Noah’s Blog

Today oil is the single most important item traded between countries.  Also, ninety percent of transportation runs on oil. Almost 150 years after the first oil well was drilled the global economy. But soon the world’s petroleum supply will run out. With it will the age of oil expire like the ages of stone, bronze, and iron?  No one knows exactly how much oil is left in the ground, but it is estimated that there are 2.6 trillion barrels. In 1956 Mr. King Hubbert introduced the concept of oil production peak.  He realized that the flow of petroleum from oil fields climbs to a peak and then drops just as quickly. Once half the oil has been pumped out the other half becomes harder and is harder to extract. He predicted that all of the U.S. oil fields would peak in 1970, which they did. Using his theory scientists have predicted the world’s oil fields will peak in 2030.

The Byzantine Empire was one of the most important nations of the Middle Ages. It was the last remnant of the Roman Empire.  Its capital, Constantinople, was probably the biggest city in the western world.  The Byzantine Empire covered most of what is modern Greece and western Turkey. Constantinople was renamed Istanbul by the Ottoman Turks, and remained the capital until Mustafa Kemal Ataturk moved it to Ankara. The Byzantines preserved Greek and Roman culture and learning–thay never had a Dark Ages.  They also defended Europe from the Arab-Islamic expansion that occurred  between the 600s and the First Crusade. The Byzantine defenses depended on two things: the walls of Constantinople, which were never breached until the Ottoman conquest in 1453; and the Byzantine navy. The coolest thing abowt the Byzantine navy was Greek fire. Greek fire was a weapon of unknown composition (but it’s thought that naturally-occurring crude oil was an ingredient). It took the form of a liquid, stored in a brass tank on a ship, which was pumped out a nozzle and set on fire, like a flamethrower. It was devastating to the wooden ships used at the time (including their own–they set themselves on fire too). Some people think that magnesium was used–magnesium burns underwater, so even jumping overboard wouldn’t save you if you were hit by it!

I would like the people who read my story or any other post on my blog to comment. I feel like no one is reading it. I thank you ahead of time for all the great comments.

It was Thursday, John’s day off. Just last week he had decided to be a super hero. It had been a month since he last saw the smoke monster. He was listening to the news on the radio. He heard that there was a robbery at a jewelry store. He reached into a bag and pulled out a costume. It was yellow, and covered him from head to toe. It had a yellow mask that covered his whole face. It also had a black cape. It had gloves and boots; they were also black. The last part of the costume was a belt that had a huge silver buckle. John flew to the jewelry store. He crashed through the roof and landed face first on the floor. John stood up and the robber shot him. The bullet bounced off, only leaving a small hole in John’s costume. John said, “freeze, villain, you can’t escape Lightman!” The robber replied, ”are you some kind of nut?”  John shot a ray of light at the robber but he ducked and it hit the glass case behind him. The light reflected back and hit John into the wall. The robber escaped. ”What happened to beginners’ luck?” John wondered as he flew out of the building through the hole in the roof.