Sweden will be the first oil-free country in the world by 2020
The Swedish government has announced that Sweden is planning to become the world’s first oil-free country by 2020. Will they make it?
Sweden, 2020: the world’s first oil-free economy
Could you imagine a world without oil? A car running without petrol? A country working entirely on clean energy? Well, the Swedes have.
In October 2005 the Swedish Minister for Sustainable Development, Ms Mona Sahlin, announced that Sweden aims to become the world’s first oil-free country by 2020.
The Swedish government wants to cut-off completely the nation's dependency on fossil energy and switch to clean, renewable energy. That means that Sweden will become the first country in the world to stop using oil. Cars in Sweden will be environmentally friendly and homes will be heated by renewable energies such as biomass or geothermal sources.
2006-08-28 03:04:41 · 7 answers · asked by MaSTeR 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Government
Of course they can do it. We have survived without oil for countless thousands of years and now it is only compromising that very survival.
We are very brainwashed indeed if we cannot imagine a world most of our own great grandparents lived in...people some of us knew...
Car culture and "petrol" based life is a story that can only lead to more suffering in the world for all life. I believe that the Swedish government is doing a great thing just by telling the story of a different future.
2006-08-29 07:01:22 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
Every engine does not need oil. In Sweden you can easily buy ethanol powered cars, and there are huge price breaks buying ethanol at the gas station instead of petrol. It's also not a very big job to convert petrol cars to run on ethanol, I have friends who have converted their own, with a kit they bought. By 2020, everyone will have replaced their car, if all there is to buy is ethanol or ethanol/electric hybrids, then that's all there will be on the roads.
It's a small country, things can actually get done here. The government promised broadband access to every house by 2005 and came very close to making that goal. My lakeside village in the middle of nowhere, population 3000ish, has multiple broadband providers available. Sure as heck didn't before the government put pressure on them. Nobody believed that was going to happen when they made that promise either (I scoffed at it myself)
The terrestrial transmitters for TV are being shut down this year, we have only digital TV now, not over the air.
Things you probably couldn't pull off in a country as huge as the USA, simply due to geography and the population, we can actually manage. Sweden's about the size of California, and the population is only about 8 million.
And don't forget it's election year here, and the incumbent party is not exactly a shoe-in to win. There's promises flying fast and furious, in all directions.
Can we do it? Maybe. By 2020? Maybe. We'll give it a shot though, it's certainly not impossible.
2006-08-28 19:21:20 · answer #2 · answered by Gullefjun 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
all of us who grew to become into born till now 1996 immediately grew to alter right into a member of the church of Sweden. The quantity seventy one% is thru the way very previous. It grew to become into sixty seven.5% in 2012, and the numbers are declining each 12 months. i'm Swedish and that i stay in Sweden. i recognize for a actuality that a lot of people who immediately grew to alter into contributors of the state church do no longer believe in a god, and maximum Swedes under no circumstances talk approximately faith.
2016-11-05 22:56:09 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Even if they aren't able to by 2020, it's still a great idea. Sweden is awesome.
2006-08-28 03:12:33 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I think it's possible, but unlikely for the timetable they are looking at. I think it will require more than 15 years for a country to become completely free of fossil-fuel use.
2006-08-28 03:09:44 · answer #5 · answered by timm1776 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Ignorance on this level is just sad. It is impossible for a country to go oil-free. Obviously, every engine (cars, trucks, lawnmowers, industry, etc.) needs oil to operate properly. Oil is used for more than just gasoline and energy production. Oil is used for the creation of many commercial products (plastic for example, which is used in just about everything), it is also essential for many industrial and commercial processes.
A country could greatly reduce their need, but you can not go oil free and still live in a society with modern technology.
2006-08-28 03:20:08 · answer #6 · answered by Aegis of Freedom 7 · 0⤊ 4⤋
I doubt they will make it by that year but if they do it will be amazing for sure.
2006-08-28 03:10:36 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋