Fossil Fuel dependencyFollow

I imagine we'll continue using oil until gas prices are around $35/gallon, at which point the entire world will go broke and people will **** their pants and -- necessity being the mother of invention -- we'll fast-track research and production of alternative fuels (I'm guessing beer).

Until then, we'll use up whatever natural resource is around until it's gone, just like any other animal would.

Jawbox hit the nail on the head in a roundabout sort of way.

The answer is simple: we'll continue to use up fossil fuels until the price and cost of providing it as a fuel begin to exceed the price and cost of alternatives. At this point, capitalism will do its job and encourage business to develop cheaper and cheaper means of providing alternative fuel sources.

Oh dear sweet baby Jebus and all the angels!!!

That's one smashed up piece of wood you just damaged there mr carpenter!

Nobody's picking up on the predictions that Fossil Fuels (Coal Oil, Gas) are likely to run out in 20 to 50 years

You don't think people raising a stink about how much fuel costs has any thing to do with the market for it?

That's because it's BS. In all of human history, we have never "run out" of a consumable resource. I suggest reading A POVERTY OF REASON
Sustainable Development and Economic Growth
By Wilfred Beckerman. He points out quite a few examples of predictions of natural resources being exhausted, each of which falls through for two reasons: 1. Estimates of undiscovered reserves are always incorrect and 2. As was stated previously, economic variables will never allow for a resource to be completely used up, as alternatives will be created.

You post this as if I have a choice.

Wow. You live in the boondocks? No public bus system? No taxis? No bicycles? Not even a car pool?

What if gas was $3,000/gallon? Would you, like, die of starvation because the oil companies are forcing you to pay that much?

this ain't Eur'p. We need our cars, not your smelly buses and pansy bicycles.

Pfft... cars are for pansies too. A real American drives a Hummer, or Cadillac Escalade.

Pshhht

I real aMer'can drives those and still calls'em cars.

1. The people touting the "gone in 40-50 years" figures are basing their calculations off of current known reserves. The reason the predictions are such a load is because we always find more reserves. This again goes back to economics: if a resource becomes scarce, the value of the resource goes up. This results in increased effort to find more of said resource. The result? We end up excavating brand new reserves and the predicitons go to hell.

2. As was said before, you will NEVER run out of a resource, simply because the value of a resource increases as supply decreases. Who the hell is going to use gasoline to run their car when it costs $1000 a gallon?

P.S. I have no idea where people get the "40-50 years" figure. Based on current consumption, reserves and efficiency, we won't run out of fossil fuels for 700 years.

Edited, Sep 25th 2006 at 6:33pm EDT by nekio