What Happens When the Oil Runs Out?

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Originally Posted by Bagwan

The problem is one of greed .

The fossils flow , and the large money is made .
It's pretty understandable that big oil wants to keep that going , and therefore thwarts the rest of the alternatives . It's free enterprise .

They have the money , and can afford the propaganda machine .
And , big money spawns big ideas .

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Yip! Money makes the world go round...

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Originally Posted by Bagwan

The problem is one of greed .

The fossils flow , and the large money is made .
It's pretty understandable that big oil wants to keep that going , and therefore thwarts the rest of the alternatives . It's free enterprise .

They have the money , and can afford the propaganda machine .
And , big money spawns big ideas .

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You've overlooked the most pertinent point. None of the currently available alternatives are economically competitive with fossil fuel. Nor are most of them competitive from a daily practical point either. Change that equation and it won't make any difference what Big Oil wants.

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Originally Posted by Starter

You've overlooked the most pertinent point. None of the currently available alternatives are economically competitive with fossil fuel. Nor are most of them competitive from a daily practical point either. Change that equation and it won't make any difference what Big Oil wants.

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It's because of economies of scale. Alternatives are still expensive because their market share is a fraction of the traditional power sources. Once they increase their cost of sale factors decrease dramatically.

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Originally Posted by Starter

You've overlooked the most pertinent point. None of the currently available alternatives are economically competitive with fossil fuel. Nor are most of them competitive from a daily practical point either. Change that equation and it won't make any difference what Big Oil wants.

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It's big oil that's got you believing all that , though .
That's the propaganda machine at work .

For example , the poop I mentioned earlier(and not just poop , but any other compostable materials) could be providing more than enough natural gas to fuel the world .
The are already many examples of this already happening in rudimentary ways in some countries we like to call "third world" .
I've seen pictures of a toilet with a big tank , built with a mud brick collector on top , which funnelled the gas into a pipe , which heated the home .
Now , granted , it was in a warm climate , but it made a huge difference in many ways .

Of course , firstly , it heated the home when it was needed .
Secondly , it dealt with the sanitary issue of where it all goes , so to speak .
And thirdly , it all went to the fields afterwards , where it belongs , to grow more food to complete the cycle .

You don't need to "frack" when it's all right here on the surface .

But , you see , if you were big oil , and could see that every town and city , and even , every country house with a septic tank , has the inate capacity to be independent , if they could just poop , it might just scare the poop right out of you .
People with dirt floors use it .

So , big oil comes to my area (the name's T. Boone Pickens , son) , and tries to put up wind turbines , to enable the natural gas plants to be justified . And big oil looks green on the surface , while the gas flows in the background .

And , all the while , the government lauds the efforts , using the photo op to green itself as well , leaving one wondering if they are complicit , or just naive .

Oil is the largest traded commodity on the planet .
The end of that scares them , and why wouldn't it ?

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Originally Posted by Bagwan

The end of that scares them , and why wouldn't it ?

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Nah, there are far more important things to worry about, like is the curry I had yesterday going to come back and haunt me today :p :

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Originally Posted by Rudy Tamasz

I would like to hear your opinion of this article, my dear friends:

What Happens When the Oil Runs Out?

I am not involved in the oil industry in any way, so some more insight from experts would definitely help. That said, I am more interested in far reaching implications of the decline in oil production. Cheap carbohydrates are the material basis of the modern day globalized society. Therefore, the human civilization will have to change as well. The author argues, that "a metamorphosis of human civilization from the global to the local, will be underpinned by building strong, resilient communities in which people share their skills and knowledge, to provide as much as possible at the local, grass-roots level." I wouldn't mind such a course of events at all but it sounds too optimistic for me.

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My friend, I will be long gone when this happens. I have decided to have my ashes scattered between Perisher Valley and Charlotte Pass.

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Originally Posted by 555-04Q2

Nah, there are far more important things to worry about, like is the curry I had yesterday going to come back and haunt me today :p :

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Should your worry come true, then the energy solution suggested just above your post will solve the world's problem.
:D :eek: :eek: :D

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Originally Posted by Starter

Should your worry come true, then the energy solution suggested just above your post will solve the world's problem.

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:laugh: :up:

It's one thing which sets human society apart, the ability to use external energy sources be it, coal, oil, gas etc.

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Originally Posted by Mark

It's one thing which sets human society apart, the ability to use external energy sources be it, coal, oil, gas etc.

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You forgot to mention "cocking things up" as another human trait :p :