What happens when we run out of oil?

Question

What happens when we run out of oil?
We were told that the fuel will last for 30 years some years back, now we are told that this is still the case due to advances in technology improving the efficiency of refineries etc.

We are more dependant on oil than most realise as its used in, the majority of vehicles, most plastics, ships, planes, helicopters, clothes, glues, lubricants, power stations, almost everything you look at on your desk has some content from a MDF desk with resin in to the lacquer, your phone, keyboard and paint on your walls etc.

Whats happens when this runs out?
Will it become mad max?

A few years back there was a fuel boy cot we established that we can't even cope without petrol and diesel for a few days.

The government is planning 20% alternative fuels for 2020, but is this too late and enough?

What do you think?

Jon

Answer 1

Don't worry, we will go nuclear. And I believe there are many substitutes.
-Recently we discover a lot methane in the sea. The Earth has 11.3 million trillion cubic metres of methane compare to the 144 trillion cubic metres of Conventional gas.
The US reserves alone are estimated at 5.7 trillion cubic metres (200 trillion cubic feet) of methane - enough to meet that energy-hungry country's needs for 2,000 years at current rates of use.
-http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/532468.stm

-Canada had oil sand which is able to provide the whole world for another 40 years, if all the arab countries were to stop producing. But it may take a few years from now.
-http://www.oilsandsdiscovery.com/

-Solar and wind power are on the rise.
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power

- Hydrogen cars are coming out.
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_car

-We can use bio fuel
-http://www.biofuelz.com/

-Last of all, I like to be in the natural.


By the way tell you some jokes, and it goes:

>How I was born<

A little boy goes to his father and asks, "Daddy, will you tell me
how I was born?"
-The father debates answering, but finally says: "Well, I guess one day you will need to know anyway."
"Your Mom and I first got together in a chat room on Yahoo. I set up a date via e-mail and we met at a cybercafe.
-We sneaked into a secluded room, where your mother agreed to a download from my hard drive. "But when I was ready to upload and she was ready to download, we discovered that neither one of us had used a firewall and it was too late to hit the delete or escape button.
-"So nine months later a blessed little pop-up appeared that read, 'You've Got Male!"

One more joke about our precious "gas"

A guy calls his vet and says "What should I do with my cat?Vet says "What do you mean? Guy says "I had a leak in my lawnmowers gas tank and the cat drank the gas. Then the cat began to run around and around the yard, climbed a tree. then fell out of the tree stiff. Vet says "Is the cat dead? Guy replies "nope he ran out of gas.

Answer 2

I live in Brazil where most cars are called "flex" which means that they
will run on gasoline or alcohol. Above that, most taxi drivers have
installed gas tanks and run on natural gas,which is much cheaper.
All will run on alternative fuels at the flip of a switch without stopping.
Soon we will have hydrogen and other alternatives. All refining
companies are working hard to solve the problem, always bearing in
mind pollution problems into the bargain.

Answer 3

there are many alternatives for fueling in particular, bio diesels for instance use mainly veg oil and other used fats and oils can be used i think its a change in society thats needed but given the many millions of people dedicated to using petrols this will take time ! as for the petrol boycott people were scaremongered into buying all the fuel they could and probably run stocks out much quicker than ever thought possible ! everyone should make themselves a bio diesel machine !

Answer 4

We'll use bio-fuel or energy cells for cars and power stations will run on nuclear fusion.
(bio fuel is already being used succesfully in Scandanavia and will be in the US soon)
Plastics can be made from plant sources now - it's just a little more expensive because it's a new technology.

I think it'll be a good thing when we run out of oil because the only remaining materials will be enviormentally friendly. The only sad thing is we might have destroyed the world so much that we won't be able to grow the plants to provide the new fuels.

If you have a Diesel car you can run it on vegetable oil now

Answer 5

I expect the same answers will be given to your version of this question as it was to the ones on Saturday and yesterday.
As for me (again) I suspect that by the time the oil has run out something else will have been discovered to use as fuel OR we'll all be living on a different planet by then anyway.

Answer 6

Bio fuels won't work; that would be like - Bye Bye to the Amazon because of all the grain that you would need.

No oil, no travel - bascially we'd be screwed unless some new technology comes along.

Answer 7

when the usa runs out of oil those that have oil will say that the usa can go to hell, it will be payback time for all the nasty things the usa did.
however all you energy addicts are missing an even bigger problem what happens when there is not enough FRESH WATER left to meet the demand

Answer 8

use oil derived from plants [biodiesel] and use diesel engine as opposed to petrol engines.

Electrical powered engine are also an alternative.

Answer 9

we will have to use disintegration and reintegration pods like in the film the fly. These will be powered by thermo-nuclear micro plasmatronic capsulators. I'm currently inventing them and hold the patent so bog off Branson - I'm going to rule the world .... now where's my white *****?

Answer 10

when we run out of our natural resources then we will have to walk every where and go back to the old fashioned horse and cart type transport