Life after Oil?

[ILStoMinimums]

Hello Everyone,

I read an article at school (English book) about life after oil. Don't quote me, but I believe the article said that by 2020 all oil will be gone and we need alternative fule sources.

My intentions are not opening a can-o-worms, but have a good discussion on what will really happen when fuel (oil) is all burned up? Is natural gas a good alternative resource?

.........................

 

[The_Russian]

Life is over without oil....

I've been worried about that myself. My life revolves around petroleum. I don't want to lose my hot rods or my jet. Gas prices are going to continue rising until the end of summer. The Majors are most likely going to have a hard time staying in business with high prices like this.

 

[KeroseneSnorter]

Hello Everyone,

Is natural gas a good alternative resource?

.........................

It is indeed plentiful.....The women seem to be adverse to natural gas though, Why, just tonight my wife kept complaining about my alternative fuel experiments.


Oh wait.....you mean the other natural gas don't you..........

 

[ILStoMinimums]

Re: Re: Life after Oil?

It is indeed plentiful.....The women seem to be adverse to natural gas though, Why, just tonight my wife kept complaining about my alternative fuel experiments.


Oh wait.....you mean the other natural gas don't you..........

Yes, the "other" one - in the ground.

 

[Timebuilder]

Hello Everyone,

I read an article at school (English book) about life after oil. Don't quote me, but I believe the article said that by 2020 all oil will be gone and we need alternative fule sources.

My intentions are not opening a can-o-worms, but have a good discussion on what will really happen when fuel (oil) is all burned up? Is natural gas a good alternative resource?

.........................

Well, I don't subscribe to that idea, and I have a lot of company. I'm told that we have a LOT of oil left, enough to last until we develop alternatives, like the inexpensive conversion of seawater to hydrogen, for example. Hydrogen is a little unstable, but that problem will likely be overcome.

Perhaps the better questionis one of "will we be willing to access the oil that we have?"

There are many consideration in that question. Even so, technology continues to move forward geometrically, which makes a lack of future energy sources unlikely.

 

[ILStoMinimums]

I have been thinking about hydrogen also, nice and clean exhaust!

 

[LAZYB]

Link

 

[ILStoMinimums]

Didn't catch that thread - sorry.

 

[generaltso]

The future? Plastics...

 

[typhoonpilot]

I'd said the article was wrong. With new drilling technologies and the opening of fields in the former Soviet Union the proven oil reserves will last well past 2050 and probably until 2075 before we have to worry. By then I'm sure there will be decent substitute energy sources, especially for automobiles.

Typhoonpilot

 

[Q200_FO]

With new drilling technologies and the opening of fields in the former Soviet Union the proven oil reserves will last well past 2050 and probably until 2075 before we have to worry.

Maybe, but we'll all we wearing SPF 10000 just to walk outside on a sunny day. I've always been an advocate for HEAVY research into newer and cleaner energy sources so we can tell the Arabs to keep their oil and shove it up their ass. But no, the government won't go for it because we're SO dependent on black gold and the markets would plummet and everybody would be out of work, etc.

 

[Timebuilder]

Maybe, but we'll all we wearing SPF 10000 just to walk outside on a sunny day. I've always been an advocate for HEAVY research into newer and cleaner energy sources so we can tell the Arabs to keep their oil and shove it up their ass. But no, the government won't go for it because we're SO dependent on black gold and the markets would plummet and everybody would be out of work, etc.

I'm a big advocate of changing our energy sources, too. It would be wonderful to see gas going for 30 cents a gallon because no one wanted to use it anymore.

Not only that, but Typhoon and I are in agreement. Again.

Must be a miracle.

Now, if Mar and I can agree more often.



Okay, I guess that's too much to hope for.

 

[414Flyer]

Re: Re: Life after Oil?

Well, I don't subscribe to that idea, and I have a lot of company. I'm told that we have a LOT of oil left, enough to last until we develop alternatives, like the inexpensive conversion of seawater to hydrogen, for example. Hydrogen is a little unstable, but that problem will likely be overcome.

Perhaps the better questionis one of "will we be willing to access the oil that we have?"

There are many consideration in that question. Even so, technology continues to move forward geometrically, which makes a lack of future energy sources unlikely.

I disagree. Saudi fields are already starting to decline. Some other fields can help pick up the slack, but unless there are any huge undiscovered fields left....

Yes, regarding hydrogen, the molecules of H2 are so small, its hard to contain it

 

[dtoften]

I wouldn't worry about losing oil for gas, etc for along time. We already have the technology to extract oil from coal and shale. Guess who has the biggest amount of coal in the world, USA! The reason we don't do it is because it is more expensive to do this. Mostly building the refinery and removing the high sulfer content. Also, the technology is already there to produce gas from grain such as corn. Remember reading about it and it was about 50 cents more per gallon based on the research companies numbers but if we all switched, it could be actually less. Just the huge initial cost of converting to other types of oil.

OPEC is not stupid. They price the cost of oil just high enough so we don't pursue other options of fuel (oil or alternative fuel) and don't invest money to build other types of refineries and fuel depots and "other gas" stations.

I remember in the 70's how oil would dry up. Well, it don't look so close now as it did in the 70's.

Saw on the news that we actually only import 15% of Arab oil into USA. I believe Mexico is the largest importer of oil to USA.

 

[ILStoMinimums]

I'd said the article was wrong. With new drilling technologies and the opening of fields in the former Soviet Union the proven oil reserves will last well past 2050 and probably until 2075 before we have to worry. By then I'm sure there will be decent substitute energy sources, especially for automobiles.

Typhoonpilot

Sure hope your right! Otherwise, I am trying to picture a 747 with different engines that aren't burning Jet A - hard.

 

[irapilot]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=&e=2&u=/ap/20040331/ap_on_bi_ge/opec_meeting_17

Check it out - OPEC to cut production more. Ignorant Americans and others unable to stop wasting oil resources and face the future - we will "run out of oil". It is a scientific fact. The economic fact is that as the supplies diminish the price will go up. The only question is when does the US get smart and be pro-active by reducing our dependence on oil, especially foreign and start the research to replace it. One reason we don't is because the big oil companies have bought and paid for the government, government by the highest bidder is the status quo. The oblivious sheep that are citizens just drive along in their SUVs, bleating about the high cost of gas. There is a true cost for gas, it involves many things, political issues in the middle east, environmental issues (Exxon still has not paid the judgment in the Valdez spill to the ruined fishing industry, even though they are the highest profiting company in the WORLD), climate change (pilots know about that – ISA + nearly all the time now and weird weather systems). We need to be smart about the future - denial doesn’t help.

We have the same issue on healthcare – 45 million Americans without healthcare (2 highest spending lobbies in D.C. – health care biz and oil). You might say “what does that have to do with me, the h_ll with those people”; it is all about cost shifting and corporate greed – you and I are paying for those un-insured people while the healthcare and pharmaceutical companies get super rich – with the protection of the government.

 

[Q200_FO]

This is why I say conduct HEAVY research into alternative fuel sources and tell OPEC to shove it. But with this administration in office funded by big oil, it'll never happen.

 

[crudeoilpilot]

Believe it or not, our neighbors to the north are potentially sitting on more than the Saudi's.

 

[ILStoMinimums]

Believe it or not, our neighbors to the north are potentially sitting on more than the Saudi's.

Even that will go quick.

 

[kybur]

Link of interest:

http://www.ufx.org/nepa/nepa.htm

Though the general public would never accept nuclear heated gas turbines, the technology is over 50 years old.

It's kind of cool. A/C endurance measured in days instead of hours...