Essay from the year 2009 in the subject Didactics - English - Pedagogy, Literature Studies, grade: Sehr gut, University of Applied Sciences Vorarlberg, language: English, abstract: Did you know that the world consumes 40,000 gallons of oil per second? Because of that, oil production has reached its peak in 33 out of 48 countries. Today oil is a very important part of everyday life. For example, in the USA, the transportation sector is almost exclusively moved by energy made from oil. Oil is also the reason why we have the possibility to get bananas or melons in winter. Cargo ships make it happen that we can enjoy fruits or vegetables at any time of the year, when it is usually not possible to get these in our region. The big problem is that we run out of oil and gas. Experts say that oil will be finished in approximately 2050 and gas in about 2070. These facts have massive effects on oil prices. Oil and gas prices will increase sharply over the next few decades. The same applies to a lot of other items, which need oil for their production or their transportation. As a result everyone´s life will be influenced and will become more expensive. Today there are many alternatives to oil or gas. Renewable energies could replace them. This is the chance that our dependency on oil or gas will become reduced in the future. Therefore it is very important that the development of the renewable energies gets support and that it will evolve. All in all, the energy crisis has three main impacts on the economy, such as the increase of oil prices, financial downturns and it offers the opportunity to develop renewable energies.