by Rachel Worthy

Created on: January 29, 2007   Last Updated: May 02, 2007

Oil production and its effect on animal and human populations

Penguins aren't the only ones who suffer from the effects of oil production and pollution. Oil and the oil industry has unlimited effects on the environment, including the acceleration of global warming, the endangerment and extinction of animal species and chronic oil pollution, which leads to poor health for humans as well as for the environment.

This article examines the multitude of effects that oil drilling, refining and oil consumption has on human and animal populations worldwide. In addition, current opinion will be compared with scientific facts that explain such controversies as climate change, environmental health and environmental degradation as a result of oil production.
One of the largest current political debates in the United States is the topic of global warming; however, more evidence and scientific insistence proves the concept is a very viable certainty.
According to the Energy Information Association, or EIA, greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere have increased 25 percent since large-scale industrialization began around 150 years ago. With an increasing amount of carbon dioxide, which is released from the burning of fossil fuels, namely oil and natural gas, many scientists believe the ability to radiate heat weakens as the amount of carbon dioxide increases, resulting in higher temperatures around the planet. The EIA estimates that during the past 20 years, about three-quarters of human-made carbon dioxide emissions were from burning fossil fuels. In the U.S., our greenhouse gas emissions come mostly from energy use, driven largely by economic growth, fuel used for electricity generation, and weather patterns affecting heating and cooling needs. Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, resulting from petroleum and natural gas, represent 82 percent of total U.S. human-made greenhouse gas emissions (EIA 2004).
Global climate change or global warming can be most evident at the poles. Although most current opinion perceives global warming as a direct threat to one keystone species, such as a penguin, the effects are more complex and far-reaching. In a recent National Geographic article, scientists state that in the last decade, the Adlie penguin population found in Antarctica has declined 50 percent. Scientists explain that because of an increase in sea temperatures of more than 5 degrees Celsius, ice packs that once formed every winter now only form cyclically, which impacts

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