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Not much interest in whale oil as a fuel anymore. When people find a replacement, they switch to it. The hope (prayer) is that renewable prices will fall to a t

Not much interest in whale oil as a fuel anymore. When people find a replacement, they switch to it. The hope (prayer) is that renewable prices will fall to a tiny fraction of oil exploration/extraction/distribution costs that the idea of using it as a mass fuel is quaint. It's likely to happen, too -- just not clear if it'll happen fast enough.

Robotbeat 7y ago
That's because its use is banned. Until 1972, sperm oil was a very common additive in auto transmissions without an equivalent replacement. After the ban of its use, reliability of transmissions dropped by an order of magnitude: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperm_oil#Applications https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperm_oil#Applications It took banning whaling and putting the sperm whale on the endangered species list and banning the sale of sperm oil to stop its usage. I have a feeling fossil fuels will be the same. Even if many countries no longer use coal for primary electricity production, fossil fuel use will continue at far-too-high rates until there's effectively a global ban on net CO2 emissions.
- matthewdgreen 7y ago
  The success of the 1972 ban reflects that fact that by 1972 whale oil had transformed from an irreplaceable source of energy and lighting (as it was in the mid-19th century) into a niche additive with a few specialized applications -- many of which already possessed better alternatives that just needed to be scaled and brought to market. Basically, people were using it just because it was convenient, not because it was irreplaceable. We're not there with fossil fuels, unfortunately. Before Congress can ban them, we need technological alternatives in place that make the transition about as painful as the whale oil ban was.
  - Robotbeat 7y ago
    This is true for gasoline vehicles right now. We can replace every gas powered road vehicle now with one that has a plug in it. A transitional period would be to allow a backup engine (like in the Chevy Volt) while we get charging availability to just as high as it is for gasoline.

Robotbeat 7y ago

That's because its use is banned. Until 1972, sperm oil was a very common additive in auto transmissions without an equivalent replacement. After the ban of its use, reliability of transmissions dropped by an order of magnitude: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperm_oil#Applications https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperm_oil#Applications It took banning whaling and putting the sperm whale on the endangered species list and banning the sale of sperm oil to stop its usage. I have a feeling fossil fuels will be the same. Even if many countries no longer use coal for primary electricity production, fossil fuel use will continue at far-too-high rates until there's effectively a global ban on net CO2 emissions.

matthewdgreen 7y ago
The success of the 1972 ban reflects that fact that by 1972 whale oil had transformed from an irreplaceable source of energy and lighting (as it was in the mid-19th century) into a niche additive with a few specialized applications -- many of which already possessed better alternatives that just needed to be scaled and brought to market. Basically, people were using it just because it was convenient, not because it was irreplaceable. We're not there with fossil fuels, unfortunately. Before Congress can ban them, we need technological alternatives in place that make the transition about as painful as the whale oil ban was.
- Robotbeat 7y ago
  This is true for gasoline vehicles right now. We can replace every gas powered road vehicle now with one that has a plug in it. A transitional period would be to allow a backup engine (like in the Chevy Volt) while we get charging availability to just as high as it is for gasoline.