Posted on October 11, 2007
The Arctic Ocean is an oasis of natural gas that has been virtually untapped by companies who are ill-prepared to weather the harsh conditions of Norway’s northern coast.
Oil hotspots around the globe that have been discovered are quickly running out. Since we are rapidly depleting land sources, we are being forced to drill in far-away oceans for this precious commodity.
According to a New York Times article, the east coast will soon be guzzling gallons of natural gas, the product of “the first commercial energy production from waters north of the Arctic Circle.”
The Caspian Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and even the eastern shore of Russia are being explored as alternate sources for oil. Oil companies are expanding their realm to the far corners of the world, seeking oil in the most unlikely places.
Procuring oil is becoming more challenging because resources are low and politics between supplying and consuming countries are becoming more slippery. Barrels of oil are quite costly, and so is the research needed for new energy products.
If we could cut America’s consumption of oil, we would play our part to relieve the stress of the oil industry. The oil industry, however, should not be so crucial to our lifestyle. Instead of governments funding the oil industry they should fund research for alternative energy sources.
Luckily, some measures at JMU have utilized alternate energy, but the rest of the world should follow suit. JMU’s Clean Energy Coalition, Association of Energy Engineers and other campus organizations are striving to provide the university with clean, alternate energy sources. If only governments around the world, particularly in the United States, could be motivated to follow in our lowly university’s footsteps to make an actual impact on the problem that faces our future. If we fail to look toward the future, chaos is inevitable.
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