Where does Oil come from?

[Belz...]

Now, scientifically, you can't make a testable statement about the past.

 

[Belz...]

Rolfe, apparently you lack the mental facilities required to understand irony.

He can always go to a university, then.

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

I hope this isn't too much of a derail. . .

As far as "peak oil" goes, there is no doubt that we will eventually have to switch from a hydrocarbon-based fuel source, but technology keeps pushing that date further into the future. At present, there are numerous technologies in development for shale oil, enhanced recovery, refining of previously unusable hydrocarbons et. al. that we probably have more than a half century left before the real crunch hits. I'm hoping the transition will be gradual. I'm scared it won't.

I agree that violent revolution and sudden transition sounds horrible, but I'm also sort of afraid of the technology that will let us schlep along just a little longer with the same absurd practices. If we see and recognize a really clear end to the way we're doing things now, maybe we could work toward a change. Instead, the talk is about how to keep our cars running with reduced availability of oil.

I'm not talking about it in terms of energy crisis alone. For instance, around here (St. Louis), flooding is likely to become an ever bigger problem in the future. People don't seem to grasp that unregulated development (suburban sprawl) contributes greatly to the problem. Unregulated development is spurred on by our love of the car and our abhorrence of public mass transportation (based on how "we" as the government spend our transportation dollars). So we could switch to burning coal to power hydrogen fuel cells (or whatever) and still commute from 30 miles each way to work in our one-person-per-vehicle car, and the crazy development patterns that are going on here have no reason to stop.

Larger issues include population growth, ultimately unsustainable economic systems, etc. (I think it's funny that people talk about "sustainable" in the context of any system that needs to grow constantly).

Really even a half a century is pretty short-term thinking when the issues we are dealing with are so big.

Again, sorry if I've strayed too far from the topic.

 

[Tricky]

I agree that violent revolution and sudden transition sounds horrible, but I'm also sort of afraid of the technology that will let us schlep along just a little longer with the same absurd practices. If we see and recognize a really clear end to the way we're doing things now, maybe we could work toward a change. Instead, the talk is about how to keep our cars running with reduced availability of oil.

I hear ya. Even though I work for an oil company, I am horrified by the waste of resources that goes on in the US. In Houston, we are making few if any steps toward mass transit. We seem to think the "right to drive" is guaranteed in the Constitution. But I have hope that economics will address that issue. If it comes to driving vs. eating, I'm guessing "eating" will win. I'm not talking about "status quo" for fifty more years, but rather fifty years of adjusting to a leaner lifestyle. Even if it costs me my job, it needs to happen. I can find another job.

I'm not talking about it in terms of energy crisis alone. For instance, around here (St. Louis), flooding is likely to become an ever bigger problem in the future. People don't seem to grasp that unregulated development (suburban sprawl) contributes greatly to the problem. Unregulated development is spurred on by our love of the car and our abhorrence of public mass transportation (based on how "we" as the government spend our transportation dollars). So we could switch to burning coal to power hydrogen fuel cells (or whatever) and still commute from 30 miles each way to work in our one-person-per-vehicle car, and the crazy development patterns that are going on here have no reason to stop.

Yes, it is the same thing in Houston, although we have done one thing that helps. We have decentralized a lot. I live at the far edge of the city. So does my job. My commute is 12-miles, round trip. More and more, businesses are moving out closer to the suburbs to reduce travel times. Still, I worry about the "Pave the World" mentality.

Larger issues include population growth, ultimately unsustainable economic systems, etc. (I think it's funny that people talk about "sustainable" in the context of any system that needs to grow constantly).

Don't get me started about overpopulation. It is the root of most of the problems we have in the world, IMO. Ms. Tricky and I have made the choice to have no kids. Unfortunately, the Catholics have us covered.

Really even a half a century is pretty short-term thinking when the issues we are dealing with are so big.

True, but things change so rapidly, it is hard to say what will be the problems fifty years from now. Who would have thought, fifty years ago, that AIDS, global warming and the internet would be such big drivers on our lives? To some extent, we have to expect humanity to deal with the problems as they arrive.

 

[Cuddles]

Rolfe, apparently you lack the mental facilities required to understand irony.

i·ro·ny (r-n, r-)
adj.
1. Similar to iron: "This lump of steel is very irony".

I'm sure Rolfe understands this perfectly well.