IB2 Finding an Oil Stasis Joana Sipe

                Stasis, a word implying motionless in state or development, tries hands in the form of rhetoric to the point of agreement between different stakeholders and their claims to the issue at hand.  In the world of crude oil, a “crude” issue is at hand.  Money is an undeniable stakeholder that many, including myself, take for granted without outwardly acknowledging its run of society.  For example, the business stakeholders believe it will cost the economy too much money to switch to alternative fuels while environmentalists believe the cost is worthwhile in the long run to saving our planet.  In my stance, or claim, on the issue I would reach a point of stasis between these three stakeholders in which funds of compensation would be given to dispute the “extra” cost of utilizing green fuels rather than oil.

                Beginning with Conjecture, the oil crisis does in fact exist.  Since fossil fuels are non-renewable resources and exist underground at finite numbers even a steady consumption rate would cause eventual over-exhortation.  How many years of this oil run life do we have left, and what are our options for the future?  While many people are delusional that such a problem exists, research states that oil will run out between 2025 and 2070.  However, this is not a new statement for oil has been expected to run out and has been rapidly depleting at an exponential rate since the 1990’s.   

                Oil is defined as a fossil fuel that takes millions of years to create by plant and animal remains and transformed into oil by intense pressure between bedrock and the layers of soil above.  This would classify oil as a non-renewable resource and a large problem since our society is defined by the automobile and electricity and technology and even our food is run by oil companies.  Alternative Fuels such as solar energy , wind energy or even biofuels are created by more sustainable sources of energy such as the sun and wind and food/plants in our Earth.

While I was searching different researcher blogs online such as oildrum.org, I stumbled upon a blog of a woman named Molly Eagen who is attempting to live 100 days without oil.  This enlightened me even more so upon the value of oil in every aspect of our society.   “This era in history may be remembered as the "Peak Age," a brief time when nearly all materials used to power and create our society reach the maximum extraction and production potential. Past this point, all of these resources become increasingly difficult to extract until they are no longer economically viable resources. There are hundreds of examples of resources, currently embedded in our industrial society, which have reached their peak in the 50 years surrounding 2010, but the one which will most impact our society is petroleum. The goal of living for 100 Days Without Oil is to understand the extent of our dependence on oil in American society today. Specifically how it will affect my life, as a 25 year old living in Minneapolis, MN. By using myself as a metric I can take a close and conscious look at where oil dependence occurs in all aspects of my daily lives: How we transport ourselves from one place to another, what we eat, how much waste we create, how water is cleaned and transported, where oil is used as an energy resource, in conventional medicine and for hygiene and how oil affects how we entertain ourselves and communicate with others. By demonstrating how someone would be forced to live without using any oil resources, outlining both what the sacrifices will be as well as the benefits, we can identify the many systems which will have to be re-designed in a world without cheap oil, and explore a new way of living in which we live in an energy balance.”   A link to her blog and further description of her experimental project is in this link: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/100-days-without-oil-molly-eag-125193

Policies that should be taken encompass alternative fuels.  Other forms of energy must be implemented in order to sustain the Earth and all life upon it.  Conservation of energy and upgrading technology to be more oil conscious would help as well.  There are many more other policies that could be taken but more research upon the subject will be needed until then.

I found that I am becoming too biased on the “green revolution” and “oil is evil” issue and I need to take all stakeholder stances and become a more neutral investigator.  I need to research deeply more solutions and policies as well as put myself in some oil company shoes as well, think as a skeptic would and investigate.  There is always more research to behold.  A skeptic would believe that oil will never run out and nothing will happen to the Earth and an oil company would state that our economy is based on oil and it would plummet without it.  Evidence mostly on economic issues and proof that oil is a finite resource and its effect on the environment will help my claim along with how alternative fuels are worth the investment now rather than later when it is too late.