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The news is filled with apocalyptic warnings regarding modern dependence on fossil fuels. Burgeoning gas and oil costs, air pollution and a changing climate are all part of the scenario. Although alternate energy sources are catching up, petroleum is by far still the fuel of choice. It supports the entire world economy, and will do so for the foreseeable future. Crude oil transportation makes this reliance possible.
Much of the toxic liquid is moved through pipelines. Even when fresh from the ground, this is not a harmless product. Depending on geographical location, oil is a chemical soup that can vary in composition. Historically recent accidents in the waters of Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico are good illustrations of the damage and environmental degradation that large spills can produce locally.
Railing against big oil is easy, but in reality most consumers are generally loathe to eliminate petroleum products from daily life. It fuels cars, and is a major ingredient in the plastics contained in products from cell phones to storage bags. Oil keeps people warm in winter, generates electrical power, drives local commerce, and is a key component in agriculture and medicine.
There are few easily accessible oil fields remaining. Countries like Canada are currently processing huge amounts from shale in some remote northern regions, while production in the United States has soared with the introduction of hydraulic fracking, an extraction method that captures the remaining deposits from previously tapped fields. Getting the crude from well to refinery over land has become a major political issue.
The least dangerous transport involves sealed pipelines. Without them, the amount produced in the Canadian north during just one day would require over 15,000 standard tank trucks, and almost 5000 railway tankers. Even though moving the liquid under pressure is practical, there is never a guarantee of absolute safety, as recent American pipeline ruptures have demonstrated.
Many big city harbors routinely host sea-going oil tankers. They carry millions of barrels of oil each day through dangerous waters, including the Persian Gulf. Comparatively speaking, industry sources put the present amount of oil floating in world oceans as a result of oil taker mishaps at about 8% of the total. That is still an enormous amount, but only a small portion of the entire problem.
Most concerning is the growing practice of moving crude by rail and over the highways, made necessary by a dearth of pipeline infrastructure. There have been notable fiery accidents both in Canada and the United States involving rail cars, and shippers must now notify local authorities when a train is scheduled to pass. A ship explosion is tragic, but a derailed oil tanker becomes an urban bomb.
The only way to eliminate these issues entirely is to cease production, an unrealistic idea. While understanding the economic need to move crude oil, many consumers have taken a not-in-my-backyard stance, while regulators are enmeshed in inevitable political controversies. Producing oil is vital and profitable to the corporations that own these fields, and for now they are responsible for improving transport safety.
Much of the toxic liquid is moved through pipelines. Even when fresh from the ground, this is not a harmless product. Depending on geographical location, oil is a chemical soup that can vary in composition. Historically recent accidents in the waters of Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico are good illustrations of the damage and environmental degradation that large spills can produce locally.
Railing against big oil is easy, but in reality most consumers are generally loathe to eliminate petroleum products from daily life. It fuels cars, and is a major ingredient in the plastics contained in products from cell phones to storage bags. Oil keeps people warm in winter, generates electrical power, drives local commerce, and is a key component in agriculture and medicine.
There are few easily accessible oil fields remaining. Countries like Canada are currently processing huge amounts from shale in some remote northern regions, while production in the United States has soared with the introduction of hydraulic fracking, an extraction method that captures the remaining deposits from previously tapped fields. Getting the crude from well to refinery over land has become a major political issue.
The least dangerous transport involves sealed pipelines. Without them, the amount produced in the Canadian north during just one day would require over 15,000 standard tank trucks, and almost 5000 railway tankers. Even though moving the liquid under pressure is practical, there is never a guarantee of absolute safety, as recent American pipeline ruptures have demonstrated.
Many big city harbors routinely host sea-going oil tankers. They carry millions of barrels of oil each day through dangerous waters, including the Persian Gulf. Comparatively speaking, industry sources put the present amount of oil floating in world oceans as a result of oil taker mishaps at about 8% of the total. That is still an enormous amount, but only a small portion of the entire problem.
Most concerning is the growing practice of moving crude by rail and over the highways, made necessary by a dearth of pipeline infrastructure. There have been notable fiery accidents both in Canada and the United States involving rail cars, and shippers must now notify local authorities when a train is scheduled to pass. A ship explosion is tragic, but a derailed oil tanker becomes an urban bomb.
The only way to eliminate these issues entirely is to cease production, an unrealistic idea. While understanding the economic need to move crude oil, many consumers have taken a not-in-my-backyard stance, while regulators are enmeshed in inevitable political controversies. Producing oil is vital and profitable to the corporations that own these fields, and for now they are responsible for improving transport safety.
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