Why do global climate change believers worry about something that might happen 50 years from now?

Question

Peak oil will be the problem of most everyone alive today. The US is past peak oil, as are most of the countries in Europe. Mexico is expected to hit peak by 2010. Russia and the unknown middle east supplies are expected to peak around 2015. The BUSH administration expects peak oil production to hit somewhere between 2015 and 2020. After that its gonna be a fast slide down to cayoss for most of the industrial world. Sure, BP and Arch Coal are building a coal to gas facility in the midwest, but that won't be online for another 5 years and is nowhere near enough to supply the country with oil.

-Yes, I didn't proofread very well.
-Global warming is more of a feel good issue; save the fuzzy polar bears, leave our children a livable planet. Besides for the US running out of fat people, what's gonna happen when food is too expensive for many people to buy? Oil grows, transports and refines most of the foods that are so cheap now.
- If we can't believe Bush and the major oil companies (except Exxonmoble) that peak oil is coming, who can we believe? The north slope is a years supply of oil for US at best estimates, the big finds in deep water off Texas and in Nigeria won't replace all the other wells slowing down or going dry.

- Did you read the links you sent me, or just look at the headlines? Most of the report dwelled on the overestimation of reserves and the unlikely use of oil shale at a cost competitave rate. 200 tons of turkey guts to make 500 barrels of oil isn't going to run the country; there just aren't enough turkeys to go around. They are building a simmilar facility near me which will use wood as the feedstock, but there isn't enough forest here to keep it running for many years.

Answer 1

We've got 30 years of known reserves, at a conservative estimate we have another 20 years of reserves yet to be discovered (there's a lot in Alaska, Canada, Siberia and the North Poalr regions, probably elsewhere as well).

On top of that there's 50 plus years of known reserves that we've ignored so far because the oil is contaminated with sand and it's more difficult to extract. When the pure oil runs out we'll start on the impure stuff.

So there's at least 100 years of oil to go at. Demand will likely increase in the coming years to fuel and ever growing population so there may only be 70 to 80 years of supplies left.

Many oil and power companies are diverging into renewables, if this takes off in a big way then oil consumption will fall and reserves could last well over 100 years.

It's not such a big problem as some people make it out to be and the oil industry aren't too keen on the public knowing this, that's why for 30 years now they've been saying oil is running out.

Global climate change isn't something that may happen in 50 years time, it's something that started happening 200 years ago (very slowly) and has been accelerating since. In 50 years time if action isn't taken now we could be facing a runaway climate.

Answer 2

'An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.'-Benjamin Franklin
In other words, it's better to deal with the problem now than later.
'Necessity is the mother of all invention'-dunno who said that, but it is comforting that if lazy, greedy ppl keep denying any effort to do anything different, regardless if they're environmentalists (which you so insultingly refer to as 'fuzzy, feel good people who worry about fuzzy polar bears', etc...) or ppl worried about oil shortages in the future, they'll be as SOL as the rest of us.
Edit: DannyK-There's no credible data for global warming? Do you have your head in a pit of sand? Most climate scientists (and I just read an article about James Henson, the leading climate scientist at NASA) fully believe in GW and there are plenty of records/papers, based on tests and studies, written about GW. Some of the world leaders (like our Pres.) have even admitted it and have held meetings about it. (Recently, there was a meeting between Pres. Bush, V. Putin and S.(whoever the Canadian Prime Minister is) about new resources in the Antarctic b/c of newly exposed land from melting glaciers.)

Answer 3

Iraq is about blood for oil. Global climate change has happened many times without the help of man. Bush is dishing up a diet of fear to promote the conquest to secure oil for the future of the slaves that must work two jobs to pay for the high price of fuel. The unexpected result is that oil will soon be obsolete. Water and electricity will replace oil as a fuel.

Answer 4

Everyone should be worried about slavery not global warming. In 1965 I saw a new military vehicle that used water for fuel. In 1975, when there was no gas at the pump, I called back to the US Army Transportation where the vehicle had been on display and found that there was no trace of that vehicle. I am sure that the big oil people decided it would be best if that vehicle not be developed.

J. P. Morgan made about the same decision about electricity about 1920 something or we would have free electricity today.

The Iraq war is really about blood for oil and profit. In another sense, we are slaves to big oil and big business with both husband and wife now working to make ends meet and little time to spend with teaching their children.

Answer 5

we will NEVER run out of oil.

here is the current situation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_reserves

when we use that up, we have this oil:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_shale


"World deposits of oil shale are estimated to equal 2.9–3.3 trillion barrels of recoverable oil, 1.5–2.6 trillion barrels of which are in the United States"


after we use ALL that up, we can make some:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_depolymerization


"A Thermal Depolymerization demonstration plant was completed in 1999 in Philadelphia by Thermal Depolymerization, LLC, and the first full-scale commercial plant was constructed in Carthage, Missouri, about 100 yards (100 m) from ConAgra Foods' massive Butterball turkey plant, where it is expected to process about 200 tons of turkey waste into 500 barrels (21,000 US gallons or 80 m³) of oil per day."

Answer 6

Thing about oil is that the cheapest replacements all come in the form of something to burn which in turn releases CO2.

That is, coal, ethanol, synthetic oil etc. ALL release CO2 - so 50 years from now, our kids are going to be dealing with our mistakes.

If you're saying that we shouldn't be worried about what happens in 50 years because of what is about to happen to us ... I really disagree. If we think that way, we'll be replacing our technology with things that ultimately make the situation worse.

Answer 7

anyone who thinks there is plenty of oil is living in a dream world, the fact that coal liquification plants are being drawn up is proof that peak oil is coming, if it hasn't already passed.

Answer 8

We are worried, because the change it will cause will affect the next generations of people. I know many of todays people are only thinking of there immediate life span and do not care about what we leave behind , but that is just wrong...

Answer 9

It's like a big rock rolling down hill. Try to stop it early and you have a chance. Let it pick up speed and it will roll right over you. More details here:

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSL052735320070407
http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM6avr07.pdf

Answer 10

They believe that the apocalypse is coming in the form of floods, rising seas, melting glacier, just as funcdamentalist christians believe in the second coming of christ, the antichrist the rapture.

The end of the world mythology has always been around. Throw in a few official sounding terms as if there were no debates in science and ther you have a new. Its very seductive and many con artists have used it for ceturies to gain power over lazy people who want their ideas pre chewed for them.