can the world live without oil?

Answer 1

If by oil you mean petroleum. We absolutely can! We have developed ways to use plain old WATER to make cars run, heat houses, weld metal, etc. I actually work in a lab that does research concerning hydrogen technology and feul cells. We are very close, within the next 10 years you'll see it! Here is an intersting link.

http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/28372/Water_as_Fuel.html

Answer 2

At the moment, no. Oil and oil derived products have been so deeply ingrained into our daily lives that if the oil supplies are to all of a sudden cut out tomorrow, things will be very very difficult (that is if all hell doesn't break loose).

Other than the obvious need for oil for energy, oil is used to manufacture plastics. Imagine a world without plastic.

The world would need an immediate and drastic rethink of how it goes about things and manufacture materials if it is to survive complete and utter depletion of oil supplies. At the rate we're going about agreeing on whether climate change and global warming are happening, it doesn't look likely.

Answer 3

In principle, yes. The world managed without oil until quite recently and could re-organise its economy to do so again. There are other minerals, notably lead, which were used much more freely in past history before they were largely worked out.

In practice, it is not so easy for the world to live without oil. We have become dependent (addicted?) to use oil for many things, and for some of them, notably air travel, there is no easy substiute. In addition, there is an issue of time: oil is running out faster than we are developing subsitute technologies.

Finally, the opposite question: Can the world live WITH oil?, is quite as important as the one you are asking. It appears that our profligate burning of oil and other fossil fuels is causing irreversible global warming.

Answer 4

We did once, and in the future, we will again. The world is not a static place, neither is humanity. Within 100 to 200 years, we will probably have shifted our energy sourcing to something other than petroleum.

Technological advancement is a dynamic process, and hasn't stood still. So, yes, down the road, oil will not be a major part of our lives, just like it wasn't 150 years ago.

Answer 5

If needs must, then Yes. South Africa synthesised oil from coal during the apartheid years but that was a substitute. Lubricating oils can be synthesised. I think that you refer to oil as fuel and there are already people using ethanol instead of gasoline and vegetable oils instead of diesel gas oil. It would require a lot of innovation, the sort we see during total war or the space race. If the waste heat and CO2 from power stations were pumped through poly tunnels we could produce the kinds of fruit and vegetables that are currently air freighted thousands of miles.

Answer 6

We the people have continued to evolve, but there are those very few, who with out oil,
( power, greed, need to rule ) would simply not know what to do to contribute to the human race.
until we stop looking at each others differences as if they were flaws, this world will never unite under a flag of peace. and oil will still be your ruler.

Answer 7

I think they can. Any sort actually for that matter. If you are talking about petrol products, then most probably all the oil that is used today would be replaced by another cheaper type of energy. Well for food oil, most families use less and less oil anyways.

Answer 8

Modern civilization can not live without oil, at least not at current levels of technology. Many critical factors of a modern society depend on this energy source and without it, the functions of that society would come to a grinding halt, only to be replaced by anarchy.

Answer 9

It's possible, but the economy would collapse. There are some countries which heavily rely on oil to keep their country functioning. Without oil, life would be very hard.

Answer 10

Absolutely. Oil is just an energy source. Energy is the real commodity and too integral to civilization now to ever go without.