So when I was a little kid I would have to drive all over the place for hockey games and tournaments. One of the rinks I would have to play at was in Hastings, Minnesota and there was a refinery plant on the way that I would always drive by. My dad always joked and said that they shot the movie "Mad Max" there. I believed him when I was a little kid because it looked just like the industrialized city from the movie with huge smoke stacks that emit a lot of smoke into the atmosphere. At the time I didn't really think much about the gases that are being emitted by the factory into the atmosphere. After learning a lot more about our environment in my class at college I began thinking about this factory that I grew up driving by since I was a little kid.
Fossil fuels account for about 85 percent of the energy used in the United States. When I read that stat I was shocked at first but I thought about it a little more and I could only think of a hand full of ways energy is produced for every day use. The burning of fossil fuels is responsible for powering companies resources, office buildings, homes, and automobiles. The amount of carbon dioxide that is put into the atmosphere is basically split into two parts, factories and automobiles. Our societies reliance on this fuel source is a problem already but it seems it may only get worse. Without the introduction and innovation of new types of energy sources we are going to be sunk! I thought about the video that I saw in class about killing the electric car. I thought this was a great idea to conserve energy as well as cut down on the green house gas emissions.
There are many effects that oil refineries have on the environment from water to air and soil. I have been looking at the air pollutants and some of the main concerns that stem from the burning of fossil fuels. The EPA has slowly been addressing the concerns by announcing,it was seeking comment on additional options for reducing emissions of air toxic pollutants from petroleum refineries based on information received since a 2007 proposal (Pollution Engineering, 2008). Included in the proposal were options for controlling air toxics emissions from storage tanks located at petroleum refineries and revisions to the maximum achievable control technology work practice standards for cooling towers (Pollution Engineering, 2008). I was glad to read about the improvement on old standards that are in effect. As we have learned from the past with new information available it is necessary many times to change previous standards because they have been proven to be harmful for the environment. Many like to argue that they don't account for the warming of temperatures around the world but I think that everyone could agree that they are certainly not helping improve the situation.
Global warming is a result from the emissions of green house gases into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is the main gas behind global warming as well as other gases such as nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides. Carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere unless the plants and trees can convert it back into oxygen through photosynthesis. With all the deforestation this is becoming a far bigger problem than most people think. Full halt on the deforestation of the Amazon could result in a 2 to 5 percent reduction in global carbon emissions (Brown, p. 240). In recent years much has been done to slow down the restrictions and hide the adverse effects on these gases have not only on our environment but on us as well. the number who believe the "seriousness of global warming is generally exaggerated" has risen from 41 percent to 48 percent (Dolliver, 2010, p.20). There are essentially two parts to this argument, the green house gases are heating up our climate and the earth is naturally heating up. I think its really hard to prove for sure but why couldn't it be a combination of both. Either way it is happening much more rapidly than it has in the past and can be proven from data that has been collected over the past 150 years. "Since the late 1800's, the global average temperature has increased about 0.7 to 1.4 degrees F (0.4 to 0.8 degrees C). Many experts estimate that the average temperature will rise an additional 2.5 to 10.4 degrees F (1.4 to 5.8 degrees C) by 2100. That rate of increase would be much larger than most past rates of increase" (Mastrandrea, 2005; Schneider, 2005).
This is a huge problem when you think about the polar ice caps. With all this extra heat generated, even though it seems small in terms of temperature, it can have a enormous effect on the ecosystem. Heating up that fast will cause the sea levels to rise and many of the coastal areas and islands could be under water very quickly. That means that scenic places that are great for vacationing could cease to exist in the next 100 years if this increase continues to happen.
Restrictions on emissions must be put into effect to help preserve the environment we still have. With out the control we are all in for trouble. There are alternative ways to use energy without emitting harmful gases into the atmosphere. They are more expensive but with more time and investments we can reduce these costs as well as reduce the carbon foot print we have to heavily put on our planet. Wind, solar power, and various devices have already been used to reduce emissions for a much cleaner production of energy.
References
Mastrandrea, Michael D., and Stephen H. Schneider. "Global warming." World Book Online Reference Center. 2005. World Book, Inc. http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar226310.
(2008). EPA Raises Air Toxics Bar for Petroleum Refineries. Pollution Engineering, 40(12), 15. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
Dolliver, M. (2010). Worries About Pollution (and Warming) Have Eased. MediaWeek, 20(12), 20. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
Brown, M. (2010). Limiting Corrupt Incentives in a Global REDD Regime. Ecology Law Quarterly, 37(1), 237-267. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
