Scientists Indicate World Oil Will Run Out

Are we running out of CHEAP petroleum?

Are we running out of petroleum? No. There are still vast reserves of petroleum out there, such as Alberta tar sands, Iraqi oilfields, or US coal.

But are we running out of cheap petroleum? Maybe. It's not cheap to mine Alberta tar sands, provide security to Iraqi oilfields, or convert US coal to oil. All of these things are technically possible, but they are not economically feasible, unless you are willing to pay a relatively high price for fuel.

We aren't running out of gasoline -- you can still fill up your tank whenever you want, right? But are we running out of cheap gasoline? Maybe. Most people would probably agree that gasoline is no longer cheap, or at least not as cheap as it used to be.

 

Well said, Bill. I agree.

~Chris

 

Isaiah says somewhere (you know, that outdated O.T. book of the Bible) that the earth will "wear out like a garment."

I think we should concentrate our skills on developing resources that we know future generations can use without excessive cost and competition instead of concentrate on how we can acquire the cheapest resources for the present. If we shift our attitude, things may change.

In terms of a Christian theology with implications for God's creation, while the environment has limited resources our attitude should be reverent before God because it is His gift to us. We shouldn't say "to heck with it--we'll all die anyway" and use its benefits for selfish purposes. Instead, "how can I reverently use these resources to glorify God?" One attitude characterizes some western capitalists, the other, a culture that has been understood through the eyes of the gospel's claim to judge, test and offer mercy for the sicknesses of a particular culture.

~Chris

 

Back in the 70s I worked on an alternate energy sources study (for aircraft and rockets) which concluded that Iceland and Hawaii could use geothermal heat to manufacture hydrogen which could be shipped to the US mainland.

Fresh water is also a product where supply is not keeping up with ever increasing demand.

 

Peak Oil is a scam says Alex Jones and Paul Watson

http://www.prisonplanet.com/archives/peak_oil/index.htm
"Peak oil is a scam designed to create artificial scarcity and jack up prices while giving the state an excuse to invade our lives and order us to sacrifice our hard-earned living standards."-Paul Watson and Alex Jones.


http://www.radford.edu/~wkovarik/oil/index.html

 

I have never heard a defensible argument against the sustainable use of finite natural resources. Got one?
Jack

 

Yes. Everything usable is finite.

I've never heard any explanation of "sustainable." Got one?

 

Wind power, hydroelectric power, recycled aluminum, etc.

 

People living in yurts have none of those.

Wind power requires high tech materials and techniques and gives little return for the effort. Filling a space the size of Texas with wind turbines is not a "sustainable" condition.

Hydroelectric dams lead to water shortages downstream, cruelty to salmon (poor little fishies) and other Greenie problems that can be searched.

Forced recycling is a farce. Were that economically feasible (sustainable), it would be done voluntarily.

 

It's all about muck, heat, pressure, and time. Rather than being a finite resource and the idea that we only had so many dinosaurs... it is very likely that a certain volume of the stuff is being formed continuously (no one can say how much...so the supply could be ending, declining slowly, holding steady against current demand, it's even possible the stuff is growing in volume). I think the challenge is not so much that the overall supply will run out any time soon but finding additional fields, economically viable production methods to keep up with demand, efficient distribution systems, and improved methods to use the stuff ecologically.

"... we have our best people working on it" "who?" "...top people..."

 

That's not justice! Ending up as a five carat diamond on a twinky- eating 5th generation welfare recipients hand is justice! Now everything, from dinosaurs to people are in their insignificant perspective!

 

That's not justice! Ending up as a five carat diamond on a twinky- eating 5th generation welfare recipients hand is justice! Now everything, from dinosaurs to people are in their insignificant perspective!

 

Well, that's true. If I'm dug up at 300 million or so years (maybe some geologist can correct me if I'm wrong on how many millions of years), I'll probably be oil by then. But future generations might leave me unmolested while I'm still a tiny little oil patch and maybe instead they'll dig me up later when I'm a lump of coal. But maybe they'll leave me alone even then and I'll be that lump of coal that makes good under pressure and becomes a diamond. Or maybe I'll just be dug up long before I'm oil. Of course, even if I do become a diamond, I might (probably will) end up a really low-grade diamond that sharpens an industrial drill bit.

 

Fascinating

It's been almost three years since this thread began and ended. Oil is at an all time high (~$110). BP claims that we find one new barrel of oil for every 8 barrels we consume, and pretty much all of the easy oil has been captured. Some companies (BMW and others) are actually doing R&D with hydrogen models. The US military is doing testing with hydrogen Humvees. The notion of peak oil has gained some credibility. Yurts are cool (to me, but I'm a simple fellow). Greenhouse gasses are not. Sustainable thought is gaining acceptance (even here in South Carolina, not to mention the left coast). Now if we can address population control in a serious and effective manner, and can avoid the next population doubling (to 12 million) for a few decades instead of a few years, we might gain some time to figure all this out.

 

All time high, indeed - and it's not done climbing yet! The hydrogen engine has been around and just hasn't caught on simply due to the fact that there is no money in that.... but since we're wasting water like we're consuming oil, it's just a matter of time before we need something else.

Solar / wind power - awe yeah. As soon as I buy myself a nice acreage, I'll have me a little windmill to generate power - eco friendly and efficient

 

There are some very interesting things being done with hydrogen. I've seen some pretty cool videos on YouTube. There are devices that use sonic and other technologies to separate the H from the H2O, and then consume it. Since the discharge from hydrogen is water, it could go a long way toward the greenhouse gas emission problem. This will never catch on because we wouldn't need a central suplier/pumping stations/infrastructure etc run by the guys who own the politicians, but it is very possible with todays technology. Between hydrogen and nuclear, we could probably put a lot of these issues behind us.

We have a few acres (2) and we are growing our own organic food. We have a small flock of laying hens, a couple of compost piles and a good size garden. We mostly do it because it's fun to see how we can live a simple, low impact lifestyle and not ever feel like we are deprived of anything. Feeling like we are "sticking it to the man" is a side benefit

 

Wish I could join ya... we pay and arm and a leg for organic foods (and we eat 90% org)...

Too bad we as consumers are trying to do our best to prevent greenhouse gas emission while the government couldn't care less.

 

The question is really whether oil consumption will return to the exponential rates that we saw from the turn of the century until the mid 1970's. The steady percentage increase was about 7%. This means a doubling of consumption every 10 years. This also means that every 10 years we use more oil than in all of recorded history before that 10 years (hence the doubling).

This puts the discovery of new oil in perspective. Imagine if we were using oil at at a rate that increases 7% per year (again, this was the historical rate for the first 3/4 of the 20th century) and we were to suddenly discover new reserves equal to all of the oil that had been consumed over recorded history until that time - how long would that new reserve last? Ten years.

Albert Bartlett (prof physics at Boulder) has been making this for a long time. He claims that the vast majority of the population doesn't understand the nature of exponential growth. He's right.

 

Since oil is priced in US dollars the price increase can be partly tied to the decline on the US dollar.

 

Most of the studies I've seen tie the projection of oil years left to a steady consumption rate. However, we continue doubling our world population at an exponential rate. The last doubling took about 35 years, as opposed to the several thousand years at what many of us consider the "beginning" of our civilization (about 10,000 years ago). The next doubling will take about 18 years. That means about 12 billion people in about a generation. Even if we did find all that magical oil it will be gobbled up in very short order by more and more people.

We also pay a good deal where we live for organic food. We also try to buy locally (as in Locavore) as much as possible. Some studies show that for every nutrition calorie delivered to market in the US, it takes 21 fuel calories to get it there. Fossil fuels are used for fertilizer, pesticides, manufacturing, transportation, refrigeration, packaging and ultimate storage at Wal-Mart (or wherever). The number is higher for Canada (it's farther from Chile to get that winter asparagus). The costs are highly subsidized by the governments, and if this were not true everyone would pay what is considered high organic prices. We also like knowing that the farmers here get 100% (more or less) of our dollar as opposed to the traditional 15% that is left over after the ADM's and Cargills and distribution and marketing and retailers get thier cut.

If anyone has an inclination, read the book "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan. It takes a really good look at American (and probably Canadian) food systems.