The Oil Crisis and Finding Alternative Sources for Power and Energy

Everybody knows that today's oil prices have reached staggering figures and there seems to be no hint of these prices going down in the near future. Never before has mankind been faced with such a crisis that can potentially cripple the world's strongest economies, slow down global food production and destroy the planet altogether.

Before the 20th century, the belief that fossil fuels (petroleum, in particular) were an unending source of energy was very popular. Because of such an illusion of opulence, civilizations mindlessly spent such resources on a regular basis. The result of this reckless spending of fossil fuel was the Industrial Revolution.

However, developments don't come without a price. As populations grew exponentially compared to economies, nations felt compelled to produce more food and to kick their respective economic growths into high gear by industrializing even further, which was powered primarily by - you guessed it - oil.

Experts say that our current petroleum resources won't last long, considering that the demand for energy is growing faster than the population. Moreover, the irresponsible use of fossil fuels has taken its toll on our planet, as climate change continues to be largely (and scientifically) blamed on the residues that fossil fuels release after being consumed.

As such, the crisis is two-fold: on one hand, the need for energy is rising. On the other hand, the need for clean energy is even more important.

The continued use of petroleum and other fossil fuels will eventually lead to its depletion, which means that people will have to use alternative sources of energy. The sun, geothermal emissions, and the ocean currents are all natural sources of energy that are available to humans. Moreover, these energy sources do not emit waste products that can harm the environment, which ensures that the planet remains habitable.

In conclusion, the continued use of petroleum needs to be re-evaluated as the present oil crisis continues to cast a rapidly growing gloom of global economic and environmental threat. If we continue using energy in a manner that makes the very planet uninhabitable, the present oil crisis may very well be the punctuation mark that ended the human race.