Racing Towards the End

     We are indeed blessed to be born in a generation where there is no dearth of natural resources. God has showered us with all the resources we need to lead a satisfying life. Nevertheless, we have realized the fact that, consuming resources at the pace at which we are doing now, our future generations will be left wanting. As concerned citizens of a responsible society, we have now decided to embrace alternate methods which minimize the utilization of these natural resources. No doubt, this is the right way forward, but the real question that still bothers me is, are we doing enough? Is this approach being practiced in all sectors?

       One such case in point is the oil industry. With oil reserves estimated to go dry by 2050, we are left with only two options. The first is to gradually shift to alternate sources of energy like solar energy, electric energy and wind energy to substitute the need for oil. The other option is to ensure that we reduce our present day consumption of oil, to stretch its life span further, which will give scientists that extra bit of time to come up with viable alternate solutions.

       Demand for commercial energy has increased progressively, from 55 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 1960 to 227 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2008. By 2030, world oil demand will be 40% higher than it is today. Again, the same question comes back to haunt me, are we doing enough?

       Take for example, the Formula One industry. A sport followed by millions of people worldwide, heavily reliant on fast cars, excellent roads and an enormous supply of oil. For every 100 kilometers, a 900 bhp F1 car uses 70 liters of petrol. A team uses about 1,200 liters of petrol during a Grand Prix weekend. Given the number of teams and the large crew associated with every team, the shipping costs involved in transporting cars across the world, the fuel consumption is pretty huge. Agreed that the revenue generated is huge (1,587 million dollars in 2010, and this is expected to double in 2016) and that the organizers are trying to build engines that run on alternate energy sources, but is such an event required in the first place?

       The fuel spent may not be very high on a macroeconomic level but when we consider the number of races that have taken place, we feel the pinch. The profits made by Formula One are not reaching common men like us, but the consequence of the business they are doing is being paid by us in the form of rising fuel prices. Do we really deserve this? Is two hours of entertainment really worth so much? The facts and figures are out in the open. It’s high time we started doing our bit to reduce the consumption of fuel.


Kailash V Madan
PGP11

Posted in: energy,fuel,natural resources