The Oil Prices or The Oil Crisis

Today we are faced with a very serious oil crisis.It will blow up out of all proportion if suitable steps are not taken.A tragic dark cloud looms large over the economic horizon of the country that will send black rain of backwardness and disappointment to the already hopeless population,mostly living in wretched poverty and almost utter degradation.

Oil and gas are used by us to satisfy 70% of our energy needs.China and India use coal for 70% of their energy needs.It is very sad to note that we use coal to generate only one per cent of our energy requirements.And this when we have one of the largest coal reserves in the world.

By the year 2010,the prices of oil on the international market are expected to be around 150 dollars a barrel,up by about 200 per cent or more.Pakistan's entire export earnings of billions will be spent on its oil imports bill.During the last five years,the oil prices inside the country have registered an increase of about 600 per cent.The transportation system had to use the CNG(compressed natural gas),much cheaper though getting more costly with each passing year.

Oil is in short supply as its consumption in the US,Japan,China,India,Western Europe and other parts of the world is increasing fast.The Arab countries,Russia,Britain,etc. raise the oil prices when the weather is too cold or there are disruptions in supply.Countries like ours,which produce very little oil and have to import most that they need,have to pay higher prices.

The taxes on oil and expenses on refineries further raise the price of oil.

Some immediate steps need,to be taken to reduce expenditure on oil imports and to boost production.

Firstly,oil exploration all over the country,especially in the areas producing gas.should be stepped up.Off-shore drilling should be diversified all along the seacoast.The experience of other oil-producing countries can be nade use of in consultation with foreign experts.We possess 27 million barrels of oil reserves out of which only 3% have been used.Of 287 billion cubic feet of gas,15 per cent has been used.

Secondly,alternative sources of energy should be made use of extensively.Following the Brazilian example,we can mix ethanol with petroleum.Charcoal can also be used in place of petrol.

Atomic energy can be used in some form in automobiles,locomotives,planes, and ships.It is already in use in ship engines and for electricity production.

Coal can be used extensively for electricity production.Already,we are busy with developing the Thar coal power projects with Chinese cooperation.

The possibility of producing energy with wind power can also be experimented with.

There is also talk about the use of solar energy through reflector and heat-absorption devices.

Uses of the Cable(and the Dish Antenna)

It was the dish antenna or a disk-like aerial system for TV that was earlier used for receiving signals from TV stations.It was a large concave reflector for the reception of radio waves from outer space or in radio telescopes.Its use in our country was greatly on the rise when the cable was introduced a few years earlier.The cable companies now use very huge and professional antennas with sophisticated(modern and complex) mechanisms and satellite stations to convey the programs of TV stations around the world to TV viewers.The users of the cable are also in the privileged position of benefiting from the Internet for gaining valuable information and enjoying varied entertainment.

The cable and dish antenna are among the latest in the line of electronic developments of the radio,TV,tape recorder and computer.

The positive uses of the cable are many.First of all it helps the distant parts of a country to come closer and get unified in a unique manner.Those living far apart beyond the range of one TV station can watch TV programs of all the stations of the country at the same time(simultaneously) through it instead of depending on satellite communication.Different nations and countries acn watch each other's programs at will any time.This can bring all the countries together and cause them to understand each other's problems and difficulties if only care is taken that TV programs are designed to increase understanding and love between different nations and peoples.

Secondly,the cable has made possible direct communication of news and pictures from one part of the world to all other parts.This role is informative, and it surely replaces that of the newspapers and journals to a great extent.For extremely busy people,some time spent before international Tv program network can be as rewarding as reading lengthy newspaper reports for hours together.

Thirdly,as never before,a ready comparative viewing of TV programs of many countries can be made at one sitting.We can decide which TV station in which country is doing better and in what ways,and so we can watch and to listen best of all.Be it the US,the UK,France,Germany,Italy,Iran,Turkey,Japan,China,the Philippines,Russia or any other country,we can pick and choose the most appealing.The national TV can no more monopolize our time and attention.Nor can any country dominate our culture.

Fourthly,travel,trade,industry all are promoted and expanded by rapid circulation and communication of information regarding atmospheric and travel conditions,market situations, and production processes in operation around the world.We can decide about travel anywhere and make important business plans in view of all that we learn thsu.

How to increase production and lower prices

The greatest need of the people now is to have cheaper industrial and agricultural goods and their constant supply.The highest duty of the government is to have the goods produced cheaply on a mass scale and to have them sold at low prices.

Our various governments did not educate and train the people for privately owned and government-controlled systems of production and distribution.As a result,neither nationalization nor private ownership of factories and production centers was successful.The continuing rise in the prices of goods of daily use,produced and distributed by private organizations,is a clear proof of their inefficiently and failure.Even with sugarcane field sin plenty,we cannot run our sugar factories well because of defective private ownership and corruption.Successful public ownership of sugar factories would not have permitted the sugar prices to rise absurdly high.

In the construction sector,too,we have witnessed the ever-rising high prices of cement and building materials.We should not have not privatized the state-owned cement factories when the common people did not have funds to build even ordinary houses.We should have established some publicly owned cycle,motorcycle and car manufacturing plants for the availability of cheaper vehicles to the public.

We have had to import food items because of the economic situation in the countryside and the urban areas.The imported commodities were often in short supply.The prices of vegetables like the onion and potato and of pulses skyrocketed and the people suffered unnecessarily.

The workers and employees everywhere find it hard to live well within their means.They cannot be interested in any kind of government plans if their economic condition is not improved.Corruption cannot be checked unless we increase production,lower prices and introduce schemes of public welfare.

Telecommunications

In the modern world the radio,TV,telephone and telegraph and communication satellites (telecommunications) are of the utmost importance.Without these,our present modes of living,our business and industrial activities and progress as a whole will be hard to maintain.

First of all,the radio and TV are essential to the communication of news,information and ideas from one place to another.All the political,economic and social developments around the world are easily conveyed to us through these media.Governments depend on the media to a great extent for the explanation and popularization of their internal and external policies.They try to influence and change public opinion in their countries and others.TV and radio play a vital role in the education and entertainment of the common people.

The use of communication satellites for connecting TV networks in one part of a country to those in other parts or for connecting one country to another is on the increase.We can now easily view on our TVs programs being telecast in far off countries or continents.The use of these satellites has made the speedy communication of news and information easy.Important events like test matches in one country can be viewed in another country without any loss of time.

We cannot do without the telephone in our private live and public life of business,industry,law,education and other spheres.Over the telephone we can talk to people far away from us any time we like.Business matters are discussed and decided on the telephone.Overseas telephone calls are common now.Direct dialing between cities and countries is much like local dialing.Three developments in telephone use are more meaningful.Firstly,for the quick communication of industrial,business or medical data to the computer the telephone is being used.The computer,located miles away,can readily calculate the results of the data and send them back.Secondly,picture phone calls let us hear the voice of the speaker as well as see him speaking.Thirdly,the use of the laser beam in the telephone means the use of light to communicate words or messages through it.Thus,light will is being used to convey pictures and messages.

Modern communications for rapid economic and cultural progress is inescapable.All new developments in telecommunications in the advanced countries are meant to be within our reach if we want to develop and progress in real terms.