ABSTRACT
The twentieth century progressed hand in hand with increased usage of oil, in times of both war and peace, and can justifiably be described as the Oil Era. Oil’s role as a fuel in the twenty-first century is less clear. In most cities in the industrialized world, ground-level air pollution caused by burning oil is falling, despite its increasing use, as products are cleaned of pollutants and more thorough combustion systems are introduced to boilers and vehicle engines. However, a new threat is emerging, namely the global warming effect of carbon dioxide released to the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burnt. Concerns about climate change are beginning to influence policy relating to energy generally, and transportation in particular. Questions are being asked again about how much oil remains to be produced. There is a paradox here: the less oil remains, the less of a threat its extraction is to the climate, but the greater the probability that alternative fuels will either be more environmentally damaging (coal) or more expensive (nuclear), or will require massive investment in infrastructure (gas for developing countries).
