What Happens When the Oil Runs Out?

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Originally Posted by Mark

We have twin problems of the easy supplies running down plus unprecedented demand due to developing economies in the likes of China.

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You have is somewhat backwards. China’s rapid development is a direct result of mass consumption by western countries, particularly North America and Europe. China is merely the supply of cheap commercial goods demanded by the West.

But the consumption of those goods is giving rise to rapid economic development in China, with massive increases in the use of motor cars for example.

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Originally Posted by schmenke

You have is somewhat backwards. China’s rapid development is a direct result of mass consumption by western countries, particularly North America and Europe. China is merely the supply of cheap commercial goods demanded by the West.

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Only the second person I know that understands how it works!

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Originally Posted by Mark

But the consumption of those goods is giving rise to rapid economic development in China, with massive increases in the use of motor cars for example.

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Yes, but that is following the initial pattern mentioned by schmenke. It was an inevitable development in the chain of things :)

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Originally Posted by BleAivano

...Vehichles will hopefully be powered by hydrogen/electric hybrids and the worlds energy supply comes from hydrogen bases fusion power.
However the latter is something that probably that is another 30-40-50 years away from full scale use.

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The problem with hydrogen is that, although abundant, it is rarely available in its base element. It is invariably locked up in other materials, such as water, requiring large energy input to extract it.

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Originally Posted by edv

The amount of water on the planet neither increases nor decreases. It is constant.

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The source of fresh water for several billion people is quickly diminishing, without any viable alternative.

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Originally Posted by schmenke

The source of fresh water for several billion people is quickly diminishing, without any viable alternative.

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Yes, but if we started to desalinate sea water in more countries for consumption, there would be no problem with fresh water for a hell of a long time to come!

Enter China , with it's "Golden Sun" incentive program and you have the cost of solar panels suddenly into the realm of being a viable energy alternative .
They had a million plus households that didn't have , and couldn't easily be provided with electricity , so they helped start companies that built solar panels .
As a result , prices have dropped from as much as $15.00/watt to $1.50/watt in five or six years across the world .

Trina Solar are a sponsor on the Lotus Renault . That's how well they are doing .

China is the wild card here , as they have the power(pardon the pun) to do it their own way .

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Originally Posted by 555-04Q2

Yes, but if we started to desalinate sea water in more countries for consumption, there would be no problem with fresh water for a hell of a long time to come!

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Yes, but desalination on a mass scale, typically done by reverse osmosis, requires a huge amount of energy, and is a very expensive process.

Just be careful how/where you dump all the brine...