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__ PETROLEUM __ by JC Reynolds and David Sullivan

__History__
Colonel Edwin Drake first successfully drilled for oil in 1859 in Titusville, Pennsylvania. However throughout most of 19th century there was little need for oil, as kerosene was used for most of the things that oil could be, such as gas-lit lamps. This was especially demonstrated by the invention of the lightbulb by Thomas Edison in 1882, whose invention made electically generated power much more popular. The invention of the auotmobile swung things once more though, and gas-powered engines became the most popular manner to power a car. This was especially demonstrated by all of the engines needed in both world wars. Oil became an international treasure that nations fought over. Oil's first large market in the 20th century came from the US, especially in Texas. However more modernly most of the world's oil presently comes from the Middle East. (1)



__Uses__
Oil's main uses are for transportations and for heating. Millions of barrels of oil are used each day to power forms of transporation such as cars, boats, planes, and cars. For many years now petroleum has been the prominent fuel for transporation. Propane, a form of oil, is used in our homes for heating purposes. Oil is also used in the production of plastic. Thus oil is one of the most prominent products seen in our lives, as we use it to get places, heat our homes, and for the thousands of plastic products we use each day. (2)



__Expected Lifetime__
One of the major issues with oil is that it is not an unlimited product, and at some point there will be none left. More than half of the world oil's reserves have been used up already. Colin Campbell, a retired petroleum expert, has estimated that "944 billion barrels of oil have already been used, with another 764 billion barrels remaining". The other side to this argument is that the US has constantly been estimating that oil is going to run out, and yet the world continues to pump out more and more oil each year. (3)

[|oil running out]

__Pros/Cons of Alternative Energy__
Removing oil from the world markets would be a drastic decision that would impact the world in a massive way. There are more potential off-shore drilling sites that could be used to increase the world oil supply. Alternate forms of energy are possible, but the necessary projects are extremely expensive, would take a long time to develop, and are not necessarily proven to be as effective as petroleum. On the other hand these projects would create millions of jobs which could help to stimulate the economy, and they could also create forms of energy that could keep the world running forever. (4)

__Works Cited__
1. [] 2.[] 3.[] 4.[]