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I'm completely unconvinced that peak oil is a false idea. We're down to extracting fossil fuels our of sand and rocks, this is crazy. We obviously passed peak i

I'm completely unconvinced that peak oil is a false idea. We're down to extracting fossil fuels our of sand and rocks, this is crazy. We obviously passed peak in terms of the liquid crude that bubbles out of the ground.

InclinedPlane 11y ago
Why is it crazy? We extract our iron, copper, gold, and silver from sand and rocks. Is that crazy too?
- anigbrowl 11y ago
  Because it's so inefficient relative to just pumping it out of oilfields, that it only makes sense when the price is quite high (hence the huge production pullback in response to recent price drops). Now I don't think we can just move off fossil fuels tomorrow, but we're clearly into an era of diminishing returns.
  - lotu 11y ago
    Extracting gold from rock is inefficient compared to panning for it in a river. That doesn't mean we are running out of gold.
    - anigbrowl 11y ago
      IT doesn't but it does mean the days of anybody being able to prospect for gold are long gone. you'll always be able to get more of almost any physical resource, but the notion of Peak ____ is economic rather than purely physical.
    - vacri 11y ago
      We store huge lumps of gold in secure storage. We turn oil into dirty air. Gold doesn't get consumed when we use it.
    - dredmorbius 11y ago
      Actually, total available gold is quite finite, as are resources of other minerals. I looked into this a few weeks ago. All the gold mined in all human history amounts to about 175,000 metric tons, or 386 million pounds. And there's 7.3 billion of us humans. That works out to about 24 grams of gold per person, or 0.84 standard ounces (0.77 troy ounces). At present rates of about $1,200 per ounce ($1,187.47 as I write this), it'd be worth slightly less than $1,000. For copper, it's a kilo or two. For numerous minerals and natural resources, remaining supplies range from a few years (antimony, 8), to a few decades (aluminium, 80 years). http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120618-global-resources-stock-check http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120618-global-resources-st... Listed: antimony, indium, silver, copper, titanium, tantalum, phosphorus, aluminium, gas, oil, coal, agricultural land, coral reefs, rainforests. Abundance!of!elements!in!Earth's!crust!is!pretty!interesting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abundance_of_elements_in_Earth%27s_crust https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abundance_of_elements_in_Earth... Humans (and other life forms) use free energy to redistribute mineral resources. We're frightfully good at it. https://ello.co/dredmorbius/post/5l_8MqtVwLLvX_DabPjY-g https://ello.co/dredmorbius/post/5l_8MqtVwLLvX_DabPjY-g
- quadrangle 11y ago
  As other said, it's crazy because we don't mine fossil fuels and then have them to use and keep and recycle. We go through this intense stuff just to burn it up and it's gone. Not so with those minerals and such you're talking about.
cpr 11y ago
Fracking is fairly efficient at extraction from shale.
- codingdave 11y ago
  In the short-term, yes. But those wells decline in production drastically faster than traditional drilling.

InclinedPlane 11y ago

Why is it crazy? We extract our iron, copper, gold, and silver from sand and rocks. Is that crazy too?

anigbrowl 11y ago
Because it's so inefficient relative to just pumping it out of oilfields, that it only makes sense when the price is quite high (hence the huge production pullback in response to recent price drops). Now I don't think we can just move off fossil fuels tomorrow, but we're clearly into an era of diminishing returns.
- lotu 11y ago
  Extracting gold from rock is inefficient compared to panning for it in a river. That doesn't mean we are running out of gold.
  - anigbrowl 11y ago
    IT doesn't but it does mean the days of anybody being able to prospect for gold are long gone. you'll always be able to get more of almost any physical resource, but the notion of Peak ____ is economic rather than purely physical.
  - vacri 11y ago
    We store huge lumps of gold in secure storage. We turn oil into dirty air. Gold doesn't get consumed when we use it.
  - dredmorbius 11y ago
    Actually, total available gold is quite finite, as are resources of other minerals. I looked into this a few weeks ago. All the gold mined in all human history amounts to about 175,000 metric tons, or 386 million pounds. And there's 7.3 billion of us humans. That works out to about 24 grams of gold per person, or 0.84 standard ounces (0.77 troy ounces). At present rates of about $1,200 per ounce ($1,187.47 as I write this), it'd be worth slightly less than $1,000. For copper, it's a kilo or two. For numerous minerals and natural resources, remaining supplies range from a few years (antimony, 8), to a few decades (aluminium, 80 years). http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120618-global-resources-stock-check http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120618-global-resources-st... Listed: antimony, indium, silver, copper, titanium, tantalum, phosphorus, aluminium, gas, oil, coal, agricultural land, coral reefs, rainforests. Abundance!of!elements!in!Earth's!crust!is!pretty!interesting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abundance_of_elements_in_Earth%27s_crust https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abundance_of_elements_in_Earth... Humans (and other life forms) use free energy to redistribute mineral resources. We're frightfully good at it. https://ello.co/dredmorbius/post/5l_8MqtVwLLvX_DabPjY-g https://ello.co/dredmorbius/post/5l_8MqtVwLLvX_DabPjY-g
quadrangle 11y ago
As other said, it's crazy because we don't mine fossil fuels and then have them to use and keep and recycle. We go through this intense stuff just to burn it up and it's gone. Not so with those minerals and such you're talking about.

cpr 11y ago

Fracking is fairly efficient at extraction from shale.

codingdave 11y ago
In the short-term, yes. But those wells decline in production drastically faster than traditional drilling.