Oil - The Burning Question

Last week’s Oil Workers Strike has not only been one of the many harrowing experiences in an average Indian’s life but it has also given all of us a morbid glimpse of the possibility of a future without fuel.


While my dad was scouting the neighborhood petrol pumps for a refuel, I sat at home wondering, what if we hadn’t gone to the mall the weekend before, to waste all those hours doing nothing but plain window-shopping. We could have spent same amount of time at home doing something worthwhile and more importantly, saved those couple of litres of fuel.


Why is it that man regrets his actions only after he suffers the consequences even though many a time he is aware of the outcome. Luckily my regret was soon doused by the joy brought to me by the fact that the strike ended the next day.


This was just a temporary crisis. But what will happen when we are faced with the bigger crisis, the oil depletion crisis. Predictions state that oil reserves will never be depleted, but that is only after taking into account the rise in usage of alternative sources of energy and the possibility of finding new ‘future’ fuels.


So the question is – Is India capable of developing alternative/non-conventional sources of energy to such an extent that our dependence on oil becomes negligible?


It would be a great to know your opinions and ideas on the issue.

Pic Courtesy: www.shell.com