Politcal Science 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Politcal Science 2 - Essay Example These include paints, plastics, synthetic fibers and rubber, fertilizers and others. Their production involves the use of oil. Truly, if oil were no longer available, the economies of the industrial nations would grind to a halt in a matter of months! Even serious shortages would be severely damaging, as has been evidenced by what has happened since the Arab lands have cut down the amount of oil they were supplying other nations. First of all, is the world's supply of oil running out No, there is not really a shortage of oil on this planet, as of now. True, if present usage continues, someday it could conceivably run out. But that is not the case now, for proved reserves are more than enough for the industrial nations for quite a few years yet. However, there is indeed an oil crisis. One reason centers on the availability of the oil. In some places it is being used faster than new oil can be pumped out of the ground and refined into its various products. Any nation that uses more oil than it produces will have a problem. And the world is using it so fast that at times it has trouble getting enough from various sources. This leads to the more fundamental problem: the largest oil users are often the ones that do not have large supplies within their borders. They are more often 'oil poor,' not having enough reserves within the ground that they can tap.