Super Eco

Photo credit: porah, SXC

Petroleum (from the Greek "rock oil"), also known as crude oil, is a naturally-occurring liquid found in porous rock formations and also in what is known as oil sands or tar sands. It is flammable and consists primarily of hydrocarbons mixed with other organic compounds.

Crude oil is found in liquid form in association with the lighter natural gas in porous rock formations located in the upper layers of the Earth's crust; and in semi-solid form mixed with sand in water in oil sands. Today's oil was formed from the preserved remains of prehistoric plankton and algae, mixed with mud over time and buried under huge layers of sediment. The pressure created heat that caused the organic material to change chemical form and create what we know as oil.

Since the 1950's, petroleum has been the world's primary source of energy. Consumption worldwide is now at about 84 million barrels per day, with the U.S. taking nearly 25% of the total petroleum consumed, or about 25 barrels per year per person. In the United States in 2007 about 70% of petroleum was used for transportation (as fuels), 24% by industry (in making plastics, etc.), 5% for residential and commercial uses, and 2% for electricity production. In other countries, a higher proportion of petroleum is used for electricity.

Environmental effects

Petroleum is extracted from the earth's surface by drilling into and pumping from the oil fields that have accumulated in various places around the world. Important oil-producing areas include Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United States, Canada, Venezuela, and Iran.

The process of extracting oil from the earth disrupts ecosystems; offshore exploration and drilling often involves dredging the ocean floor, which is extremely disruptive to sea life, stirs up the sea bed and kills sea plants that other wildlife need to survive. Interestingly, however, micro ecosystems are often created surrounding offshore oil drilling platforms.

Oil spills are also extremely environmentally damaging, coating beaches, sea birds, mammals, plants, and other aquatic life with a thin coating of oil, often causing death to everything it coats.

What is made from petroleum

Most petroleum (about 84%) is processed to make fuels:

• Gasoline
• Diesel fuel
• Jet fuel
• Kerosene
• Liquid petroleum gas (LPG)
• Natural gas
• Ethane

The remaining 16% of the world's petroleum is made into other items:

• Plastics
• Lubricants (light machine oils, motor oil, grease)
• Waxes, specifically those used in the packaging of frozen foods
• Sulfur and sulfuric acid
• Tar
• Asphalt
• Petroleum coke
• Paraffin wax
• Petrochemicals

Dangers

Petrolatum, a petroleum derivative known by the brand name of Vaseline, is a suspected carcinogen and is banned in the European Union. Another petroleum derivative, mineral oil, used in beauty products like sun screens, lipsticks, lip glosses, and balms, is classified as a petrochemical pollutant that can have a variety of negative hormonal effects in humans. Adverse effects include risks of cancer, genetic damage and reproductive toxicity.