Once again, I'm reminded of an impending doom that is largely being ignored while I hear news reports of the price of oil being higher than almost ever. If you pay attention to the news you'll notice about the tenth story in any newscast is about the high cost of oil, usually right before the business report. The said thing is that it's being treated as a business issue, and probably will remain a business issue for a long time. The reality that I'm lead to believe from the link below, and the supporting links involved, is that this is signaling the end of our way of life. And the sadder thing I think is that it is so well ignored by everyone, not just the media. Oil is the cheapest most efficient source of energy we have available. We depend on it for everything. EVERYTHING! And it is non-renewable. If oil runs out (which it will and the high prices are a reflection of that) not only will you not be able to drive your car, or lubricate your machines, but our agriculture system will become obsolete, our electricity system will become obsolete, our communication systems will become obsolete, everything will slowly die because there is no oil left. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Do you all know how much we depend on plastic? Say goodbye to plastic. Did you know one of Bush's first decisions was to abandon efficiency programs for oil use, and accelerate porduction? It's all about money right now, and I don't think I need to give examples. But within our lifetime, we will realize that money won't feed you or keep you warm or fend off the anarchy that will no doubt be a result of our loss of oil. And I for one look forward to this change. I think we will basically fall back to the world of 200 years ago and have the opportunity not to make the same mistakes. Do away with capitalistic ideals and environmental destruction, learn not to infest and abuse the world, embrace the chaos and get back to our roots. All we need is a good leader for this revolutionary time to set the human race right again. When the time comes make your decision wisely... anyway, enough random rambling, check out this link...http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/
You guys realize that in real terms oil is not as expensive as it has ever been, right? If it were to equal what it was in the 1970s oil embargos, it would have to be $80 a barrel. You may give your thanks to inflation. Anyways, an end to our lifestyle of insane, unsustainable consumption cannot come soon enough. I welcome it.
Thank you for posting this, FNA! Everything you said is 100% correct. I wish more people would realize this and actually care about the issue at hand. I recommend reading Michael C. Ruppert's book Crossing the Rubicon if you want to learn more about the end of the age of oil and what is in store for us.
It is true that no energy is truely renewable. However with the exception of nuclear energy all energy ultimately derives from the sun. This source will eventually run out but if we're still dependant on it then we'll have done very well to still exist, but i also imagine we probably won't be reliant just on this sun by then. Therefore solar power is, in my opinion the future, all other forms of generation are just a less direct way of taking energy from the sun. From here as far as fuel goes there is a very simple cycle that can be utilised, break hydrogen and water into hydrogen and oxygen using this electricity and then use the recombination of teh two to fuel, pretty much anything. All the science for this is in place NOW. Granted the current fuel cell cars are ugly and by motorway standards do go fast I think they can get to about 80 something most petrolc ars do easily. Also solar cells are currently inefficient, but importantly they are inorganic so dont need oil for production. They're key component is silicon, one of the most abundant elements in the Earths crust. Its not a permanent solution but it would last for a few centuries, with little to no impact on the environment by current standards at least. Long enough to do what we really need to do to support a population of this size a the standard we want, that being get off this rock. The only flaw in this plan is that the oil companies seem to have got themselves in the highest of places and are strangling any attempt by the scientific community to get the hydrogen economy going. However in the past couple of years there are sign that the car manufactureres and the semiconductor/electronics industries are fighting back.
Yes, which is why the world should be more anti-Bush. His policies about oil don't give a fuck about the environment, it's just about money. The greed of the oil companies may mean our doom. There are several other methods of obtaining energy out there, but they all need to be perfected. And do you think Bush is going to fund them. Fuck no. The oil companies will fight it out to their deaths...and ours....maybe I'm being a little dramatic....probably not.....
Hehe I was talking to my brother today, and he had read some articles from back in like the 1800s, on the topic running out of coal... They had predicted that within 50 years there would be no coal left, and their way of life would end.... about 20 years later, coal was obsolete... Not neccesarily going to happen this time, but interesting nonetheless... I'll try and find some sources for that...
we use oil for many more things besides fuel... like plastic and rubber just to name a couple... once the oil reserve in the gulf of mexico is depleted, we will have reached the peak of the world's oil supply; from then on, it will only decrease.
Heh, the world peaked in 1979, actually. At most, we have about 35 years of oil left. In reality, we probably have around 20 years, though.
there are many ways to get the resources we need for plastics, all hydrocarbons derive from a few basic constituents (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen and usually some odd thing or another). When we run out of easily mineable oil the price of plastic will go up, but there are many way to generate the bsic organic compounds required to make the complex ones. Secondly unless our consumption has gone through the roof in the past 18 months we have rather more than 20 or 35 years of oil left. I think we can count on 50ish assuming we never to to the antarctic or Alaska. I even heard a 200 being floated in one trextbook a while ago, I dont believe that for a min but the run out isnt about to happen. Which is a little unfortunate as we could really do with a kick in the behind, when it comes to the environment.
There is no way that we have 50 years of oil left. Consider the facts: There are approximately one trillion barrels of attainable oil left on the planet. As a planet, we currently use approximately 82 million barrels of oil every day. If you do the math, that comes out to 33.4 years of oil. However, you must also take into consideration the fact that our consumption rate is rising rapidly as our production rate plummets. We will be out of oil before you know it. You see, oil companies, in order to protect share value and defray tax burdens, lie about reserves. That distorts the outlook of the future of oil. That is how a textbook could end up with a figure of 200 years of oil.
I've had a quick look at the net and i can find numbers ranging from 30 to 50 years. Plus a few extremes on either side. Possibly my estimate was at the upper end of the reliable range but I'd say no less than 30 and in 50 well be struggling. Not that im bothered. Its going to be research grants galore for condensed matter physicists when the proverbial hits the fan.
Most of the world is against Bush. More of America should be against that SOB. I don't have a car and I intend to keep it that way.
Technically, geothermal energy comes from the heat of nuclear decay in the earth's core. And technically, everything the earth is made of comes from the sun. We are all stardust
