“
regulations, wastewater
was managed in treatment facilities and no longer
dumped into streams. Thus, the cost of pollution was
captured in the cost of oil production. indeed, clean
water from these treatment facilities was sold to nearby
farmers for irrigation. on the other hand, these new
technologies spewed large amounts of pollutants into
the air. That air pollution was viewed as a cost of doing
business; its environmental costs were ignored.
oil prices collapsed in the 1980s. at the same time,
air-quality regulations were becoming stiffer. operations
at the Kern river oil field were again tenuous. yet
once again, technological innovation provided a fix.
oil companies built facilities to generate electricity that
were fueled by natural gas, which burns cleaner than
oil. This electricity was a source of revenue. The electric
facilities also supplied steam that was used to increase
production from the wells. in 2000, the Kern river oil
field produced nearly 40 million barrels of oil. however,
this level of production could not be sustained. since
then, production has fallen to less than 30 million barrels
each year (Figure 15.3).
since 1899, over 2 billion barrels of oil have been
extracted from the Kern river oil field. scientists estimate
that this field could yield another 475 million barrels. But
actually producing that much oil will depend on continuing
improvements in technology and high oil prices.
like many of the resources upon which we depend,
oil is being consumed by humans at a rate that is
thousands of times faster than the rate at which it is
being produced. What are the factors that influence the
total amounts of such resources? how do technology
and economic factors affect the availability of those
resources? What are the environmental consequences of
their use? These questions are central to
”
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