Just a little question that I thought I should post...
Alternative sources of power
Coal
There are still an estimated 909 billion tonnes of proven coal reserves worldwide, enough to last at least 155 years. But coal is a fossil fuel and a dirty energy source that will only add to global warming.
Natural gas
The natural gas fields in Siberia, Alaska and the Middle East should last 20 years longer than the world%26#039;s oil reserves but, although cleaner than oil, natural gas is still a fossil fuel that emits pollutants. It is also expensive to extract and transport as it has to be liquefied.
Hydrogen fuel cells
Hydrogen fuel cells would provide us with a permanent, renewable, clean energy source as they combine hydrogen and oxygen chemically to produce electricity, water and heat. The difficulty, however, is that there isn%26#039;t enough hydrogen to go round and the few clean ways of producing it are expensive.
Biofuels
Ethanol from corn and maize has become a popular alternative to oil. However, studies suggest ethanol production has a negative effect on energy investment and the environment because of the space required to grow what we need.
Renewable energy
Oil-dependent nations are turning to renewable energy sources such as hydroelectric, solar and wind power to provide an alternative to oil but the likelihood of renewable sources providing enough energy is slim.
Nuclear
Fears of the world%26#039;s uranium supply running out have been allayed by improved reactors and the possibility of using thorium as a nuclear fuel. But an increase in the number of reactors across the globe would increase the chance of a disaster and the risk of dangerous substances getting into the hands of terrorists.
http://www.independent.co.uk/.../...tist...
Other Answers (15)
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In the 1800s when oil was first drilled in Pennsylvania, experts suggested that we were going to run out in a decade.
Since then, those that see the barrel as half empty, have continued this mantra. Jimmy Carter suggested that we would run out in 20 years and that was over 30 years ago. This mantra has been repeated over and over again by the same people who never seem capable of learning. from history.
In fact we have hundreds of years of economically accessible supplies. It will never actually be depleted completely. If you increase the cost, it becomes even more readily accessible.
The environmental movement has restricted supply. They discourage all new drilling. It has the effect of tying the hands of our oil industry. Is it any wonder there is a current supply problem. Our current problems have more to do with growing economies in China and India, and government interference than lack of oil geologist -
Oil is difficult to define. I would rather speak about fossil hydrocarbons.
Several kind of non conventional fossil hydrocarbons exist and we have not even really started recovering some of them.
Oil shells/tar sands are now exploited in Canada. On the seabed are also very large quantities of hydromethane (methane in the form of ice) which have not yet been exploited.
My guess is that you ask your question for the following reasons:
- safety of supply
- price
- impact on the environment
The biggest problem is that the quantity of conventional know oil reserves is heavily disputed and is subject to %26quot;market gaming%26quot;.
Larger reserves of conventional oil exist but the technology level needed to exploit them makes them more expensive and sometimes not available before several year (e.g. new large oil fields on the Brazilian shore).
And of course, if you want to know how long oil will last, it is a RATIO BETWEEN THE RESERVES AND THE RATE OF DEPLETION (use). This also means that how we use oil will matter a lot.
How many people will have access to an own car by 2020? 2billion? 4billion?
What will the average gas mileage be then?
What will be the mobility of people?
Are other fuels likely to partially replace oil?
As you see, you ask a very complicated question to answer.
If you have the answer right +/-10%, you are probably a genius and a millionaire.
Oil will last LONG ENOUGH but will become so problematic for several reasons (among which its availability) that it will be replaced by renewable energies as soon as they will be cheaper for all applications.
It is already the case for heating (wood is by far cheaper). It is the case for power generation (oil power plants do not run anymore due to the cost). It will also be at some point the case for feedstock (e.g. to produce plastics) and for liquid fuels. -
Back in 80s, they thought oil will run out in 2030 or something; however, they found that we have unlimited(???) quantity of oil under the ground. It%26#039;s hard to believe but I would like to believe it. If we run out of oil, we all are finished.
How much oil are we extracting daily? 1mil, 2mil, 3mil barrels?? How can we keep extracting that much without unlimited resources? -
I would say forever because
A tv program showed how they can make oil by heating almost any bio-mass to high temp. So, to me, this means oil is renewable and can be provided forever. Just the way I interpret it, I could be wrong now, but I don%26#039;t think so. -
oil will last forever.... there are oil reserves all over the globe that simply can%26#039;t be drilled...
the real question is how long will we be able to ECONOMICALLY get oil ... and the answer to that is no one knows.
i have been hearing since the mid seventies how oil would last 5 and MAYBE 15 years but not much past that. -
There is no real good answer to this. No one really knows. Personally I don%26#039;t think there is a real shortage of oil. This industry has had us on a sting for the longest time. Like the diamond industry I think they fabricate the supply to control the price and profits.