What will happen when we run out of fossil fuels?(featuring @infinitor as author)

in #life8 years ago

The fossil fuels are being consumed at an alarming rate yet why do our world leaders don't pay any attention to this matter. After global warming and climate change, this is the biggest issue the world is facing but we hardly ever hear about it in the news. Why?

Is the survival of not only the human race, but also that of our little blue planet not important to them? Are the Kardashians more important than Earth? This is the question that we should all ask ourselves, not only the corporations and the big companies. It is estimated that at this rate, oil will run out in 53 years while natural gas will follow. The depletion of these resources will be catastrophic for mankind, which is why it is the need of the hour to establish and develop such technology which helps in generating electricity from renewable sources, like wind and solar.

This will lead to resource wars.

Resource wars are the hypothesized wars that will occur over the natural fuels like oil and coal. Till the 2000s, most thought it to be science-fiction, something to entertain the consumers with. Although now, it seems that it will soon become a reality. Without the renewable energy sources, mankind is destined to be plunged into the horrors of war. There is a growing urge for the multi-national corporations to not use fossil fuels and instead, develop other resources.

The use of nuclear weapons is what makes me afraid. We have gone so far ahead in the nuclear arms-race, that honestly right now if war breaks out, not even a shred of life will be spared on this planet. Resource wars are the things that will ultimately bring about the destruction of mankind. As much as it pains me to say, I hope to not be alive when we run out of fossil fuels.

It is the dream of everyone to live forever, some dream of it more so than others. The secret to eternal life does exist, but people can't understand and comprehend it's existence even when it's right in front of them. It is no secret, in reality. The eternal life is the fantastical name humans have given to making your mark on the history of the world. It is believed to be so hard and impossible that we have taken that idea and transformed it into fantasy.

You and even I can live forever. But that requires actually doing something that benefits mankind. If you don't possess that kind of power or influence, then do something for even a sole human. Nobody can save humanity, but anyone can save a human.

To be remembered and essentially live forever, you have to do something for the collective good of mankind. There are very few people in today's world that actually realize this and are researching and developing more and more efficient ways for the generation of electricity through wind, water and the Sun. The governments around the world have to sanction such research and scientific labs that are dedicated to this work. Otherwise, we are heading full-steam ahead towards a huge catastrophic and possibly apocalyptic event which we all deep down know is inevitable.

The current tensions in the Middle-East, and in the collective human society have eroded us so much that we are standing on a pretty tall cliff. And below us, there is only chaos and devastation. It is up to us to decide whether it is our destiny to fall into that pit or rise, rise and build such a community that lives millions of years in peace. This is an even bigger fantasy to be really honest.

We all have played Fallout, haven't we? We know what happens in those games and why the world becomes soo bleak. It is the most philosophical game that I've played in my life. For a second, just cut out the sci-fi elements of the game, the vaults, lasers, aliens and whatnot. Think about the collapse man has suffered. Such a terrifying fall that it has sent us back to something like 1950s. If you have played New Vegas, you know that there are alot of factions and gangs running around that love to take matters into their own hands. This is perhaps the most accurate depiction of what post-apocalyptic society would be like. A world where seemingly no one is educated, no one knows of history, people rise and copy others from the past to establish such empires that echo historical ones. Like Caesar. Almost no one in his Legion knew about the Historical Roman empire, they all thought that he really thought all those things up from scratch.

The apocalypse that so many people believe will occur, won't be a biblical one. It will sponsored and brought to you by man.

It's pretty much like anyone would imagine what will happen when the world runs out of resources. It's pretty much the apocalypse minus the zombies, aliens, demons and god. It's all man and it has been from day-one.

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There is a much greater chance that we are going to run out of food before we run out of fossil fuels. There's even a greater chance that a rogue nation or group of terrorists will use a WMD before we run out of anything. We won't run out of fossil fuels in our lifetime or our children's

Sorry, but this article is mostly nonsense. We will not "run out" of oil because the economics of it simply don't work like that.

It's supply and demand, just like anything else. When the oil is less plentiful it will be more costly to extract. In other words, when the easy oil is harder to find then they will start extracting the stuff that's more difficult. This is why the Canadian Tar Sands are not viable unless the price of oil is something like $80 a barrel, which it is not currently.

The price will rise due to higher extraction costs. As oil becomes more and more difficult to find and extract the price will continue to rise. A rising price will make alternatives such as solar much more attractive. When people start to demand alternatives, then it follows that more money will be spent on companies to do research and development.

Bottom line: Alternative energy sources will replace fossil fuels slowly over many years, while the price of fossil fuels slowly climbs due to supply and demand. We have plenty of oil left and it's a superior form of energy to anything else, which is why we continue to use it. Solar and wind are practically useless to power our world at this point in time. Please stop spreading fud.

Nothing happens! About a hundred years ago the world was frightened by incoming shortage of coal. I don't think we suffer from coal shortage nowadays.

That's a good one! In only 3 days gas stations could run out of fuel!!!

If that is meant as funny, i got it lol

After global warming and climate change, this is the biggest issue the world is facing but we hardly ever hear about it in the news......well i dont wish to break your egss, but on this point we can not agree, as Global warming is a crock of .....**** and was created by the globalists to create more fear and guilt about the way we live our lives and even more to introduce their new tax on the inhabitants of the world to fund these sort of claims !! Global warming is a massive fraud and when i see people saying this it brings up the hairs on my neck I can tell you !! But the rest of the article i found true and very interesting !! upvoted !!

I'll disagree. I think climate change and global warming/cooling is real. The question is how much we contribute to it? How much are we hurting ourselves by trying to control it when so far all the measures are reported to have a negligible impact?

The US has spent taxpayer funds to support companies to produce projects like Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System which is backed by $1.5 billion in federal loans. It also may shut down since it can't meet its contract. The cost of the energy it produces is also significantly higher.

Don't get me wrong, I am for exploring and implementing solar projects, just not with taxpayer funds especially when it in turn raises the cost to consumers. There has been a lot of research lately that has produced better solar energy generation and alternatives such as the CO2 eating artificial leaf that produces energy.

Also if you look at some EPA initiatives on appliances, if you buy a new dishwasher after 2019 you could end up rinsing by hand first or running the dishwasher multiple times for clean dishes. The cost of the dishwashers is expected to increase by about $100 or more to comply with other requirements.

So, current dishwashers can use 5 gallons of water and get your dishes clean. In 2019 they can only use 3.1. How many of us will be using 6.2 gallons of water to run it twice? Or using even more to rinse first?

Idiocy.

There are plenty of fossil fuels for a long time. As far as I understand nuclear power is a great alternative that can last even longer. Free up the energy sector and we will all benefit. I recommend reading: The moral case for fossil fuels by Alex Epstein. Also check out his latest interview on The The Rubin Report
youtube.

@infinitor I guess we just have to put our faith in humanity that we can move beyond the pettiness and look at the bigger picture. It will be a true test of what we are made of.

Putting faith in humanity is what I am afraid of. But I see where you're coming from and you are right, ultimately we will have to put our faith in mankind.

Problem petro dollar solution crypto currencies if war is not profitable it will end. Stopping young men and women from dying for a country's greed.

its easy battery and solar systems :P tesla runs on battery and now they have a vision to combine powers with solar city ,,,, that will create a super car that runs on battery and can be charged from sun,,,, or electricity in 10 years to come :D

There is no danger in running out of fossil fuels. We have plenty for years and years to come, and LOTS of other energy sources that we're not even bothering to harness because fossil fuels are so cheap and plentiful.

The only reason we still use fossil fuels today is money. The very second it is no longer profitable to use fossil fuels, people will shift to one of the numerous other power sources. That may happen because the ability to produce and refine them gets outpaced by demand (a much more likely scenario than actually running out of them in the ground), or because social and political pressures make the industry less profitable.

Just follow the money. The second the money's not there, the energy industry will go where the money is.

Will up vote in 29 min ;)

Screw that. For @gavvet I upvote now! ;-)

wow thanks for this post! its really opened my eyes!

The problem I have with the world economy is that it's based on lies and suppression. We already have very old tech that is being used for power and electricity production.

Look up trompe (not trump). There's one in operation here in a Canadian mine. It is also tested it for cleaning water polluted by mines in the US.

There were business run off pressurized air, as well as cars. It cools the air on decompression and it oxygenates the water. The infrastructure would be cheap for any government to put in place, and the maintenance costs are minimal. I'm sure this isn't a one of kind tech.

The question isn't, what are we gonna do? It's why aren't we doing it?

I don't think the real issue is what will happen when we run out. The real interesting aspect takes place before this. What will happen if demand far exceeds supply? Will the price simply rise or will some countries or corporations take other measures? Perhaps the question remains unanswerede because of an industry change towards renewables simply because reliance on fossil fuels isn't a viable option.

i have solarized my life already... have u... installed 2KW solar system in my house a couple of months back..

great job. your role in saving nature is most appretiated.

Hello @gavvet Good Post.

The estimations on Fossil Fuels running out in 53 years don't consider Fracking. Controversial Topic I admit, but the reserves held in shale based reserves are incredibly vast. It's hard to get actually numbers, but from what i understand, there is more Fracking potential in the world than conventional basin reserves.

I can't see this happening in our lifetime, however I hope we get our acts together and Clean Energy takes over way before we need to worry about it..

Interesting post, thanks.
F#ck war!
Нах#й войну!

When we run out of fossil fuel we still have palm oil , we can reduce heat pollution we give to our planet earth .use hybrid car to reduce it . And last but not least America will less interrupt in middle East country war

yes but then when we have palm oil we have no more Equatorial forests !! Palm Oil is not a solution ask the Orangutans they will tell you !! ; - ( Id say more Hemp production should be our solution, for great burning oil material for clothes and even car chassis and bodies believe it or not !!

That's a great reply! Thanks for that

thank you very much !! i try to be informed and this Palm Oil is a disaster no waiting to happen, as it already has !! People just dont know sadly, so yes i try to be a flame in the Darkness on subjects like this !!

Nice post! You got my upvote. Btw I was reading about this 10 minutes ago, well more in the "market" way http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-08-10/us-futures-flat-bonds-rise-dollar-and-oil-slide-over-us-productivity-collapse-fears

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Yes sir! Almost in all troubles of guilty mankind... greed, envy, lack of foresight those in power... leads to disaster!

Very often, the common people do not want to realize that they can do something to influence. That they can be the decisive force in some regard.

It is often from their decisions depend not only their fate and life, but also the future of their children!

Humans are pretty resilient, and I think we will create energy solutions in the near future. I know that's not a popular opinion, and there's lots of resistance to change right now, but I hope we can mitigate most of the damage already done to the climate.

Alternative renewable energy has made great strides and is growing, but we need a national (and international) sense of urgency and commitment to its continual development and implementation. The oil companies worldwide play with the price of oil and it is confusing to many- low prices means that people think we don't need renewables. What we need is to save our planet, and we need that to be the mantra everywhere. Let's make oil irrelevant!! And in so-doing, perhaps the unrest in the middle east will subside.

Interesting how human mankind only think of oil and natural gas as resources and actually think it is apocalypse.
But we don't think much of nature and biodiversity loss. Very saddening and disappointing.
https://steemit.com/nature/@coinbitgold/nature-has-no-voice-and-how-steemians-can-speak-for-them

Wow. Biodiversity loss is caused by us, humans, because of our activities. It is caused when we extract fossil fuels from the earth, for example. Do you not think that when fossil fuels are completely depleted, mankind will be on the verge of chaos? Don't you think that the high usage of coal is pollution the fucking air, making it slowly but steadily un-breathable? Aren't all these things AND more making us go hurtling towards an apocalypse or atleast some form of it?

What are you talking about?

@infinitor, first, thanks for this article contribution to bring up this issue in environment. Unfortunately, sorry i don't think this is a good article. It does not have any citation, no stats, no data. In short, it looks a lot like childplay.

My critique points below:

  • It will not be a resource war. It will be an economic war with Saudi Arabia deliberately lowering oil price to compete with shale gas in the united states.
  • Not sure if you know Coal is already being slowly phased out in many countries. Because what comes with it comes the costs of air treatment. And air treatment at power plants is mandatory by law under many countries. So i don't see it as a worry.
  • Human knowledge advancement will help us find new energy. As it has proven in your article too, solar, wind, etc. By the time when fossil fuels are depleted, there will be new source of energy
  • Agree that fossil fuel extraction leads to biodiversity loss in some cases but do remember that we can find new energy source BUT biodiversity loss is IRREVERSIBLE. NOTHING CAN BRING IT BACK. If amazon rainforest is cleared and gone, then it is clear and GONE.

Last of all, I hope you can take the critique constructively and nothing more.

By the way, i don't know and don't understand what kind of tensions in the Middle East you are talking about. If you are talking about the low oil prices and competition, FYI it is artificially set low to compete with shale gas in united states. It is an economic race of "race to the bottom" and see who have more money to burn. And in the first place, the oil resources are not distributed equally. Lucky are the countries who have them by chance

we past oil peak something like 10 years ago where we were supposed to run out of oil... well actually, it didn't happen and currently oil is at its cheapest in years, meaning there are plenty of supply for the years to come. Also with the current progress in alternative energies, I don't think there are any reason to worry... everything will be fine, the day with run out of oil

There is already a potential technology with algae that produce natural gases that can be used for fuel. It still needs research and price-optimization, but it is doable. It will also be much cleaner than fossil fuel.

If/when we run out of fossil fuels we will simply adapt and transition to other energy sources because we are humans and that's just what we do. Adapt.

"It will sponsored and brought to you by man." and executed by masses of people.Not.

Very nice! However, I have to say that we are in a resource war and have been for some time now. You also had mentioned that we are standing at the top of the cliff, but I believe we have already fallen off that cliff...it is just a matter of how hard the landing will be? History does not necessarily repeat itself, but it does rhyme . If we look at WW I, especially the events that led to WW I, there are similarities to what is happening in the world today. WW I was about territory and resources due to the fact that all the major countries were industrializing which led to extreme Nationalism and Militarism. Same as today, but the difference is that all the industrialized countries today are fighting over the scraps left behind from the last 110 years of over indulgence and trying to maintain the lavish life style that most western democracies have enjoyed. Major governments feed us propaganda about how we can keep going on like this with out severe consequences. Reality will hit and the next few generations will look back at us and wonder...what in the world were they thinking?

Well, all those tankers banking up in ports full of refined fuel might beg to differ about whether we are running out. At the rate central banks are devaluing currency and putting small businesses out of business, nobody will be driving around in little crappy mini- cars let alone even 50cc scooters.

You environment faithful should be praising central banks for ruining the economy and sending the carbon industry to the poorhouse. Come to think of it Hugo Chavez and his legacy has certainly achieved a massive reduction in carbon fuel use. But I just wonder how we are going to build stuff that has a better efficiency and actually produces the promised sustainability. Cos a billion tonnes of forged steel to make wind turbines isn't working. The central banks are doing a better job of making people stay at home staring at LED illuminated bigscreens, their carbon footprint shrinking so fast you might think they have some strange new disease eating their footsies.

There are tons of things we can do to replace fossil fuels. They have just been suppressed by the companies that sell oil and the automotive industry. But, I don't think we'll be running out of oil anytime soon.

Sure it'll lead to resource wars but green energy alternatives are already here, its up to many of us to promote this with our funding or advocation of green energy.

Don't forget about the possibility of mining asteroids, that's quickly becoming a reality. (Such an extreme position on resources, there are alternatives)

How messed up! The more scarce fossil fuel becomes the greater the incentive for alternative sources. Just look at the renewable energy industry. Solar power costs are dropping like a rock, because it's cost effective. How STUPID can people be to think the world will come to an end only because we are running low on a commodity?!?

Yeah... we'd be long past our carbon budget before we 'ran out' of fossil fuels. Why are you talking about the energy sector when you have no idea what you're talking about?

@gavvet @infinitor good stories. I think it's time to dig the duterium gas that can be found in mindanao philippines. Based on discoveries around 90% of the duterium can be found in that area. The problem investors might be facing then are the crook politician in the country.

Great points and well written post. I explore some of your points further in a brand new post that I put up https://steemit.com/technology/@fireriseace/stop-freaking-out-the-energy-revolution-is-here-almost

I always love to see where people like you started. You directly started so high! That's maybe because you invested?
Anyway, the platform in running well, because of generous people like you being present, sharing with and supporting newcomers and others. Respect to you for that.