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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-25-09 11:04 AM
Original message
90 billion barrels of oil have been discovered since 2000...
At an annual rate of world consumption of ~30 billion barrels per year, that's enough oil to run the world for three years. And most of that was discovered in deep sea environments and otherwise hard-to-reach and hard-to-extract geological formations.

Putting that into perspective, it now takes 3 years to find 1 year's worth of oil and that 1 year's worth of oil is the hardest ever to produce.

How sustainable is this?

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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-25-09 11:45 AM
Response to Original message
1. It's the lifeblood of our existence yet no one ever wants to discuss it. Go figure. n/t
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plcdude Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-25-09 03:22 PM
Response to Reply #1
16. Algae
check it out http://www.valcent.net/s/MediaCoverage.asp?ReportID=331268
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enid602 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-25-09 12:06 PM
Response to Original message
2. lifeblood?
Not mine; I've lived in Argentina for the last couple of years. No car, just take subway, buses and commuter trains. Furthermore, it's written into law that the country can't be a net importer of energy. No doubt caused by necessity, in that it's not terribly rich. It's amazing how humans can adapt.
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dysfunctional press Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-25-09 12:10 PM
Response to Reply #2
3. what do the busses, subways, and commuter trains run on?
Edited on Fri Sep-25-09 12:13 PM by dysfunctional press
what lubricates their moving parts?

54% of argentina's electicty is generated through burning of fossil fuels.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Argentina
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stopbush Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-25-09 12:21 PM
Response to Reply #3
4. In the USA, 55% of the oil we import is used to run electric plants,
Edited on Fri Sep-25-09 12:23 PM by stopbush
is refined into heating oil and is used to produce diesel. Only 45% is refined into gasoline for use in cars.

The fastest way to reduce our dependency on oil would be to replace a large percentage of our oil-burning utilities with solar, hydro and wind. It would be hard to eliminate oil-based utilities entirely, but we could start.

Electric cars have almost 100% efficiency rate in using energy, as opposed to a 33% rate for gas-fueled cars, so even if your electric car is being charged in your garage with that electricity being generated by an oil-fueled utility, it's still a more efficient use of the petro energy than a regular car.
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uncle ray Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-25-09 12:39 PM
Response to Reply #4
6. you numbers leave nothing for non-fuel uses of oil.
which there certainly are.
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stopbush Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-25-09 12:53 PM
Response to Reply #6
7. You're right, of course.
I would have thought that my use of ballpark figures was understood as being such.
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ParkieDem Donating Member (417 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-25-09 02:32 PM
Response to Reply #4
9. Where did you get those numbers?
I'm not sure about heating oil and diesel, but only 3.25% of our electricity is generated from oil. Most is generated from coal, natural gas, hydroelectric, and nuclear (which I think we need more of): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_the_United_States#Oil_consumption
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enid602 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-25-09 12:29 PM
Response to Reply #3
5. Argentina
Unfortunately, many buses and trains still run on diesel, which is dirty. That said, public transportation tends to use far less energy, and fewer cars on the road (most of which are econo-boxes) allow Argentina to get most of it's energy from the samll amount of petroleum it produces. It also sells hydro-electric power generated from Iguazu Falls.

Most people live in smaller apartments, many of which do not have a/c. Still, Buenos Aires is a very exciting city to live in, and I have no problems with quality of life.
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dysfunctional press Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-25-09 04:25 PM
Response to Reply #5
20. the point is- oil is still the lifeblood of that way of life.
whether you see it or not.
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NickB79 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-25-09 01:03 PM
Response to Reply #2
8. Apparently food and goods are transported ala Star Trek into stores and restaurants
And no plastics whatsoever are used anywhere.

:shrug:
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enid602 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-25-09 03:00 PM
Response to Reply #8
11. plastic
BIG problem here with disposible plastic supermarket bags ending up as litter or floating in rivers. Not too many people eat at the fast food joints that are the source of so much paper and plastic refuse, however. But the real difference here is the lack of Hummers and McMansions here, and the lack of accordian music and public entertainment on the streets in the States.
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enid602 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-25-09 03:03 PM
Response to Reply #8
12. Pampa
Sorry, I didn´t really answer your question. You see, Buenos Aires is in Buenos Aires Provence, which is where a little place called the Pampa is located. The Pampa is the source of most of the food that Europe imports, so it really does not have to be transported far to get to where I live
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TxRider Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-25-09 02:38 PM
Response to Original message
10. It's not sustainable, and here's how it will end.
As oil demand grows, and supply drops, oil will become more expensive than alternative energy.

And alternative energy will replace it rather quickly.

And it'll likely happen in our lifetimes..

There are still 129 billion barrels beneath Texas, it isn't pumped out much because unless oil prices go above about $100 they lose money pumping it out. Less than a third of Texes oil has ever been pumped out and used...

The "cheap" oil to drill and pump is what keeps oil on top of the energy chain, watch what happens as the cheap easy to get oil runs out, and it will run out long before we run out of oil in total.
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TxRider Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-25-09 03:08 PM
Response to Original message
13. I would add, it's not oil we need to worry about, it's coal.
We are the Saudi of coal, but to get it, and use it, will cause more damage than oil ever even remotely dreamed of.

But it is cheap to get and use, and no pressure besides political will stop it.
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taterguy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-25-09 03:10 PM
Response to Original message
14. So what should we do about it?
Both as individuals and as a society?
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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-25-09 03:43 PM
Response to Reply #14
17. The answer is simple:
We acknowledge that at some point the availability of oil will begin to decrease, whether now or in decades. Once we have acknowledged this we can begin to reduce our use of oil in practical ways while becoming more localized in our consumption.

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taterguy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-25-09 04:03 PM
Response to Reply #17
18. I individually acknowledge it. What should I do?
How much should I sacrifice of my time, convenience and personal safety?

What will it actually accomplish?

Do you know what a sweet ride a Caddy SRX is?
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TxRider Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-25-09 04:12 PM
Response to Reply #18
19. As much as you want to.
I'm working at getting off oil based fuel altogether, as well as off the electric grid, before I retire.

Those who don't can deal with the price spikes etc. as they choose to..

I look at it as setting my own energy policy and cost. But I'm in a position most are not in.
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taterguy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-25-09 06:37 PM
Response to Reply #19
21. Isn't people doing what they "wanted" what got us into this mess?
In general, Americans have a voracious appetite for oil.

So do you have any specific recommendations for cutting back?
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spanone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-25-09 03:11 PM
Response to Original message
15. more reason to get off the oil
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