a necessary and overused resource makes it a hotly contested subject and global issue. The United States is one of the biggest importers and users of oil in the world, which makes our need of it a major influence on several global markets. Our heavy reliance on dirty fuels, as well as every other industrialized country in the world, will lead to massive effects on the climate of our Earth. This in addition, has led to violence and war, particularly in the Middle East, over the ownership and distribution of oil and other energy resources, which in the end only serves to profit big oil industries. This problem will not stop or slow down, as the demand for energy will only increase as the world’s population and global economy continues to expand. For mainly these reasons, which will be handled more in-depth throughout this paper, the need for clean alternative energy is paramount and must be addressed within the foreseeable future should we otherwise suffer the consequences.

Needless to say, that the exploitation of oil and gas created polarizing relationships between the economy and the environment at the municipal, provincial, and national levels. The phenomenon of the oil and gas production in Canada plays into environmental concerns of Climate Change in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, violations of First Nations land rights, vulnerability on an international market, and long-term ecological consequences, such as air and water pollution, oil spills and leaks, and etc., over “economic” benefits.

The United States relies heavily on fossil fuels as its main source of energy and with the limited supply, we 'll have to develop and utilize alternative sources for clean, renewable, cheap and effective energy to power this country and the world into the future. It will be important for the health of our planet to utilize renewable resources that have no greenhouse gas emission. Out of necessity the world will eventually need to stop using fossil fuels for energy.

Before the 1960s, environmentalism mainly focused on conservation of resources and the wilderness and was apparent through Theodore Roosevelt’s creation of five National Parks, one hundred fifty National Forests and about two hundred thirty acres of land set aside for conservation. In the 1960s, the environmental movement was really able to garner support as it was during many other movements such as Civil Rights, Peace, and Women’s. Many consider the spark for environmentalism to be Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962), which exposed the harmful effects of pollutants such as DDT on the environment and the public. While minute amounts of DDT cause little to no harm to the organisms that are affected, as DDT moves up the food chain, it becomes more and more concentrated. A generally accepted value is that for each level up in the food chain, the concentration of pollutants increases by a thousand times. The effects of Silent Spring cannot be overestimated. As people began to become more informed about pollution, more people demanded that the federal government take action. The environmental movement then grew to encompass global warming, clean air, energy, the ozone layer, and also pollution. These concerns were vocalized in the very first Earth Day that occurred on April 22, 1970 and was established by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson. A group of twenty million Americans, all coming from vastly different backgrounds, celebrated the holiday

The sufficient and unhindered access to cheap energy resources is a security concern for governments. Non-renewable energy sources such as fossil fuels often guide a nation’s economic wealth and military strength. The access, production, and delivery of this strategic resource drive a government’s policy development and often contains influences that may cause internal conflicts and strain relationships with other external entities. Tensions arise when economic concerns, the relaxation of environmental restraints, foreign policy, or the threat of use of force to protect its vital interests is presented.

To meet China's fast rising energy demands, Chinese leaders exerted great effort with a market-oriented approach and a state-centered approach. The market-oriented approach look for energy safety by better assimilation of national and international markets …state intervention would be restricted to the dispersal of data in a multilateral context, the help of innovation, and, for few management of a strategic oil reserve which would be applied in case of fleeting supply interruption.

Energy security is a varied and complex concept that relates to import dependency, energy prices, the capacity and integrity of the supply and distribution infrastructure, fuel diversity and environmental concerns. After evaluating the advantages, disadvantages and policy requirements of the three energy sources (gas, coal and nuclear) we have made the conclusion that encompasses the security of supply issue for Ireland, UK and France, for their future fuel sustainability.

Nowadays, energy security has turned out to be a very important area under discussions regarding foreign policy ("Energy Security: Advancements in Cooperation in the East Asian Region", 2011). The reliance on foreign energy turns into a compulsion with the globalization of the trade and industry of any country that does not possess adequate resources for its engine to continue working. However, such sort of energy-reliance shall be a combination of the "energy aid" from affluent countries and the domestic industrial sector and consumer demands. For that reason, this modus operandi has set a number of countries in motion in order to search for the different energy suppliers beyond their areas (Barbieri).

Much like other sectors, the energy sector is constantly faced with challenges. Companies and governments are constantly looking to sources to provide secure access to guarantee that demand is met. The World population is hovering around the 7 billion mark making the demand for secure access a critical challenge. This requires a long-term balancing solution while satisfying short-term needs. Researchers and other specialists monitor trends in the industry, as well as, rules and regulations set by the governments, partners, and organizations in the focus region in focus so they can be prepared to formulate investment strategies enabling them to capitalize and prosper. The areas of high importance are Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin