What we demand affects so much in the economy and dictates what we invest in. Oil prices are at an all time high, and are only going to increase as our demand is sustained, but the sources are not. The price of oil is high; however with the amount of risk involved in the oil industry, is it a high price to ask - it costs on average (from extraction and refining to transport) around 17p per litre. How much do the oil companies see of that 130p p/L- well on average 70% is tax (91p) that means 22p profit. Taking over four times the amount as the oil companies, doesn't the government also have a responsibility to help with any environmental repercussions? Large oil companies are investing large portions of their attention and money not in current oil deposits, but looking for future ones. But as the large deposits are bought to the surface, some resort to the tar sands as a source of fuel such as the proposed venture in Northern America. This method uses very high amounts of energy and is a dirty job (it takes one barrel of oil to produce a further two).What affect does this have on the environment and the local communities and their heritage that rely on that the area and how is the landscape altered by it?
Aesthetics - Good & Bad
Diamonds are another rare and highly valuable natural resource that unfortunately involves destruction of natural beauty to expose natural beauty. The demand for diamonds area also very high, this price and demand is partially controlled by market leaders in the industry, one of which controls around 50% of the worlds supplies, a lot of which are rough stones in their vaults. This allows them to retain high prices without there essentially being a shortage in the supply. Although the prices of diamond are high, what is left of the landscape afterwards and what is the price to the environment?
An example of this is the worlds largest; the Mirny Diamond Mine in Eastern Siberia.
No comments:
Post a Comment