1. It is true that the petroleum transportation infrastructure contains numerous vulnerabilities. Some of the vulnerabilities include the risk of total disruption in instances when there is disruption in the transportation infrastructure such as pipelines, railway and road networks, safety issues due to petroleum’s high flammability, the risk of reduced efficiency and reliability in instances when there is an over dependence on one transportation infrastructure for instance the gas and petroleum supply disruption after hurricane Katrina, and the most recent of them terrorism. However, pipelines are still the preferred mode of petroleum transportation. They provide extensive connection across wide regions, they are safer than other modes of transport, they are reliable, efficient and are less costly than other means (Department of Homeland Security 2011, p.1). However, it can be noted that pipelines also have numerous vulnerabilities. However, it can be acknowledged that as at now, they are the best petroleum transportation infrastructure.
2. Electricity distribution is the dependent on the grid. The grid electricity distribution system allows the electricity suppliers to pool the total amount of electricity generated in a country on a single grid from where it is supplied to the users. In the grid electricity supply system, all the power generating plants feed the grid system and not individual users. Over the transmission, the electricity is transmitted in high voltages so as to minimize power losses. Step up and step down generators are used to modulate the power supplied to users. In so doing, the grid system ensures that every location in the distribution region gets supplied with reliable electricity regardless of its proximity to a power generation plant. The grid system was chosen due its high reliability, modularity, good power quality and its environmental friendliness. From this, it can be acknowledged that the grid electricity distribution system makes sense. However, there is a need to construct more appropriate grid systems in the wake of increased terrorism activity, disruptions by natural disasters e.g. hurricanes and a need for increased reliability (Massey & Climatewire 2012, p.1).
References
Massey, N., & Climatewire, (2012). How to Build a More Resilient Electric Grid, Scientific American, Retrieved on 17th July 2013 from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-to-build-a-more-resilient-electric-grid
