Peak Petroleum and Public Health

10.10.07
Petroleum is a unique energy source; it is energy-dense, relatively stable, portable, and abundant. Since large-scale production began about 150 years ago, petroleum has become central to modern life. It is the precursor of nearly all transportation fuel, the source of heating oil, propane, and other fuels, and the starting point for chemical-building blocks such as ethylene, propylene, and xylene, which become polymers, resins, and other compounds, which in turn form products as diverse as plastics, solvents, textiles, lubricants, pesticides, and medications.
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/extract/298/14/1688