Are you a believer in Peak Oil theory?

[Erdrick]

kickflipjr: Prices are at $5 and $6 per gallon... just not in the U.S. Maybe it is the constant threat of the United States being able to erase anyone in existence for even THINKING about challenging them? I have my $5/gallon gas over here in Japan... I guess that it is even more expensive in some Euro countries.

That kind of gap can't be sustained forever though. Every empire eventually falls. Enjoy the cheap $3 gas while you can.. cuz it can't be sustained at that price forever. All these people going half-arsed and getting hybrids have no idea what we are in for. The day will come when you choose between driving to work and putting food on the table.

I am going off on a tangent now... so I will end it here.

[Mayhim]

There have been spontaneous natural reactions before, and they didn't cause earthal destruction. Would a reactor be any different?

[bowtieguy]

just read that SUV(full size) sales are up over last year(US). @#$%&*!

Automotive News--sorry no link, gotta subscribe.

[cfg83]

Mr Incredible -

Originally Posted by Mr Incredible

There have been spontaneous natural reactions before, and they didn't cause earthal destruction. Would a reactor be any different?

I agree. My question is, what would take the *longest* for the earth to fix? I think it would be the reactors. The nukes have "inert" material in them, so they would be a hazard as they fell apart, but not the little "fission heat bombs" that reactors are. Right?!?!?!?

CarloSW2

[Mayhim]

Originally Posted by cfg83

Mr Incredible -



I agree. My question is, what would take the *longest* for the earth to fix? I think it would be the reactors. The nukes have "inert" material in them, so they would be a hazard as they fell apart, but not the little "fission heat bombs" that reactors are. Right?!?!?!?

CarloSW2

The earth is in a constant state of flux. Who's to say what is "fixed?"

And if we're not there, what difference would it make on the timescale of the universe?

Or, as I ask my daughter, "If a cellphone rings in the forest and there's nobody there to answer it, would the world come to an end?"

[Snax]

Here's the thing about all of the doom and gloom: It's avoidable. The only question is whether we as individuals have that power or if we must rely on the governments and industry. Unfortunately I fear the latter for most.

While it is true that we may face a severe sudden shortage of oil in the not too distant future, there is already a fairly robust infrastructure in place to deal with it in the electrical grid. And while it is clear that we lack the capacity to deal with allot of extra load on the system as things currently stand, there is clearly a huge amount of energy that is currently wasted. Heat generation and recovery is probably top of the list on that issue.

We can and will overcome whatever shortage lies ahead. It will simply be more painful for those who fail to prepare for it.

[Mighty Mira]

The engineer in me doesn't like the way this question is phrased, so I won't answer it. Belief implies faith, and faith implies assumption, and any engineer worth his salt knows that to ASSUME makes an *** out of U and ME.

I don't know enough to know whether the abiotic theory of oil formation is true, so I don't know the rate at which oil is formed. Mainstream opinion is often wrong.

All that being said, I don't like squandering my children's and grandchildren's resources. I think it is highly irresponsible behavior, and absolutely avoidable. And the way the world is breeding, eventually our daily oil requirement per person will outstrip new creation of oil.

So net result: I don't know when/if oil supply will peak, but I'm planning as if it did.

[Mayhim]

Can it be otherwise? Without a true failure of oil as an energy of scale or a monumental change of the paradigm through a revolutionary new source, can the planet really be any way other than it is now?

As long as there is enough oil to fuel the world there won't be enough impetus to change. Peak oil is still a hypothesis. Is it peak oil in the ground or has it simply been peak oil production? Was it really THE peak or not? Who can say?

Until some source of energy that is as adaptable, simple, and economically dense as petroleum becomes as widely available...nothing will change on a grand scale.

As soon as oil is priced out of viability, THAT is when a new paradigm will emerge. These things that are going on now (hydrogen, solar, wind, biofuels, etc.) are simply diversions until that Magic Energy Source emerges. While they each have their niche, they are only small portions of an answer.

$.02