What oil really means

By Herman M. Lagon

Try this—pause and really look at what is around you. Oil is probably part of many of those things, even if you do not think of it that way. It is in your phone, your table, your shoes, and even the small items you barely notice. Most of us only remember oil when prices go up or when conflict appears in the news. But oil is not just something we buy—it quietly shapes how we live each day.

Its beginning feels almost distant. Crude oil came from tiny organisms that changed over millions of years. It sounds far removed from our lives, but once processed, it becomes part of the things we use daily. Oil is not just one material—it can become many.

We often think of oil as fuel, especially in a country like ours where movement matters. But it also becomes plastic, fertilizer, tires, fabrics, and even medicine. The roads we walk on carry it, too. Once you notice, it becomes clear how present it is. Oil is not just something we use—it is part of how we live.

Part of the reason oil became so central is simple: it is convenient. Its chemical makeup allows it to be reshaped into many forms with relative ease. Compared to other raw materials, it is faster and often cheaper to process. That is why industries built around it. Factories, transport systems, supply chains—they grew with oil at the center. According to global energy data, it still powers most of transportation and supports major parts of production (Energy Institute, 2025). When something becomes that useful, it slowly turns into something we depend on.

And dependence changes how people behave. Countries do not just want oil; they want steady access to it. When supply is stable, things feel normal. When it is not, the effects show up quickly. Fuel prices go up. Transport fares follow. Food prices adjust. In places like ours, that chain reaction is familiar. A jeepney driver recalculates his boundary. A teacher notices grocery costs creeping up. A family quietly shifts what goes into the weekly budget. Oil does not stay in policy discussions. It finds its way into everyday decisions.

What makes things more complicated is that oil is not evenly spread around the world. Some countries have plenty, others have very little. That imbalance creates dependence—and sometimes tension. Nations that produce large amounts of oil gain not just income, but influence. Groups like OPEC have shown how supply decisions can affect prices worldwide (Liberto, 2025). When oil is involved, economics and politics begin to overlap. Control over supply routes, reserves, and production is no longer just technical—it becomes strategic.

That is why oil has been part of many global conflicts, whether directly or quietly in the background. When supply is threatened, countries respond. The Iraq-Kuwait war in 1990 made it clear that oil can turn conflict into something global. Today, tensions involving Iran, the US, and Israel remind us of that same truth. Even faraway instability can affect fuel prices and daily living here. Like water disturbed in one place, the ripple travels.

But oil is not just a benefit. It makes life easier, yet comes with consequences. Burning it affects the climate. Extraction can harm communities and ecosystems. These are real, lived effects. That is why people continue to look for alternatives, even if change is slow.

So we live with both sides. Oil sustains our daily routines, but also challenges how we think about the future. Small choices begin to reflect that awareness.

Oil is already part of our lives. Not distant, not abstract. What we do with that truth—step by step—will matter most.

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Doc H fondly describes himself as a “student of and for life” who, like many others, aspires to a life-giving and why-driven world grounded in social justice and the pursuit of happiness. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the institutions he is employed or connected with.