OT: Peak Oil | Forums

[Shakthamac]

I pose this question here, since many people who frequent these boards seem to be educated, either in real life or higher levels. There seems to be a no nonsense way of handling things. whatever.

Of course everyone is aware that the earth will eventually run out of oil. I have been aware of this fact for years, well, ever since i started caring about it anyway. I ran across this website last night while messing around on the internet.

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net

For those of you who don't click on the link or who aren't familiar, this deals with the fact that the world economy, and to a greater degree the American economy, is completely governed by oil, and what is going to happen to that economy when the oil runs out. All in all, the prospects are quite frightening to read about, and while most make sense, I still feel pessimistic (sp?) about the situation. I was wondering if anyone else was familiar with this concept, and what their views on it were

[jaybee333]

Oh Yeah! I'm familiar with the term Peak Oil. I've been studying this subject for two years. Hold on to your britches we are in for a ride.
The recent oil price spikes are not political this time. They are for real and represent what will happen when the demand outstripes the supply. The price goes up and nobody can control the price increase because it will be completely market driven. The Saudis can no longer increase production to bring the price down. Chinese demand for oil increases in double digits each year. Demand all around the world is increasing, everywhere. Supply cannot keep up. "Globalization" which means a widget can be made half way around the world, shipped 10,000 miles and sell at Walmart for .29 cents because bunker oil is cheap for marine transport. That time will very, very soon be over.

The US is embarked on a very, very dangerous 'Last Man Standing' type scenerio. The US is in the process of militarily securing the largest oil deposits for itself. Can you say..Middle East? Iran, Syria, Iraq, etc.

China, India and others are sending teams of negociators around the world trying to make deals on future pumped supplies of oil.

Notwithstanding the recent anti-gravity posts, there really is no plan B.
Presently it takes more energy to produce a gallon of ethanol than is in it.
It takes heaps of energy to make Hydrogen. Cars, trucks, planes, trains cannot run on solar power. Plastics, fertilizer, pharmiceuticals, chemical industry, all depend on oil, cheap oil.

The last great oil discoveries were made in the 80's. There are no more big discoveries to be made. This planet has been mapped from space for the last 20 years, and believe me the petroleum geologists have been looking hard for big finds and have been coming up short. Most large oil fields are in decline, with only small new ones coming on-line.

Sorry for the long post. Here are some links:
http://www.odac-info.org/
http://www.hubbertpeak.com/
http://www.peakoil.com/index.html

[TX-EcoDragon]

It's a good time to buy some stock in Hydrogen. . .

[woofiedog]

My wife and I just bought our Hybrid Ford Escape.

[Weather_Man]

Earth has been on the verge of running out of oil for the last 30 years. Same story, different tune. By the time it does, and it won't be in my or my grandson's lifetime. I am confident we humans can either adapt a new power source to meet our needs or find additional sources of energy outside this planet when all options are exhausted here.

The problem at the moment is not lack of oil in the ground, it's lack of refineries and exploration.

[Shakthamac]

Not to sound rude, but buying a hybrid car really isnt going to help your situation the way I understand it. Since everything else in your life depends on oil, or some oil byproduct, it seems like everything in our economy is going to be affected. And in the case of your car, you may save a bit at the pump, but with oil going sky high, imagine how much an oil change will cost, or new tires, or wipers, or armor-all. It seems like everything that we can think of to replace oil will fail also, because its costs way too much to produce it, or it just isn't efficient enough. I hope and pray that we have enough time to actually develop, or begin to, a suitable replacement for oil. Personally I think the solution is going to end up being some sort of synthetic blend of who knows what, probably mixed with oil at the start and then gradually weaned off it.

I really wish I could go stick my head in the sand and pretend this isn't a problem, but I'm afraid the economy is going to implode, and God help us when it does.

[Taylortony]

I am gonna plug my car into Olegs ready room and run it on all the Methane that is produced in there..........................

[Shakthamac]

lol

[chaikanut]

What happened with the discovery of fusion made a few years ago? I think it was proved feasible twice but then?

Anyway, I wouldnt expect any breakthrough to be implemented quickly, this would collapse the oil-based economy.

By the way, you can produce molecular hydrogen from certain algae. The germans knew this from 1943 and it was only recently rediscovered by accident.

[Shakthamac]

i dont think it an issue of producing hydrogen, i think its an issue of making hydrogen powered machinery cost effective enough to operate efficiently. I believe I read somewhere, probably on the above mentioned site, that hydrogen is about 6 times less efficient than oil based products. this doesnt reflect power output, but rather how much input is needed to create a usable product. Or, more simply, it costs too much to produce hydrogen and use it as compared to fossil fuels. Now this makes complete sense, since the industry is not there yet to establish hydrogen as a viable alternative. the thing that worries me is how long will it take to implement such a change? according to what i have read, its going to be about 20 years.