The end of oil

[Player-X]

I was reading the local newspaper and saw an article on the end of oil that got me thinking,How long do you think before the world runs out of oil and the large oil companies go extinct?

[Strider]

it'll never fully be out, old swamps are producing it all the time

[RF]

Originally Posted by Strider

it'll never fully be out, old swamps are producing it all the time

Eh, it takes a hell of a lot more time to create oil than some old swamp sitting around for 10 years. Even if they were, the demand is so big these swamps wouldnt be able to keep up.

Imo they could be gone within 50 to 100 years. Frankly its time we move on and keep these resources only to help us transition to new cleaner, efficient, reusable fuels.

[Boltzmann]

50-60 years IMHO... but such forecasts are notoriously unreliable. Just look at past predictions about oil and see how many of them turned out to be wrong.

Anyway, I think that we should get away from fossil fuels NOW. This is an environmental question, not merely an economic one. Too bad that many people do not care about the environment at all (*cough*republicans*cough*).

[K.I.L.E.R]

Why increase the resources on improving the efficiency of solar cells to make solar power more economically and technologically feasible?

Oil is expensive, dirty and limited.

Granted the Sun is limited at least we have a very long time to go before it puffs out.

[Strider]

Eh, it takes a hell of a lot more time to create oil than some old swamp sitting around for 10 years. Even if they were, the demand is so big these swamps wouldnt be able to keep up.

well no shed sherlock im just saying that itll never be FULLY out... with emphasis on fully

Imo they could be gone within 50 to 100 years. Frankly its time we move on and keep these resources only to help us transition to new cleaner, efficient, reusable fuels.

yep... well ive been a hydrogen fuel supporter for a long time now...

hmm... imagine how much energy it'll be possible to make once they have some good fusion chambers which arent located in bombs (as opposed to fission which is still used) ofcourse, fusion still doesnt produce nearly as much energy as matter antimatter collisions... now if we could make enough antimatter we could fuel the whole earth with one plant

[Kane]

>now if we could make enough antimatter we could fuel the whole earth with one plant

Problem with that is the amount of energy likely needed to create antimatter.

[Razor Blade]

Hopefully I'll be dead by that time. Anyways I live in a province that's rich in oil. No one is working hard enough to find alternate power sources. Well if my kids have to go through no oil I'll feel bad, but there's no excuse that we souldn't be on a good track to get another source of power that is plentiful ad similar prices to oil ... No instead "we" (being government) are looking in space for stars! Ooohoohohhhhohoh!

[Bill_gates]

Originally Posted by Player-X

I was reading the local newspaper and saw an article on the end of oil that got me thinking,How long do you think before the world runs out of oil and the large oil companies go extinct?

I remember seeing somewhere a prediction that oil will last us about 30 more years.

Originally Posted by Boltzmann

Too bad that many people do not care about the environment at all (*cough*republicans*cough*).

Tree Hugging liberal hippie

[Shadow_Cast]

We've got about 30 years of fossil fuels left in us (Stating fact). Yeah, we better get cracking on those hydrogen fuel cells.

[Ryos]

I think Japan will have a good replacement for oil by then, so I doubt you'll have to get more walking in than you already do. I'd say someone else, but realistically I don't think anyone else major is looking into another energy source (or at least not at the speed of Japan). I think with hybrid cars and whatever in the meantime, the current global supply will maybe last sixty years, factoring in increased demand and whatnot.

[RF]

Originally Posted by Razor Blade

Hopefully I'll be dead by that time. Anyways I live in a province that's rich in oil. No one is working hard enough to find alternate power sources. Well if my kids have to go through no oil I'll feel bad, but there's no excuse that we souldn't be on a good track to get another source of power that is plentiful ad similar prices to oil ... No instead "we" (being government) are looking in space for stars! Ooohoohohhhhohoh!

There is other other side of the problem. How can we save the environment and produce a new fuel while maintaining the current econmey and improving it? Will we have to go through an economic low and a lower quality of life while these things are developed? I dont think that is a solution many people will be willing to endure.

[Seta-San]

Originally Posted by Boltzmann

. Too bad that many people do not care about the environment at all (*cough*republicans*cough*).

that isn't fair and you know it. I didn't hear clinton saying he was going to even try to make a cleaner fuel. Bush at least said something about it. Personally i care about the environment and i'm a republican but you know what? I gave up trying to get other people to care long ago. What's the point in inconviencing myself when the net result of my efforts will be just about nothing. I still try a little though. I drive a fuel efficient care and i refuse to get a giant gas guzzler. But in the end that's more down to me being cheap than environmental. And how about all you liberal democrats here? You know how much energy it takes to power your hyped up computers.. Talk about hypocritcs. I bet your computers are on all day without care to the environment.

[Player-X]

>I bet your computers are on all day without care to the environment.

only one of them

[Strider]

I think Japan will have a good replacement for oil by then, so I doubt you'll have to get more walking in than you already do. I'd say someone else, but realistically I don't think anyone else major is looking into another energy source (or at least not at the speed of Japan). I think with hybrid cars and whatever in the meantime, the current global supply will maybe last sixty years, factoring in increased demand and whatnot.

i dunno, something tells me the US will be the ones to invent it considering they need it more, and considering that japan is making innovations to start running on electricity alone... hell, what am i saying, there already is a substitute, its called hydrogen, and its the most abundant element in the universe, and its clean burning meaning it doesnt harm the environment! (provided it doesnt explode in a forest and start a fire )

There is other other side of the problem. How can we save the environment and produce a new fuel while maintaining the current econmey and improving it? Will we have to go through an economic low and a lower quality of life while these things are developed? I dont think that is a solution many people will be willing to endure.

like i just said, hydrogen, its that simple, in fact, its the simplest thing in the universe! Hah! (inside joke for people who know chemicals )

seta: my computer doesnt run on energy produced from oil, rather on energy produced from niagara falls... and besides, nobodys saying we shouldnt build more solar power wind power hydro power plants

[RF]

Originally Posted by Strider

like i just said, hydrogen, its that simple, in fact, its the simplest thing in the universe! Hah! (inside joke for people who know chemicals )

Har Har, and as far as you know it is

I wasnt arguing against your hydrogen, I peronally think it is one of the most viable answers.

[Strider]

Har Har, and as far as you know it is

im glad you liked my joke haha! here's another one, a helium atom walks into a bar filled with hydrogen... it sits down on a barstool and starts moping, the hydrogen bartender goes up to it and says why are you so down? to which the helium responds "cause i cant get high in here" harharharharhar! i crack myself up

and yes as far as i know it is, it is the simplest atom containing only one proton neutron and electron, there are other forms of hydrogen, and there are sub atomic particles, but hydrogen is the simplest atom in the universe, you can call it the hillbilly of the universe

and yep, it is one of the most viable answers considering its very possible to extract hydrogen from water

[Seta-San]

there's a small problem with hydrogen though. Although it's the most abundant element in the universe it's almost always chemically attached to something else. It takes more energy to extract the hydrogen then the hydrogen produces thus you have a problem. And that's where scientists are right now.

[Strider]

ofcourse, the energy that it takes to produce it ... is not oil... so, it will not run out as we continue to use it... besides, if there is enough demand for it the government will find ways to mass produce it more cost effectively

ps
joke #3: what do you call the female offspring of two hydrogen atoms? Shelium! Harharharharhar!

[I-Chan]

IIRC hydrogen usually appears in it's neutronless form. End of oil affects more than petrol for cars. Plastics comes to mind, how could you substitute them? I don't think hydrogen can do.