The well known “Hubbert curve” assumes that the production curve of a crude oil in a free market economy is “bell shaped” and symmetric. The model was first applied in the 1950s as a way of forecasting the production of crude oil in the US lower 48 states. Today, variants of the model are often used for describing the worldwide production of crude oil, which is supposed to reach a global produc...

Extraction and transportation of mineral resources today presents an increasing social problem, leading to environmental damage and the violation of human rights. In addition to economic and social controversies as well as political problems (such as corruption amongst state and local authorities), it caused population displacement on a large scale. The social costs of oil production illustrate...

Safe marine navigation in the Arctic is becoming more important with a growing interest in the region in recent years [1]. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates there to be more than 90 billion barrels of undiscovered oil in the arctic [2]. With the summer Arctic sea ice extent having decreased by 50% since 1980 [3], this now opening waterway has given rise to serious interest in...

The coastal zone, with their vast resources of food, energy, and minerals, not only are composed of various fragile ecosystems, but are scenes of a variety of often conflicting uses. At present, the uncontrolled development of the coastal zone and the almost haphazard exploitation of their natural resources threaten to turn the promise of economic prosperity into an environmental nightmare that...

caspian sea is the largest enclosed body of water on the earth. since the collapse of soviet union in 1991 and discovering large oil and gas fields, some issues such as political, economic and environmental events, made the caspian sea important. the ecology of the sea are being endangered due to several issues such as petroleum extraction, river and sea pollutions, water level rise, biological...