Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
2030
Percent of
U.S. total
140
Hydro
Nuclear
Biomass and renewables
Gas
Coal
Oil*
2005
120
1980
100
80
60
40
20
0
1980
1990
2005
2015
2030
Figure 6.4
Future energy demand in the United States. Excludes ethanol and other biofuels, which
are included in the “Biomass and Renewables” category. (American Petroleum Institute,
2008).
and prevent them from getting hold of our oil and concentrate on it
particularly in Iraq and the Gulf.”
11
Since this fatwa was issued, there have been successful attacks on Iraqi
oil pipelines, and Saudi Arabia has foiled planned attacks on its oil facili-
ties. Political disruptions in Saudi Arabia or other major oil exporters
that restrict oil exports could cause an oil crisis at any time.
There is no way to know in advance the amount of undiscovered and
producible oil that remains in the ground around the world, but demand
is predicted to increase in the United States and in the rest of the world
(fi gure 6.4). A glass that is half empty is also half full. And there may
well be more liquid in the unopened refrigerator, as well as solids and
semisolids that can be liquefi ed (tar sands, oil shale, coal). Petroleum is
certain to be a major source of energy for many decades to come. It may
not be desirable (chapters 8 and 9), but it is inevitable.
Tar Sands
When the world thinks of oil reserves, the fi rst nation that comes to mind
is Saudi Arabia, which has about 25 percent of the world's liquid reserves.
But there are rocks at and near the surface in Venezuela and western
Canada that hold oil reserves potentially as large as those in Saudi
Arabia, but not in liquid form. The rocks, called tar sands, consist of
