When oil runs out ?

[12noon]

As far as i know the worlds oil supply has just about hit it's peak. US oil started to run out years ago, but what happens when the worlds oil starts to run out ?

Do we move over to nuclear power ?
How could you have half the world using nuclear power and keep some countries away from any thing to do with nuclear power ?

Should we move over to wind power ?
It wouldn't look very good with half of England covered in wind mills.

What about solar power ?
Could we get enough electricity from solar power to keep England alive ?

How would we fuel our cars ?

[donecweb]

Having been raised in the oil industry I can tell you this much. We are a long ways from running out of oil. The USA decided back in the 50's to stockpile our oil just in case something happen to the rest of the worlds supply. Every time a new oil field is found they turn off pumps here. If you look around you will see that almost all the pumps in the USA are not pumping. They are buying the oil from the other countries and selling it to us. It makes no difference to the oil companies how much it cost since they just pass the cost onto us. Also the oil companies are putting money behind Nuclear power and Hydrogen power and all the other non-fossil fuel alternatives while at the same time running almost all the anti-nuclear campaigns and other campaigns against the alternative power sources. When the situation get ready the people that were oil people will be quite ready and easily make the change to the alternative sources and make a profit doing it.

DonEc

[SensoVision]

I could assume that oil would cause wars in future... I'm not fan of nuclear energy as well so hopefully next few  years companies start to develop hydrogen and solar power so as other alternative sources of energy. Not like electricity windmills either but would prefer them to nuclear station anyway... maybe because of Chernobyl experience...

[donecweb]

Chernobyl is still causing lots of problems and concerns. My wife's daughter is living in Belarus and though she is in the better part of the country we are still concerned and trying to get her out, but it takes time.

DonEc

[Andy]

Oil is already causing wars i.e. Falklands and Iraq. No western forces are sent into Mugabe's Africa for example.

The Saudis are going crazy developing tourism now in anticipation of the oil running out. The Chinese are lacking energy so I think they are creating many hydroelectric plants but this means disrupting the peasants and destroying their farm land. Solar power is too expensive and wind power doesn't make enough power and stops radar detecting incoming ballistic missiles 

[12noon]

From what i've read, the USA hit it's peak in the 70's and the rest of the world should be hitting it's peak any time now. It's all down hill from here onwards. I've read that we have about 50 years worth of oil left. Now that might be longer than some of us have left to live, but it's not that far away.

Anyway i don't think nuclear power is the answer unless we can find a way of making it safer and find some way of getting rid of the waste. Also what about the nutters who want to make bombs. Can we give nuclear power to countries that will use the technology to make bombs ?

Wind mills would be ok by me. I would much rather have wind mills all over the place than nuclear power stations.

I also like the idea of powering cars with Hydrogen.

[donecweb]

The US has enough oil pumped out of the ground and stored in underground caverns that would last 40 years at the rate of 1990 usage. This doesn't account for the capped wells and tested but deliberately un-drilled sites that are owned by the oil industry. The current Standard Oil in house estimate is closer to 150 years in storage here in the US at current usage.

DonEc

[SensoVision]

The US has enough oil pumped out of the ground and stored in underground caverns that would last 40 years at the rate of 1990 usage. This doesn't account for the capped wells and tested but deliberately un-drilled sites that are owned by the oil industry. The current Standard Oil in house estimate is closer to 150 years in storage here in the US at current usage.

DonEc

very wise move IMHO, don't sure if Russia and other countries have same reserves as well... if not we'll be in big trouble once oil is out

Chernobyl is still causing lots of problems and concerns. My wife's daughter is living in Belarus and though she is in the better part of the country we are still concerned and trying to get her out, but it takes time.

from what I know Belarus have hitted hardly by radioactive cloud from Chernobyl... BTW I've visited Kiev next year after this tragedy, and while I was there all insects around(which usually live in the treas) were dead(I was young but clearly remember this,as it look quite unusual for me).
So if there is a chance to take daughter of your wife from Belarus, do this.

[12noon]

The US has enough oil pumped out of the ground and stored in underground caverns that would last 40 years at the rate of 1990 usage. This doesn't account for the capped wells and tested but deliberately un-drilled sites that are owned by the oil industry. The current Standard Oil in house estimate is closer to 150 years in storage here in the US at current usage.

DonEc

You might be right, but try doing a search or look here :-
www.scaruffi.com/politics/oil.html

[donecweb]

That is the information that is put out for public view and doesn't show reality. For example the reserves stated there is just about the official report and is quite short. Also the reserve amount does not include the oil stored in the ground in wells that are capped or are not in production or the wells that we know of that will produce oil but have not been drilled yet. Also the production does not include the wells we have ready to pump but just what we pump which is intentionally reduced to save the oil.

DonEc

[tybalt]

I just wonder of China. They in a couple of year need more oil than USA.
One billion people with a raising standard will demand much. It is the worlds fastest growing economi.
So oil will be needed. Lots of it...

[12noon]

What about this then Grass as fuel :-

GROW GRASS, not for fun but for fuel. Burning grass for energy has been a well-accepted technology in Europe for decades. But not in the U.S. Yet burning grass pellets as a biofuel is economical, energy-efficient, environmentally friendly and sustainable, says a Cornell University forage crop expert.

This alternative fuel easily could be produced and pelleted by farmers and burned in modified stoves built to burn wood pellets or corn, says Jerry Cherney, the E.V. Baker Professor of Agriculture.

Burning grass pellets has not caught on in the United States, however, Cherney says, primarily because Washington has made no effort to support the technology with subsidies or research dollars. "Burning grass pellets makes sense; after all, it takes 70 days to grow a crop of grass for pellets, but it takes 70 million years to make fossil fuels," says Cherney, who notes that a grass-for-fuel crop could help supplement farmers' incomes.

Cherney presented the case for grass biofuel at a U.S. Department of Agriculture-sponsored conference, Greenhouse Gases and Carbon Sequestration in Agriculture and Forestry, held in Baltimore recently. "Grass pellets have great potential as a low-tech, small-scale, renewable energy system that can be locally produced, locally processed and locally consumed, while having a positive impact on rural communities," Cherney told the conference.

According to the University press release, though the ratio of the amount of energy needed to produce grass pellets to the amount of energy they produce is much more favourable than for other biomass crops.

Cherney has made a comparison of wood pellets with various mixes of grasses and the BTUs (British Thermal Units) produced per pound.

He has found that grass pellets can be burned without emissions problems, and they have 96 percent of the BTUs of wood pellets. He also notes that grass produces more ash than wood — meaning more frequent cleaning — of stoves.

Currently, he is testing the burning of pellets made from grasses, such as timothy and orchard grass, as well as weeds, such as goldenrod, in pellet stoves at Cornell's Mt. Pleasant Research Farm.

Cherney points out that grass biofuel pellets are much better for the environment because they emit up to 90 per cent less greenhouse gases than oil, coal and natural gas do.

I'm sure other idea's will come out over the next 50 years or so.

[donecweb]

The real reason such alternatives are not used in the US is because they are not friendly to the concept of putting money in the pockets of the oil industry.

DonEc

[seth321]

Well, it is estimated that the amount of discovered oil on the earth will only last us 40-50 years, whereas the amount of coal should last aroun 150 years. It's the general opinion that renewable sources are sparce and those we do have don't produce much power. This is not the case. There are many ways of generating power through renewable sources, and we don't have to rely on non-renewables much at all, since their are also other fuels that can be produce, such as methan that can be extracted from plant and animal waste, and alcohol from certain plants such as sugar cane. But in the end, a car theat runs on rum doesn't seem right, does it?

[Andy]

I started using my windsurf board rather than my motorbike for fun, I guess this helps in some small way. Oh, but I had to take it to the lake with my car and the lifeguards use outboard motors on their boats so I guess I'm not helping so much