These days, we hear a lot about petroleum and how it is used
to create many of the products that we see and use every day. Often there are alternatives to using
petroleum for these purposes or ways to reuse and recycle and still U.S. petroleum
consumption remains the highest in the world.
This has many different implications as far as energy renewal and
environmental concerns, but does this have a potential effect on our own
personal health as well?
Did you know that most of the medications that we have
available today are created through the use of petroleum products? That’s right.
Petrochemicals, which are
created from petroleum, are used as either the source for the molecules that
make up the active ingredients in most medications or in the process towards creating
these molecules.
Something else to consider is that according U.S. Energy
Information Administration, about 71.99% of the 6.99 billion barrels of
petroleum that was used in the United
States in 2010 went towards gasoline, diesel
fuel, and jet fuels. That leaves roughly
about 28% that goes towards making everything else that is produced from
petroleum. Only 2% end up as
petrochemical feedstocks, which are used to create the petrochemicals needed to
produce medications.
Medications are used to save lives and treat illness. With only 2% of every barrel of oil being
used in the U.S.
to produce these medications, it is clear that every year we are burning more
and more of this precious resource. This
might be something to think about next time you fill up your car with gasoline
or are faced with the decision of whether or not to switch to using a more
expensive, but renewable resource.
Sources:
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