The True Cost of Oil, Essay Example

In a political cartoon published on June 15, 2010, Mike Lukovich takes a humorous look at the true cost of oil. In the cartoon, a man is pumping gas into his car while looking up at the price sign looming over the gas station. In the spaces typically reserved for the prices of the different grades of gasoline are three phrases: “The Gulf of Mexico;” “Our Nat’l (National) Security;” and “The World’s Climate.” As the man gazes at these words, he thinks to himself “I miss when it cost $2.”  With this cartoon, Lukovich takes a satirical look at what many people are starting to realize: that the cost of oil is far greater than the few dollars per gallon we pay at the pump.

On April 20, 2010, a floating mine called the Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank into the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven workers were killed in the explosion, and more were injured. In the aftermath of the explosion, a well-cap on the ocean floor began to leak oil into the Gulf waters. It has now been almost three months since the disaster, and the oil continues to gush out by the millions of gallons.

The effects of the oil on the Gulf will likely be felt for decades to come; it will have a devastating impact both on the economy and the environment; in many ways, these effects are intertwined. Fishing in the Gulf is a multi-billion dollar industry, as are tourism and the oil industry. All these industries and more are being affected by the spill. Tourism is one of the primary industries that will be affected by the spill, Louisiana and Florida both rely heavily on tourism, and oil-coated beaches aren’t exactly a huge draw for vacationers. Florida has no state income tax, though this potential lost revenue has long been offset by the influx of cash that comes from tourism; without this revenue stream, Florida officials may be faced with the prospect of implementing a state income tax for the first time.

Beyond the immediate costs associated with a tragedy like the Deepwater Horizon soil, oil costs us in many other ways. Much of the global economy has been built around the acquisition of oil. According to a study by the U.S. Department of Energy, we have transferred 1.16 trillion dollars to oil-producing nations over the last thirty years, which has en enormous impact on our trade deficit. The DOE estimates that for each $1 billion of trade deficit costs the U.S. 27,000 jobs, and that oil imports account for roughly one-third of our total trade deficit, which means that the cost of oil equates to thousands of lost jobs.

It is estimated that the U.S. spends $50 billion per year to secure access to oil from middle-eastern nations, through the cost of maintaining military operations in the region. This not only adds to the cost of gas at the pump, but contributes significantly to the amount we spend in taxes. Political instability in the middle-east is part of the reason we spend so much money there; we try to exert control in a region that is notoriously, and historically, know for being hard to control.

Our continued, long-term presence in the region has fostered significant anti-American sentiment. This anti-American sentiment is at the root of various terrorist attacks, both around the globe and here in the United States. The total cost of these terrorist attacks is unfathomable, and the impact of the attacks ends up leading to ever greater efforts to exert military and political control in the region, thus perpetuating the vicious cycle. As the amount of available oil dwindles, we will increasingly need to assure access to the remaining reserves, and the cycle of militarism will likely only increase.

Oil costs us in other ways as well, such s in the damage it can cause to the environment. This damage happens in different ways. First, there are the effects of oil spills (not al of which are man-made; oil leaks into the oceans from natural causes at a much greater rate than is caused by man-made spills).  When oil leaks into the ocean, it damages beaches, wetlands, and marshlands. These stresses on the environment can wreak havoc on the habitats of wildlife; in addition, the oil can directly contribute to the death of ocean life such as fish and shellfish, as well as birds and land animals.

Then there is the damage the burning of oil causes in the atmosphere. Though the topics of global warming and climate change have become highly politicized, there seems to be little doubt that so-called “greenhouse gases” have increased significantly since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. These gases –many of which are produced during the burning of fossil fuels- trap heat inside the Earth’s atmosphere. If the prevailing attitudes prove to be correct, this warming effect will only get worse, and in the long term, may have devastating effects on the planet. Among other things, a rise in the Earth’s temperature of even a few degrees will lead to a rise in ocean depths that will destroy low-lying and coastal areas around the world. The possible damage from climate change, if real, may well spell doom for our current way of life.

While we pay two or three dollars for every gallon of gas, we may wish to remind ourselves of these things. It is becoming clear that those few dollars are just a small part of the big picture, and that the true cost of oil may end up being a price we can not afford to pay.