Mommy? What's petroleum?
Richard Webb speculates what a world without any products made from petroleum would be like. He points out, though, his thoughts are not mere musings or an environmentalist's hope, but a projection of continued high gas prices and their impact on society. He describes the path to said future, from U.S. and China's voracious appetite for oil, BP's issue in Alaska, and, finally, the "third shock" that will hit when the cost of oil reaches $100 a barrel by 2008. Webb agrees with analysts who see continued public interest in alternative fuels, a rise of corn prices due to ethanol production and a similar decrease in coal as a major fuel source. [Source: The Age]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Howard Lee Harkness 9:13PM (8/13/2006)
I remember reading over 20 years ago that petroleum was much to valuable a substance to be burned up in automobile engines. We will have ever-increasing needs for petroleum-derived items (such as plastics of all sorts) for the long-term future, and the sooner we quit wasting the stuff by burning it, the better.
I believe that the two alternative fuel technologies with the greatest real-world potential are 1) biodiesel, and 2) photovoltaics. A biodiesel-electric hybrid would make sense, and is do-able right now. There are even a few folks out there that claim to have economically viable diesel-electric autos now (e.g., the Aptera).
Photovoltaics are not quite ready for prime time, but they are getting close. Supercapacitors are not quite ready for prime time, but they are getting close, too. Battery technology is close to being economically viable (currently has a better energy/weight than supercaps), but still a little ways off. Radical improvement in either supercaps or batteries would in turn make wind power economically viable.
Ethanol is currently non-economic (and I don't foresee that changing much), and hydrogen is beyond stupid.
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Rug 7:24AM (8/14/2006)
The point is, a world without oil is something many believe we will see within our lifetime. Though how it will look when we finally get there is another thing.
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Howard Lee Harkness 8:22AM (8/14/2006)
Dino-fuels will get progressively more expensive until alternatives are more economical (especially for propelling automobiles) -- but we will not see a "world without oil" for dozens of generations (provided we can avoid exterminating ourselves in a global nuclear war).
Even when we run out of readily-extractable dinosaur fuels, we will be using biological processes to manufacture a variety of hydrocarbons. Biodiesel is just the beginning.
Right now, the focus should be on using less energy (from whatever source), and figuring out a way to reverse deforestation of our planet, so that we don't choke on our own CO2. If we don't deal with these problems effectively now, Mother Nature is going to deal with them for us, and we are not going to like the way she does it.
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MikeW 9:53AM (8/14/2006)
What are the Amish/Menonite up to?
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