Visualizing Environmental Science

Oil and Natural GasOil and Natural Gas 427427

nergy enables us tocook our food, heat our

homes, move about our planet,and run

industryyy. Every daaay theworld uses some 320 billion

kilowatt-hours off energyyy—equivalent to each

person burning 22 lightbulbs nonstop—and over

the nextcentury, demand maaay increase threefold.

Consumption is not uniform around theglobe.

People in industrialized countries consume far

greater amounts off energyythan those in developing

countries.The world’s energyy supply is still fossil fuel

based,despite advances in alternative energyy sources.

Tomeet demand,mannny countries must import fuels,

making the trade offenergyya critical, often volatile

global political issue. Instabilityy where most oil is

found—thePersian Gulf,Nigeria, andVenezuela—makes

thisglobal economic powerline fragile.Insatiable

demand where most energyyis consumed—the United

States,Japan,China,India,and Germany—makes

national economies increasingly dependent.Further-

more,extraction and use offfossil fuel haaave serious

ennnvironmental effects, such as air pollution and

climate warming.The challenge for the future?

Reducing reliance on fossil fuels,developing alterna-

tive energies to meet demand,and mediating the

trade-offs between the ennnvironment and energyyy.

GeoBytes

LACK OF ACCESS

Morethan 2 billion people,

mostly in the developing

world, do not haveaccess to

electricity. Increasinglyyy,

small-scale wind and solar

projects bring power to poor

rural areas.

WINDS OF CHANGE

Worldwide, wind supplies

less than 1 percent of

electric power,but it is the

fastest-growing source,

especially in Europe.

Denmark gets 26 percent of

its electricity from wind.

POWER OF THE SUN

Near Leipzig, Germanyyy, some

33,000 photovoltaic panels

produce up to 5 megawatts

of power.It is one of the

world’s largest solar arrays.

GOING NUCLEAR

France gets 78 percent of its

electricity from nuclear

power. Developing nations,

such as China and India, are

building new reactors to

reduce pollution and meet

soaring energy demands. In

20 11 an earthquake and tidal

wavecaused 3 reactors to

melt down at Fukushima

Daiichi, Japan, delaying a

number of nuclear projects

worldwide.

GROWING PPPAINS

China is fueling its economic

growth with huge quantities

of coal, and it suffers from

energy-related environmen-

tal problems. China is

second only to the United

States in greenhouse gas

emissions that contribute to

globalwarming.

approximately one-third of

all energy consumed.

Pressure on the world’s oil

supply continues to mount

as both industrialized

and developing countries

grow more dependent

on it to meet increasing

energy needs.

The world’s hunger for oil

is insatiable, but the supply

is finite and unequally

distributed, making it one

of the world’s most valuable

commodities. It is the leading

source of energy worldwide,

and in industrialized

countries it accountsfor

WORLD OIL SUPPLLLYY

ASPACIAIF-IC

ASIA-PPPACIFIC

UM.EXICS. &O

U.S.

AMERILAAATICNA

Reserves

Production

Consumption

100 metric tons=barrels of crude oi (^733) lCANADA
(1 block=100 metric tons)World^ oil
UNITESTTTAAATESD MEXICO LAAATIN
A(eMERIxcluding Mexico)CA AFRICA EUROPE MIDDLE EAST FSOORMERVIET UNIONASIA-PACIFIC
NG Image Collection/BP Statistical
View of World Energy