Overview of National Geographic Aritcle

Iran, Mexico, Venezuela and Nigeria have all sturggled with nationalizing their oil industries. Nigeria, specifically, has become a prime example. From reading the atricle in the Febuary 2007 National Geographic issue, a realistic picture of the probelms in Nigeria aer painted plain and clear. Titled, "Curse of the BLack Gold Hope and Betrayal in the Niger Delta," the article discusses how oil has essentially seeped into every aspect of life for the people of Nigeria. Making up 95% of Nigeria's export eranings, as well as polluting rivers and towns, it is hard not to see how oil affects everyday life.
So, although "Nigeria had all the makings of an uplifting tale: poor African nation blessed with enormous sudden wealth...everything went wrong." Things went wrong when the oil wealth became concentrated in the hands of the very few, mainly those who had ties to the government. "With all the oil money coming in, the state doesn't need taxes from the people. Rather being a resource for the state, teh people are impediments. There is no incentive anymore for the government to build schools or hospitals," said Isaac Asume Osouoka, director of Social Action. Last year a rebel group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) began attacking many oil pump stations. The government does not intervene; however, the private cmopanies get angry and intensify security as well as job availability.
Amid teh corruption, pollution and warfare are normal people trying to get by. Many moved from villages farther in-land because the government was putting in a liquefied natural gas plant. Some came looking for jobs. Now, these people are stuck in-between life and death, licing in small tarp tent villages. Due to pollution, the fishing grounds have also been affected, making it nearly impossible to get jobs.
With nowhere to live, no hospitals, no schools, and no jobs, one can't blame these people for turning to rebellion. In fact, many hope the United States or Europe (the two largest importers of Nigerian oil) will intervene and save those from extreme poverty.

The Chernobyl Disaster

Nuclear energy, a major and trusted energy source worldwide, was the source of one of the largest disasters in the history of energy development: The Chernobyl Disaster. In Ukraine during the year 1986, a reactor exploded and radioactive waste spread around Ukraine and into other parts of the Soviet Union, infecting the air and the water. The exact cause of the incident is unknown, but, because of a theory that it was a defect in the design of the reactor, new designs and types of reactors were made. Chernobyl Reactor is still enclosed inside a sarcophagus to insure that more nuclear waste will not spread.

Geothermal Energy

Discovered in Larderello, Italy in 1902, this form of energy is produced by the heat of the earth. This heat is gathered primarily in the form of geysers and used to turn turbines, creating energy and electricity. Finding such geysers is simple: by using the same drills the oil industry uses, usable pockets of heat can easily be unearthed. The number one user of geothermal energy is the United States. Geothermal energy does not produce pollution, but this form of energy does have a downside, such as the chance that, during a dig, there is a chance hazardous gases could be released into the atmosphere.