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tool of diplomacy and economic warfare in geopolitics. Many countries prioritize
domestic crude oil production and storage to reduce their strategic vulnerability to
international pressure applied through the oil infrastructure. In the USA, domestic
energy policy since 1980 has emphasized domestic oil production and fuel efficiency largely for the purpose of reducing dependency on foreign crude oil—a policy that has been very successful, as the USA is now mostly independent of foreign
supply and no longer very vulnerable to 1970s-style oil embargoes.
Eminent domain is sometimes applied for the siting of oil pipelines, and this has
been extremely controversial in some cases in the USA, for example the recent
Dakota Access pipeline. In the USA, Environmental regulations and social concerns
have made oil exploration controversial, especially on sensitive public lands like
ANWR and in offshore applications. The Exxon Valdez spill and BP Deepwater
Horizon spill were major political and environmental events in US history, and
resulted in major losses to those companies. However, oil production interests have
usually prevailed in the long term in the regulatory debate.
Greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fuels are a major issue of policy
concern. Although tailpipe emissions of greenhouse gas emissions have improved
in recent decades along with vehicle fuel efficiency (gasoline and diesel), tailpipe
emissions of greenhouse gasses continue to rise rapidly for air transportation which
burns large amounts of jet fuel (kerosene). Additionally, air quality impacts from
tailpipe emissions of vehicles are a major health concern in many major cities
worldwide, because these emissions contribute to NO X and SO X concentrations and
dangerous smog. Catalytic converters and scrubber technologies are important
infrastructure for the mitigation of this air pollution.
A major policy concern facing financiers of the petroleum industry is the issue of
“stranded capital.” Capital can be stranded when a poor investment decision is
made. In the current instance, hundreds of billions of dollars are invested by private
companies in oil field infrastructure that might become stranded if greenhouse gas
regulations reduce demand for petroleum fuels.
10.3.5 Energy: Electrical Power
There are two main categories of power generation as shown on the very left of the
diagram above. These are conventional and renewable power generation. Incoming
commodities that are used for power generation include coal, natural gas, oil,
nuclear rods, and water. Renewable technologies harness energy directly from environment without needing to have specific commodity inputs. However, renewable
energy generation is not necessarily waste free. The materials and facilities used for
power generation, such as photovoltaic panels and wind turbines, have to be replaced
periodically. In addition, there is some wastewater generated through cleaning,
cooling and steam generation. In 2016 34% or the power generated through technologies using natural gas, 30% using coal, 20% using nuclear materials, 6% hydroelectric, 6% using wind, 2% using biomass, 1% using solar, and 1% using oil
(Fig. 10.6) (US EIA 2017).
B. L. Ruddell et al.
tool of diplomacy and economic warfare in geopolitics. Many countries prioritize
domestic crude oil production and storage to reduce their strategic vulnerability to
international pressure applied through the oil infrastructure. In the USA, domestic
energy policy since 1980 has emphasized domestic oil production and fuel efficiency largely for the purpose of reducing dependency on foreign crude oil—a policy that has been very successful, as the USA is now mostly independent of foreign
supply and no longer very vulnerable to 1970s-style oil embargoes.
Eminent domain is sometimes applied for the siting of oil pipelines, and this has
been extremely controversial in some cases in the USA, for example the recent
Dakota Access pipeline. In the USA, Environmental regulations and social concerns
have made oil exploration controversial, especially on sensitive public lands like
ANWR and in offshore applications. The Exxon Valdez spill and BP Deepwater
Horizon spill were major political and environmental events in US history, and
resulted in major losses to those companies. However, oil production interests have
usually prevailed in the long term in the regulatory debate.
Greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fuels are a major issue of policy
concern. Although tailpipe emissions of greenhouse gas emissions have improved
in recent decades along with vehicle fuel efficiency (gasoline and diesel), tailpipe
emissions of greenhouse gasses continue to rise rapidly for air transportation which
burns large amounts of jet fuel (kerosene). Additionally, air quality impacts from
tailpipe emissions of vehicles are a major health concern in many major cities
worldwide, because these emissions contribute to NO X and SO X concentrations and
dangerous smog. Catalytic converters and scrubber technologies are important
infrastructure for the mitigation of this air pollution.
A major policy concern facing financiers of the petroleum industry is the issue of
“stranded capital.” Capital can be stranded when a poor investment decision is
made. In the current instance, hundreds of billions of dollars are invested by private
companies in oil field infrastructure that might become stranded if greenhouse gas
regulations reduce demand for petroleum fuels.
10.3.5 Energy: Electrical Power
There are two main categories of power generation as shown on the very left of the
diagram above. These are conventional and renewable power generation. Incoming
commodities that are used for power generation include coal, natural gas, oil,
nuclear rods, and water. Renewable technologies harness energy directly from environment without needing to have specific commodity inputs. However, renewable
energy generation is not necessarily waste free. The materials and facilities used for
power generation, such as photovoltaic panels and wind turbines, have to be replaced
periodically. In addition, there is some wastewater generated through cleaning,
cooling and steam generation. In 2016 34% or the power generated through technologies using natural gas, 30% using coal, 20% using nuclear materials, 6% hydroelectric, 6% using wind, 2% using biomass, 1% using solar, and 1% using oil
(Fig. 10.6) (US EIA 2017).
B. L. Ruddell et al.