Oil and petroleum are nonrenewable resources. A nonrenewable resource is a material that is not available indefinitely. We do not have a way of creating more of the resource once the reserve is gone. Fossil based fuels will eventually be used up, and become too costly for humans to continue using. As the resource dries up and becomes scarce, only the wealthy and elite will be able to afford oil. Eventually even the elite and upper crust will not be able to use the resource because it will no longer exist. The use of fossil fuels increases global warming and adds to the growth of climate change.
As crude oil availability begins to decrease, more territory is explored in the search for it. These climates include the frigid parts of the artic, and the deep freezing temperatures of the ocean floor. One problem with these exploratory searches for oil, is the calculated risk involved. As these harsh environments increase the stakes become even higher. Because there us a higher price involved in the discovery process, the consumers can be expected to pay this overhead. The harder it is to find oil, the higher the price will rise.
Currently a barrel of oil costs $35 a barrel in the United States. Some forecasters predict that once oil has reached $50 a barrel, it will become obsolete and no longer useful. Some industries have turned to green energy and using renewable sources as fuel. Scientists have speculated that by extracting carbon from the atmosphere, and pumping it into old oil wells. This would remove emissions from the atmosphere and allow for the production of usable oil from hard oil. Hard oil is oil that is unattainable because it is trapped inside porous rocks.
