Energy Webquest

Keith Scott


1. Q: In addition to use as transportation fuel, what are three interesting uses for petroleum? What are three other uses that are very important?

A: Three interesting uses for petroleum include house paint, clothing, and cameras. Three other very important uses are soap, shoes, and shampoo.

2. Q: According to the Department of Transportation, how many gasoline and diesel-fueled motor vehicles are currently on U.S. roads?

A: 4,677,171

3. Q:According to the Census Bureau, how many people currently live in the U.S.? What is the current global population? What percentage of people all live in the U.S.?

A: The number of people in the U.S are 318,040,700 (This number changes every 8 seconds). The global population is 7,165,967,710 (This number is consistently changing). The percentage of people who live in the U.S are 4.44%.

4. Q: Globally, how much crude oil was produced daily in 2007?

A: About 632.79 crude oil was produced in 2007.

5. Q How much crude oil did the U.S. consume each day in 2007?

A: 5 million barrels per day.

6. Q: Based on the data in #4 and #5 above, what percentage of world crude oil production was consumed by the U.S.?

A: About 2.5% of crude oil is consumed by the U.S.

7. Based on the your calculations from #3 & #6, complete the following statement: The U.S. is home to _____% of the world's population, yet consumes _____% of the world's crude oil.

A: 4.4%, 2.5%

8. What was the global daily consumption of crude oil in 2007?

A: 890,000 barrels of crude oil is consumed daily.

9. Based on #8, what was the total amount of crude oil consumed globally for all of 2007 (number of barrels)?


10. According to BP, the top oil producing company in the U.S., what is the size of the world's oil reserves?

A:  1668.9 billion barrels

11. Based on the data from #9 and #10 above, and assuming constant production and no change in the size of global reserves, how many years should our current endowment of crude oil last?

A: 10

12. According to the image below, during which decade did global oil discovery peak?

A: The global oil discovery peak happened around 1960.

13. According to the Energy Information Administration, when did U.S. crude oil production peak?

A: The Energy Information Administration states that oil production peaked in 1970.

14. In 2010, what percentage of our crude oil was imported from other countries, according to the EIA?


15. Why is it disadvantageous that the U.S. imports crude oil from other countries?

A: It is disadvantageous that the U.S imports crude oil form other countries because there is a possibility of oil spills and there is a high cost to get oil from other countries.

16. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (EIA), when is the global petroleum production peak expected to occur? What is the prediction made by the International Energy Agency (IEA) (see table at bottom-left corner)?


17. What effect will the global petroleum production peak have on the world?


18. Do you anticipate the U.S. becoming 'energy independent' over the next decade?

A: I do think that the U.S will become 'energy independent' over the next decade because we will consume less energy as our technology advances.

19. View the video Peak Oil Explained. Summarize the content of the video and explain if you think its content and assessment of our situation is fair and accurate.


20. What recommendations would you make to President Obama to help the U.S. manage its energy needs (3 paragraph minimum)?

              To help President Obama and the U.S manage its energy needs I would


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