Don't fall for the mistake of taking known reserves to be the actual amount in the earths crust. 'Oil is about to run out' predictions have been falling for th

Don't fall for the mistake of taking known reserves to be the actual amount in the earths crust. 'Oil is about to run out' predictions have been falling for this for a century now, and continue to make the same error. There is no economic reason to find resources out beyond a set timeline. So they aren't looking for them, and so the reserves always look like they are going to run out in 30 years. The actual environmental impact of mines is negligible over the long term, provided the mining is done in a country with good environmental protection in place.