*Assess the claim that Oil is more important than Water.

Water is no doubt very  important. Our  ancestors survived  and thrived without  oil. Water was vital, for  drinking, agriculture  and sanitation  amongst many other  uses. However, with  the advent of oil in the  1960s, the importance  of water has been  diminished to a point  where oil is more  important than water.  In this modern era,  energy use has  skyrocketed, human population augmented greatly and the world, globalised. It is in this era, oil is more important because it is the crux of development of a nation as well as food production and distribution at a global scale. In addition to that, there are no other sustainable alternative energy sources to meet the energy demand and there is a sundry of petrochemical products.

Oil is a major impetus of the development of countries. The petroleum industry constitutes a salient portion of the oil-rich country’s GDP. The exports of oil account for 55% of the GDP of Saudi Arabia, and 33% for Venezuela. In addition, the oil industry has provided millions of people with jobs where five and a half million foreigners are employed in Saudi Arabia alone. Portions of the money earned by the foreigners are sent to developing countries which help their countries develop faster. With such lucre, the country is able to fortify its defences, infrastructure and even water sources. To be able to support an entire nation including millions of foreigners, oil is indeed an imperative for the development of a country.

Not only is oil a driving force of the economy, it also fulfils a basic need: food. In our almost seven billion population, food production must be able to cope with the demands. Only oil can achieve that. Traditional farming methods are indubitably feckless. The irrigation pipes, tractors and harvesters all require fuel. In the US, mechanised farms are a hundred times more efficient than traditional farms. Though water is needed to grow crops, the bigger issue here is the rate of food production. Before we move on, we need to acknowledge the importance of fertilisers in agriculture. Ammonia is an essential compound needed in fertilisers; the main source of the hydrogen in ammonia is obtained from the catalytic cracking of crude oil. To produce food at a large scale, oil is needed to produce hydrogen, manufacture the fertiliser, package and then transport it. Next is the problem of distribution. To transport food around the world from the farm, fuel is obviously required. An average piece of food in US travels 1500 miles whereas in Canada, the food travels an average 5000 miles. Therefore, oil is also another imperative for feeding people.

Surely, you may have thought about using alternative energy sources to run high-tech farms; they seem like a good idea, however, there is a problem. Alternative energy sources such as solar power and hydropower is not efficacious as oil. The efficiency of solar panels is about 20% whereas hydropower is dependent on rainfall. To even offset 10% of oil usage in the US alone, the amount of solar panels installed needs to be increased by 2200%. To make things worse, solar panels require metals such as aluminium and platinum, both of which are very scarce. Oil is again needed to locate, extract, process and manufacture the ores into solar panels or blades of wind turbines. Because of this tedious process and amount of oil used, cost of alternative energy sources is exorbitant. One example would be the hydrogen fuel cell used in cars. The fuel cell alone costs USD 300,000. Would people in less developed countries such as India be able to afford them? Hence, oil is very important as there is no other affordable energy source, yet.

Petrochemical products are also rather affordable to many. Petrochemical products are inexpensive and ubiquitous. Toothbrushes, plastics, raincoats, umbrellas, laptops, gel products ― all require oil in addition to the packaging and distribution. There is also an endless list of medicines which require oil. Petrochemical products which have become quotidian part of our lives, though insignificant, have made our lives more convenient.

In conclusion, oil is more important than water in this modern globalised world where everything happens very quickly. Because of oil, many people have incomes, roads and buildings have been erected. Because of oil, food prices remain low, we have our daily products and keeps energy costs affordable. The fact that water is needed for all biological process and supports life is sacrosanct, no doubt. However, oil can be used to desalinise seawater and transport it to all parts of the world: if there was an unlimited supply of oil. At a general overview, the fact that oil is a non-renewable resource advocates its importance over water

(*Essay received from a reader)