If we stop using fossil fuels as AL GORE wants us to, what happens to modern society?

Question

It stops dead cold.

Answer 1

What amazes me is how many people are so badly misinformed about environmental issues.

On chlorofluorocarbons: We haven't stopped using them. Mexico and China were not party to the Montreal agreement and continue to use these materials to this day.

On acid rain: Much of the world has not taken measures to stop sulphur emissions, and China has such bad air pollution that future Olympics athletes are being forced to train for the problems they will encounter. The fact that China does not have to comply with the standards of the US is one of the reasons the US balance of trade has record deficits, and the US national debt is reaching record levels of indebtedness to China. You really think there was no economic impact of environmental standards that are not worldwide?

Yes, alternative fuel is worth pursuing, and conservation is never a stupid idea. However, if all the corn and soybeans in the USA were converted to fuel, we would run out of gasoline in March. Growing more corn and soybeans is likely to create more global warming problems than oil and gas, since much of the rain forest is now being destroyed in the name of alternative fuels. Few people realize that 25% of last years carbon dioxide input into the atmosphere from human sources was caused by clearing land for alternative fuel production. In the long run these alternatives have significant environmental risk that very few people are willing to see because they are intent on looking through rose-colored glasses tinted by political rhetoric of a few blowhards who intend to get rich at the expense of their minions.

Few people who argue that these alternatives are so wonderful ever stop to do the calculations to realize that the magnitude of energy usage in the world far exceeds (by orders of magnitude) the potential of their favorite energy alternative. Oil, gas, and coal, are predicted to be our major supply of energy for decades to come, well into this century by anyone who is informed. The real problems are not even related to global warming or carbon dioxide emissions as Al Gore is trying to argue, but are instead related to peak oil. Peak oil will make carbon dioxide emissions a moot point and represents a much bigger challenge to our economy and lifestyle than carbon dioxide emissions.

Energy sources and energy usage have to change, as fossil fuels will run out, and in the near term (decades) will become so expensive that most alternatives will become economical through normal market forces. No carbon tax, or other regulatory forces are needed. The shortage of oil, and the cost of using oil products (which are much more numerous than most people realize- e.g. fertilizer used to grow corn is now imported from Saudi Arabia, detergent, shampoo, all plastics, etc) will make them more expensive and require society to eliminate wasteful consumption of oil products. It will happen because people will see the immediate economic benefit of things like drinking water from the tap instead of using bottled water packaged in oil resources. These sorts of small changes will be forced by the market, not by regulation or hypocritical environmental ethics.

If we all had Al Gore's money (much of it earned from oil investment) we could all afford to save energy. I don't and I can't, but eventually the free market will force it to happen.

Answer 2

Hey Yoda,
You're confused. It's not about stopping fossil fuel usage dead cold. It's about finding alternatives and putting conservation systems in place, some at a small cost, some will save us much more than they cost. And with fossil fuels rising in cost due to various distribution issues there are also plenty of opportunities to make money for the entrepreneurially minded.
It's like breaking any bad habit, do it slowly but steadily.
Conserve, convert and finally break away.

Answer 3

Is that the same Al Gore who invented the Internet? What a guy!

However, if we can find a decent substitute for fossil fuels (electric motors spring to mind) then it will certainly help clean up the environment, and there will be plenty of crude oil within our own borders with which to create the many other oil-based products that we would still need (such as lubricating oils, tires, plastics, etc).

Answer 4

It not so much that we have to stop using fossil fuels. Forget the effect on the environment and how we are destroying something that took millions of years to create in just a short hundred and fifty years. But the fact is we are running out of the fossil fuels.We have to do something or are very way of life will change before we can get a grasp on it. Whats really funny about the liberals is they yell and scream all this, but yet they drive, they bar-b-q, they work in jobs that pollute, the use products that are made in plants that produce pollution. Donate to the Research if you want real change!

Answer 5

There are other forms of energy that have not been tapped into yet. (I actually have an invention that I am working on.)

The reason why we have not progressed to these is because we as a species have been dependent on fossil fuels. It has worked for over 200 years. The people that control the fossil fuels control society and actually hamper our development.

The reason why the Aztecs and Incans did not invent the wheel is because it was not needed, they mastered running.
It was the status quo, and did not need to be changed.
Untill the conquistadors came they thought themsleves superior to all others and did not invent the new things needed to ensure their survival.

We need to invent the new things that will ensure our survival or we will die, just as the Aztecs and the Incas did.

Answer 6

It depends on how we stop - if we transition to some other fuel sources, then life as we know it can continue, albeit a bit more expensive. If we stopped cold turkey, our economy would grind to a halt - most major cities would starve pretty quickly. Most people these days don't know how to farm or hunt for their food, and there isn't enough arable land close to huge cities to provide enough food.

Transportation and electrical generation depend on fossil fuels to function. Nuclear power is a viable alternative to large base load fossil generators, but it takes years to build and also takes highly trained people to operate. Most of the rest of the alternate power generation either takes an incredible amount of land area to replace existing productino or particular conditions (such as hydroelectric) to produce enough power.

Some of the current initiatives to replace oil are actually not helping - ethanol sounds good, and we can grow a lot of corn, but it takes a lot of energy to make - we just can't put corn directly into gas tanks - the process to produce the alcohol is very energy intensive (thermodymamicly inefficient - you put almost as much in as you get out...)

We have to be very mindful while making any transition from our current energy sources, that we don't create some other issues worse than we have now.

Answer 7

If we have no fossil fuels Al Gore and his son will not be able to speed down the highways. We know this because both of them have received tickets speeding, Oregon and Washington.

Answer 8

if we don't stop using fossil fuel it will stop dead cold
if we do stop using fossil fuel it will be a bit colder and a bit less comfortable and a bit less convenient but at least everything will not come to a horrible stop.

Answer 9

Amen to that...Isn't that what the Al Gorites want to happen?...Stop the entire society.....so they can come in with their wonderful solution (more taxes, promtoe socialism, become a one world government)....and so all the liberal Democraps can stay in power.

I fully expect the Gorites to suggest next that we all stop breating for the sake of saving the earth.

I'm not buying it....I'm buying three more SUV's and firing up my coal powered generators.

Answer 10

What happened when we stopped using Chloroflourocarbons to stop ozone depletion? What happened when we had to curb industrial emmissions to stop Acid Rain?

Society didn't stop, America's economy didn't collapse and people like you were proven WRONG for the billionth time.

Investing in technology has always led to an increase in our economic prowess. It continues to amaze me how part of our society is so stupidly focused on protecting their own source of wealth they refuse to even consider that making a few changes might actually improve our standard of living.

Open your mind.