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Forums - General - Peak Oil Theory.

almcchesney on 13 July 2010

Its not that i believe that peak oil isnt there, but saying thats the biggest threat to humanity is a huge overexageration, currently the oil spill in the gulf is more threatening. Its more than oil coming out of the ground the toxic gases is stifling the oxygen in the water killing every thing, hurricanes fueled in the gulf can poison the inner lakes of the amercas, and tides can spread it across the globe.... Lets just hope that im wrong...



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Armads on 13 July 2010

Relevant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-QA2rkpBSY

 

We will run out of oil in 20 or 30 years.  But it wont be the end of the world, we can replace transportation technology with alternative energy as well as for powering our homes. To substitute for oil in the production of goods we will find a substitute, I have faith in human ingenuity, but it will likely cause a recession during the time when the oil crisis hits and until the alternative is found.



libellule on 13 July 2010

"""World economies rely on infinite growth. Oil is a finite energy source. """

IMO, why not just destroy the WW economies ???

wait wait wait, it means killing the US economy ...

 ... then too bad for the US economy, we can live without it, without their dollars and their fucking OGM ...



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Mr Khan on 13 July 2010

But we need hydrocarbons to produce electricity still. Electricity isn't entirely the antidote to oil (though a broader range of combustibles can be used).



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libellule on 13 July 2010
shio said:

The biggest threat to the world is OVERPOPULATION. We humans are destroying the ecosystem and biodiversity Earth possesses. So anything that helps depopulate the human population is better for our world.

so let's kill african baby !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

wait wait wait, we are already doing this ... hum hum hum

chinese ones then ? no, they have the bomb

indians ones then ? no, they have the bomb too

DAMNED !

I m starting to understand why it is so important to not allow emerging countries like Iran to get access to the bomb ...



Time to Work !

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Slimebeast on 13 July 2010
libellule said:
shio said:

The biggest threat to the world is OVERPOPULATION. We humans are destroying the ecosystem and biodiversity Earth possesses. So anything that helps depopulate the human population is better for our world.

so let's kill african baby !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

wait wait wait, we are already doing this ... hum hum hum

chinese ones then ? no, they have the bomb

indians ones then ? no, they have the bomb too

DAMNED !

I m starting to understand why it is so important to not allow emerging countries like Iran to get access to the bomb ...

lol u sound like a true socialist.

The type who believes in conspiracy theories.

Btw, how are you libellule?



mrstickball on 13 July 2010
zarx said:
mrstickball said:

Not to mention, that we do have some alternatives like natural gas.

Does peak oil exist? Yes. Will it destroy humanity in a mathusian-like scenario? No. We have tons of oil reserves both proven, and potential. I believe we'll drag out production for oil shale for decades, to ensure a smooth transition to better energy sources over the next few decades.

Heck, look at the US. We're starting to really like the idea of electric cars. Hopefully they catch on, and we can transfer how we use oil to less gas-intensive projects.

the problem is that crude oil is used to produce just about everything Soup, plastic, fertilizer, pesticide, herbicide, paint, synthetic rubber, most inks and dies and then there is the fact to replace all the ~600million cars on earth with electric ones would consume ungodly amounts of resources. The transition better get a lot faster and new ways of making just about everything we use in our day to day lives better get invented.

But there has been promising work on algae that can produce something close to oil so there is hope lol.

Problem is, the vast majority of oil isn't used for the things you mention:

Cut off cars and trucks from using oil, and you cut US consumption by 50%. Remove oil boilers from the power supply, and you cut another 10%. I think its do-able over the next 10-20 years.



Back from the dead, I'm afraid.

zarx on 14 July 2010
mrstickball said:
zarx said:
mrstickball said:

Not to mention, that we do have some alternatives like natural gas.

Does peak oil exist? Yes. Will it destroy humanity in a mathusian-like scenario? No. We have tons of oil reserves both proven, and potential. I believe we'll drag out production for oil shale for decades, to ensure a smooth transition to better energy sources over the next few decades.

Heck, look at the US. We're starting to really like the idea of electric cars. Hopefully they catch on, and we can transfer how we use oil to less gas-intensive projects.

the problem is that crude oil is used to produce just about everything Soup, plastic, fertilizer, pesticide, herbicide, paint, synthetic rubber, most inks and dies and then there is the fact to replace all the ~600million cars on earth with electric ones would consume ungodly amounts of resources. The transition better get a lot faster and new ways of making just about everything we use in our day to day lives better get invented.

But there has been promising work on algae that can produce something close to oil so there is hope lol.

Problem is, the vast majority of oil isn't used for the things you mention:

Cut off cars and trucks from using oil, and you cut US consumption by 50%. Remove oil boilers from the power supply, and you cut another 10%. I think its do-able over the next 10-20 years.


true but the only way to replace oil for transportation in 10-20 years is to move to biofuels (if you think 600 million cars are going to be replaced in 10-20 years...) which have their own problems including using from memory something like 40-60% of arable land for biofuel crops like corn, sugar cane, sugar beats and oil seeds for biodiesel which would lead to food shortages. There are promising developments using algae but a lot of it is 20 years away from widespread use. I just hope there is enough oil to last another 20 years for it to be not needed for transportation and the transition to other fuel sources and yes I think it will take 20 years. 



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mrstickball on 14 July 2010
zarx said:
mrstickball said:
zarx said:
mrstickball said:

Not to mention, that we do have some alternatives like natural gas.

Does peak oil exist? Yes. Will it destroy humanity in a mathusian-like scenario? No. We have tons of oil reserves both proven, and potential. I believe we'll drag out production for oil shale for decades, to ensure a smooth transition to better energy sources over the next few decades.

Heck, look at the US. We're starting to really like the idea of electric cars. Hopefully they catch on, and we can transfer how we use oil to less gas-intensive projects.

the problem is that crude oil is used to produce just about everything Soup, plastic, fertilizer, pesticide, herbicide, paint, synthetic rubber, most inks and dies and then there is the fact to replace all the ~600million cars on earth with electric ones would consume ungodly amounts of resources. The transition better get a lot faster and new ways of making just about everything we use in our day to day lives better get invented.

But there has been promising work on algae that can produce something close to oil so there is hope lol.

Problem is, the vast majority of oil isn't used for the things you mention:

Cut off cars and trucks from using oil, and you cut US consumption by 50%. Remove oil boilers from the power supply, and you cut another 10%. I think its do-able over the next 10-20 years.


true but the only way to replace oil for transportation in 10-20 years is to move to biofuels (if you think 600 million cars are going to be replaced in 10-20 years...) which have their own problems including using from memory something like 40-60% of arable land for biofuel crops like corn, sugar cane, sugar beats and oil seeds for biodiesel which would lead to food shortages. There are promising developments using algae but a lot of it is 20 years away from widespread use. I just hope there is enough oil to last another 20 years for it to be not needed for transportation and the transition to other fuel sources and yes I think it will take 20 years. 

Yes, it may take longer than that time period to get totally off of gas, but it really depends on when the car companies finally launch decently priced electrics. I think there is enough demand in the US for them, since they would be able to run at 1/4th or 1/5th the price of a gas-guzzler. Economics has a way of changing people's priorities. As gas becomes more scarce (or more competitive among nations, depending on how you look at it), gasoline will cost more, and the only cheap alternative will be electrics...Which will fuel user adoption.

Don't worry about oil, though. We certainly have ~20 years left.



Back from the dead, I'm afraid.

Zucas on 14 July 2010

Yea peak oil is an issue we will face but I think fresh water is going to be the main thing that sends our world into turmoil in the near future.