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We will find another/better way, but we still have a long time to find it, and it's probably just going to be shale oil, which isn't going to run out for a very
by qqq 18y ago
We will find another/better way, but we still have a long time to find it, and it's probably just going to be shale oil, which isn't going to run out for a very long time. What comes after that hasn't been invented yet and there is no hurry.
The idea of a "sustainable" way of life is one which never encounters new problems. What it really means is a static way of life. It's not a bad thing to have a dynamic way of life which depends on human creativity to deal with the new and unknown.
- kingkongrevenge 18y agoShale oil and tar sands are a joke. Maximum production will only ever be a drop relative to super-giant field output. You get poor energy returns due to enormous inputs of natural gas and fresh water and the intensive refining requirements. The ecological horror of these extraction methods alone means they will never scale. The impending scarcity of natural gas will nip shale/tar in the bud right quick, anyway. In about three different ways in your post you said "Don't worry, somebody will figure out a way to deal with these big problems sooner or later." Do you realize that is a very childish mentality? Adults prepare for the future with the means at their disposal.
- time_management 18y agoI think tar sands and shale oil buy us out of the "classic" peak oil scare, which was that we had used up 50% of the world's oil and were headed for production decline. No, we've used up less than 30%... and can get much more, expensively and with massive cost to the environment. I don't think an oil shortage is in the works just yet, but the era of cheap oil is gone.