List all the environmental impacts that occur during the "life span" of gasoline; that is, from mining to the electricity in your home or dorm

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Exploratory work has a small impact on the environment through the drilling operation and the need to have access to the area. Roads, if created for the exploratory work, fragment habitats and increase human access to areas.
Extraction impacts the immediate environment by the building of roads (fragmentation of habitat), the disruption of habitat for the drilling and extraction, and possible spills. Once oil is extracted there is a need to transport the oil, usually via a pipeline to a collection point. Building and maintaining pipelines disrupts habitats. If the pipeline needs to be heated (as in Alaska), then there will be additional impacts during the daily operation of the pipeline.
Once the oil has been collected at a central point, it needs to be transported to a refinery. This could involve ocean transport or further transport via pipelines. Ocean transport includes the possibility of accidents, sabotage, and environmental contamination from normal operation (seawater used as a ballast in the tanker). The refinery is a major source of air pollution and is likely to result in local habitat destruction along with water pollution.
Transportation of refined oil to the point of consumer purchase is typically done with tanker trucks. There is always the possibility of an accident resulting in a spill of refined fuel. The soil and water will be contaminated during this process.
Air pollution results from the dispensing and use of gasoline.