The liberation of energy inspired by nature.
Liquid Hydro Carbons
Liquid hydrocarbons Wind
Natural Gas Bio-Fuels
Coal Methanol
Nuclear Ethanol
Hydroelectric Geothermal
Solar Tidal
Liquid geologically-extracted hydrocarbons are referred to as petroleum (literally "rock oil") or mineral oil, while gaseous geologic hydrocarbons are referred to as natural gas. All are significant sources of fuel and raw materials as a feedstock for the production of organic chemicals and are commonly found in the Earth's subsurface using the tools of petroleum geology.
The extraction of liquid hydrocarbon fuel from a number of sedimentary basins has been integral to modern energy development. Hydrocarbons are mined from tar sands, oil shale and potentially extracted from sedimentary methane hydrates. These reserves require distillation and upgrading to produce synthetic crude and petroleum.
Oil reserves in sedimentary rocks are the principal source of hydrocarbons for the energy, transport and petrochemical industries.
Hydrocarbons are of prime economic importance because they encompass the constituents of the major fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, natural gas, etc.) and its derivatives plastics, paraffin, waxes, solvents and oils. In urban pollution, these components--along with NOx and sunlight--all contribute to the formation of tropospheric ozone and greenhouse gases.
Extracted from Wikipedia.org
Over the past one hundred years the oil and gas industry has been the driving force within most industrialized economies, and the economic might of a nation has been directly proportional to the amount of refining and production of the country. All industries and countries have been inextricablly linked as producers, sellers or consumers of available energy supply. As access to, and control of the sources of energy change, so too does the world's balance of power and influence. Is it any wonder that oil resources are so aggressively sought by the world's super powers.
History reminds us that when a nation loses the ability to source sufficient energy to feed its needs, it collapses. Look to the ancient Roman empire as an excellent example of how limitations in energy resources contributed to Rome's demise as a super power and a ruling empire. Energy, at the time, could be defined more in terms of food and manpower rather than oil. Where oil and gas is the fuel that drives the engines of our economy today, agriculture (food) fuelled the human resource engines of ancient Rome. Expanding territorial boundaries and growing population created higher and higher demands on agriculture to not only provide tax revenues, but also to fuel the mighty Roman population and its labor force. Eventually, Rome's energy needs outstripped its ability to deliver, and Rome 'fell'.
Many energy analysts suggest today that oil production has peeked, or is currently peeking. If this is true, countries that have not moved to alternative forms of energy in the coming years will see a decline in their economic power and influence. The greatest threat is to those high energy-consuming countries like the US and Canada that are dependant on oil as a primary source of energy. We must affect change now to survive tomorrow.
