Becca Hedges
Dr. MacLean
Geo 3010-01
24 Mar. 2017
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Reflection 10​
Many of the resources we use from the Earth are not infinite supplies. Our society’s consumption rates have brought on questions regarding how much we really have, and when they will become depleted. We can create estimates for resources like oil with maximum production rates. This is what’s called peak oil. This peak means that the maximum extraction of petroleum is reached and will follow by a decline in availability and thus the production. Some estimates have predicted that we have passed this point. This can also be said for our water resources. Peak water is a point to which our fresh water sources cannot be replenished faster than we are consuming it (Palaniappan 1). Renewable resources are flow limited. Water is considered a renewable resource. Water is special because it ban be defined by flow-limited as well as stock limited. Non-renewable resources are stock limited. Oil is a non-renewable, it takes long time for organic matter to go through the biological and chemical processes of converting it into oil. We are consuming it at a much faster rate than the earth is creating it.
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Both peak water and peak oil can be described using a bell curve. The production or the consumption of each steadily increase until the peak is reached. With oil, the curve begins to decrease because the supply has been more than half used. Most estimated state that we reached our peak oil in 2012. It is a possibility that society will run out of oil supplies. It has likely been around since the beginning or at least very early on in Earth’s history and appears in many different forms. The oceans hold about 97% of all Earths water. The freshwater on Earth is only about 3%. Freshwater constitutes on aquifers, rivers, lakes and even glaciers. The water resources like wealth and oil are unevenly distributed around the Earth. This means that even though water can be replenished in more arid climates, water can be scarce. Oil is found in specific locations but it is not able to be replenished (Palaniappan, 6-7).
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Another characteristic is with consumptive and non-consumptive. Oil is a consumptive. This means that all the ways in which we use oil it is being consumed by something. It is being depleted. Water is can be both. When it is consumed it means that it is being evaporated, used to grow food, etc. Though it is being used it is not leaving the system, just being incorporated in some other way. Non-consumptive ways of using water would include showers and energy production (Palaniappan, 7).
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Water and oil are fluids. They can be easily transported. A difference here is that water is not economically feasible to transport by truck or even a pipeline except to large populations living in a desert environment. Peak water is often referenced with local water supplies rather worldwide. Oil must be transported and there is defiantly money being made as profit for this resource (Palaniappan, 7-8).
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Because the society is producing such high demand for both resources alternatives are being looked into. Oil is a huge energy producer. Alternatives for this resource would include, solar, wind, hydro and thermal, and nuclear sources. Water cannot easily be substituted. The most we can do at this point is take some of the 97% from the oceans and remove the salt from it through desalination. Some countries already do this where it is economically possible (Palaniappan, 8-9).
The American Southwest is classified as a semi-arid desert. We do not receive much rainfall. Water is a precious resource in the location. While we have aquifers the threat of taking more out of them than what is being put back into them is a danger. If we deplete our aquifers we have nothing to water our crops or livestock with. We also cannot have the lush green lawns everyone in the desert should really not have in this location to begin with. When aquifers become depleted they create empty space or caverns that sometimes cannot hold the weight of the overlying sediments. This can cause subsidence or even sink holes. Because of all the water being used the great Colorado River no long has large amounts of drainage into the ocean. This can mess with the local ecology. Even areas nest to depleted water sources can see the effects. If there is no water for natural plants, there is no food for livestock on ranges. This also creates an eyesore on the landscape.
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If people truly cared or were better educated we would not have to be told the watering of lawns and personal gardens may only be don on certain days and times. We should have more homes with zero scapes. The community should be educated to plant local flora and limit other plant to low water tolerant species. According to the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the town of Las Vegas has been drastically altering some of their regulations for residents and companies on water usage. They have had casinos remove or even just replace fountains to lower flows to help reduce the water crisis. They have noted good results in reports of decreased water consumption.