AustinIovanna

CivicsL3
SmithA2
12February2014
OilandAmerica
Itseemstomethattherehasalwaysbeencontroversyinourworldoveroiland
naturalgaswhereitcomesfrom,whoismanipulatingwhointheprocessofretrieving
it,howmuchitcosts,etc.Iguaranteethat,ineveryaverageAmericanhousehold,gas
hascomeupindiscussion.Itsagoodthatactivelyaffectsmany,basedontheslightest
manipulationsandfactors,aswellasaconceptthatitbynomeansforeigntothepublic
eye.Sothepriceofgascanbedebatedabouttonoend,butwhatiseveryoneso
concernedabout?Whatdothesenumbersactuallyrepresent?Well,theworldssupplyof
oilandthedemandforsuchoilarethefactorsthatdetermineitsprice.Forexample,oil
supplyiscurrentlyincreasing(moreoilreservesarebeingdiscovered)whichcausesthe
priceofittodecreaseaccordingly.
DuringtheColdWar(whichlastedfrom1945until1991,followingthefallofthe
SovietUnion),thecommunistpowersofRussiawereinanintenserivalrywiththenon
communistpowersoftheUnitedStatesofAmerica.Thishostilitywasgrownfromthe
originalconflictofcommunism,whichwasconceptualizedandpublicizedbyKarlMarx
andhisteachings.ThisformofrulingwasperpetuatedbythoseoftheSovietUnion,
soonspreadingtoplaceslikeChinawhowas(atthattime)undertheruleofMaoZedong.
Rightfully,beingthedemocracythattheUnitedStatesofAmericapresentlystillis,

Americanforcesdisagreedwiththesesystemsthattheyviewedasflawed.Inthemidstof
thisconflict,bothRussiaandtheUSAareavidlycompetingagainsteachotherover
whichforcehadthemostcapablenuclearweaponryintheirdefense.However,even
thoughnuclearproliferationwaspresentonbothsides,theyhardlyactuallyinvadedeach
otherscountryhencethetermColdWar.WithRussiaplayingaboutwiththeir
militarystrategy,soontheyfoundthemselvesliningalliedCubawiththenuclear
potentialtodestroyAmerica.Forabouttwoweeks,theStateswereinperil,fearingwhat
couldbethenendofthecountry.Thankfullytheyretractedfromthispublicscheme.As
aresulttoeachsidegrowingequalindestructivecapabilities,thedoctrineofMutual
AssuredDestructionwasintroducedinthe1960sbringingamutualacknowledgment
tothisfact.
TheUkrainebegantogetinvolvedmoreandmore,asitwasRussiassourcefor
themajorityofitsnuclearpower.CrisisaroseoncetheUkrainemadeitapparentthat
theywouldliketojoinNATO(NorthAtlanticTreatyOrganization)forsafetyandfor
morehelpfulalliancestobeformed,whichRussiawasnotagreeingwithwhatsoever.
FromthiscontroversystemstheUnitedNationssigningofatreatythatstatesyoucannot
invadeanothercountrytoanydegree.Thisgrewtobeevenmoreofanissuebecause
RussiawastheprimarysourceofoilintheworldandtheUSAcould,innoway,legally
accessit.SanctionswereeconomicpenaltiesthatwereplacedonRussiabyAmerica
becauseofthis.Inthemiddleeast,thereislandfertilewithoilreserveswhichofcourse
theUSAandRussiahadclosetiesto.WithRussianprotectedIranandUSAprotected

SaudiArabia,therewasconflictbetweenthetwo.UpsetoverthenukesinRussia,Israel
(createdbyUSA,1948)wantstheUSAtobombtheRussianinfluencedIran.
Withthemessymanipulationofoilsales,Frackingbecomesamethodofoil
retrieval.Byshootingamixtureofwater,chemicalsandsand,etc.intotheground,itis
easiertoretrievetheoilandnaturalgas.However,withharmfulchemicalsandsuch
seepingintodrinkingwatersuppliesandpermeatingthroughtheairbyevaporation,
manyweightheeffectivenessofthismethodwithitsobviousdownfalls.Today,withthe
UnitedStatesin18trilliondollarsworthofdebt,itisdifficulttoknowexactlywhatto
expectforthefuture.Yes,thereareoilreservesinAlaskabeingstrategicallypreserved,
andtherearecurrentlyeasilyaccessiblesourcesofoilatoutfingertips,butforhowlong
willthatlast?Reservesareboundtobecomedepletedatsomepoint,andthenour
countryfindsitselfstrugglingtoobtainthenecessaryamountsofoilandnaturalgasto
sustainourcountrynottomention,pricesskyrocket.Oilis,andalwayswillbeatricky
thing.Ibelievethattherewillneverbeaneasy,ethicalsolutiontothedistributionofour
earthsoil,whichstandlogicallyandethically.