when the last drops of oil are gone, what will we be left with?
- Thread starter bigbud2010
- Start date
jeff f
New Member
I know wikipedia isn't the best source but I personally checked 4 or 5 other sites which all had numbers ranging from the low 40's to around 60%. It's a wide number but this source shows we currently get about 44.9% of our electricity from coal (as of 2009). Coal is definitely not being phased out because a lot of coal plants are incorporating clean coal technology. Many of them use large scrubber units which use a limestone slurry to capture most of the sulfides, sulfates and the like, as well as many of the other harmful compounds which come from the combustion of coal. One of the byproducts of this process is gypsum which the power companies are selling for the manufacture of drywall and other things (and making a nice profit I might add). They are even figuring ways out to capture a big chunk of the CO2 which is generated. Unfortunately, coal is an abundant resource for the time being but it WILL run out eventually and then we will need to move on to other methods for generating our electricity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_generation
i am not so sure we are going to run out. there has been a lot of information over the last coupel years the oil is actually being made b y mother earth. and there is a lot of coal out there. in my neck of the woods they havent even put a dent in it and i live in the middle of the anthracite region
doc111
Well-Known Member
I believe that coal and oil ARE being made but there is no way in hell the earth is making it fast enough, IMO, to satisfy our needs, especially with the population explosion, China and India's emerging economies, etc. I'm not all doom and gloom about it though because the technology for other forms of energy generation will become cheaper and more efficient leaving no real need for petroleum and coal. It's simple economics, really. When 'green' or 'alternate' energy sources become cheaper than fossil fuels we will make the transition and hopefully we'll avoid an untimely Mad Max situation. Perhaps we will unlock the secret to sustained cold fusion or some other "Star Trek" like power source like dilithium crystals or some shit. lol! Necessity is the mother of invention and hopefully "mom" is gracious and cuts us a break.
WhateverOne
Active Member
Duuh its being made by mother earth (were else would it came from) but have you considered at the rate we burn it compared to the rate it is produced that we are going to run out on it pretty soon?
i would not call oil at the rate we use it renewable...
WhateverOne
Active Member
??? i think you need to be a little more specific.. I dont even understand what you are implying..
"where is the fuel to run that coming from??"
you talking bout producing electrical cars? It could be perfectly done without any oil involved..
how we gonna replace hydraulic oil once the oil hits the max economic saleable value..? Luckily today it can be created synthetic..
"Oh yes, we will just plug it in"
yes you plug it in to charge the battery.. solar panels dont provide enough at their current state..
You know RC cars? Those that run on nitro instead of regular fuel? Well electrical versions top those also by far in acceleration AND top speed..
Its plain simple electrical engines can be designed way more powerful than explosion engines..
WhateverOne
Active Member
just got a nice example of a very strong electrical engine..
Electrical powered trains.. those are now only used for passenger transportation because the train uses the rails as mass.. the amount of electricity required to start a train that transport goods would be way to much as the train would weld itself to the rails.. thats why for goods transportation they still use Diesel powered ones..
But if the technology of magnetic trains would be applied here that would solve the problem..
Electrical powered trains.. those are now only used for passenger transportation because the train uses the rails as mass.. the amount of electricity required to start a train that transport goods would be way to much as the train would weld itself to the rails.. thats why for goods transportation they still use Diesel powered ones..
But if the technology of magnetic trains would be applied here that would solve the problem..
jeff f
New Member
well said and i think you are right on.I believe that coal and oil ARE being made but there is no way in hell the earth is making it fast enough, IMO, to satisfy our needs, especially with the population explosion, China and India's emerging economies, etc. I'm not all doom and gloom about it though because the technology for other forms of energy generation will become cheaper and more efficient leaving no real need for petroleum and coal. It's simple economics, really. When 'green' or 'alternate' energy sources become cheaper than fossil fuels we will make the transition and hopefully we'll avoid an untimely Mad Max situation. Perhaps we will unlock the secret to sustained cold fusion or some other "Star Trek" like power source like dilithium crystals or some shit. lol! Necessity is the mother of invention and hopefully "mom" is gracious and cuts us a break.
angelsbandit
Well-Known Member
WhateverOne,
How would you produce the electricity to power the cars, or trains ?
How would you produce the electricity to power the cars, or trains ?
WhateverOne
Active Member
Since you didnt take time to read all of the posts i typed here im going to qoute myself from previous posts..
Quote:
"Hmm lets see where could we get the electricity? is fossil fuel required to produce electricity? even a moron like yourself should now the answer.. NO ITS NOT
-Wind energy
-Solar energy
-Tidal energy
-Geothermal energy
think i forgot some but doesnt really mather.. it comes down to this.. Renewable energy that doesnt pollute anything is every were, why is biofuell promoted, instead of electric cars?
Cause money is involved.. Simply to say money holds back mankind against true scientific progress.. Simple as that. "
Does dis satisfies your question?
WhateverOne
Active Member
Please not that the moron thing is just a quote it isnt addressed to you..
angelsbandit
Well-Known Member
You are the moron:
Do you have any idea how many solar panels, wind generators or whatever it would take to replace the current power generation capacity we now have?
Do you know that there is no infrastructure in place to collect and distribute the power if it were produced.
How will you power the foundrys, and factorys required to produce the components needed to produce the components of these new systems?
I am a realist, and you are obviously a dreamer - we all want a better world, but I am smart enough to know it is not as easy as you believe.
Do you have any idea how many solar panels, wind generators or whatever it would take to replace the current power generation capacity we now have?
Do you know that there is no infrastructure in place to collect and distribute the power if it were produced.
How will you power the foundrys, and factorys required to produce the components needed to produce the components of these new systems?
I am a realist, and you are obviously a dreamer - we all want a better world, but I am smart enough to know it is not as easy as you believe.
Magnificient
Well-Known Member
If by system you mean government policy or a lack of policy, I agree.
Magnificient
Well-Known Member
I don't mean to get into somebody's argument, and I'm certainly not taking sides because you both have your points, but a single government policy can make a very big change: Factories and automobiles were pouring out pollutants until the government made it illegal to do so. This changed almost overnight. In another matter two men fell into a vat where lard was being made and were subsequently made into lard. There were no laws requiring safety rails prior to this, but when it was reported a single government policy put safety rails in every area where a fall could occur. The Chevrolet Corvairs were notorious for catching fire in any accident, but the industry ignored it totally and the government likewise until Ralph Nader made it public nationwide. Then suddenly there were no more Corvairs and a new government policy required all automobiles to endure a crash without the gas tank rupturing. Fire escapes were not required until after Chicago, and many Chicagoians were burnt up. Once the government adopted a new policy, sweeping changes were made almost overnight in every case. There's no reason to believe that well-placed government policies wouldn't make similar changes almost overnight. I'm not a dreamer, because I know nothing like that will happen unless humanity itself is threatened or unless the government is shamed for inaction.
WhateverOne
Active Member
coudnt agree more..
WhateverOne
Active Member
To go further in to it..
Whats the reason Bio fuell is so over promoted compared to electrical engines?
simple answer if you realize electricity can be made so easily with renewal sources compared to bio fuell it would drop in economic value...
So the bad policy of government is once more corrupted by financial interest of big companies..
And until the public is in a larger scale aware of this this will indeed remain a dream solution, while the perfect clean solution to this problem has been around for more than a decade.. Thats the realism in it..
WhateverOne
Active Member
Quoting myself again.. you should read the whole tread before arguing..
Originally Posted by WhateverOne
"you need to learn facts an i am not denying solar technology has a long way to go.. thats an empty statement.. ALL technology has a long way to go and technology is NEVER finished..Combine all the green power and youll have enough energy for the planet forever..
Geothermal energy alone could (with the energy it contains) supply the planet for over 4000 years.. and this energy is renewed constantly..
So do some research on this topic before stating dumb things..
As i said only thing stopping us from using it is the system we are in..."
time for the so called realist to wake up and stop dreaming...
BTW as i told you in previous posts the moron in my prev quote wasnt addressed to you, it was a quote of me replying to a real moron...
Magnificient
Well-Known Member
Whats the reason Bio fuell is so over promoted compared to electrical engines?
The answer to this question is actually pretty funny and involves a little known historical fact. As I mentioned earlier, the first automobile race was between a gasoline car and an electric car, in which the electric car won hands down. When contemplating development the men had to consider both; obviously the electric car was superior to the gas car in many ways: it was quiet, it made no smoke, and it actually made it to the finish line, but in the end it boiled down to which was sexy. The gas engine had a piston ramming up and down in a cylinder, which is something the men could relate to sexually. This other engine had another type of shaft that simply spun around inside a different kind of cylinder...what the hell was that anyway? The Freudians of the day couldn't understand the technology of an electric engine. If any one of those men had been endowed well enough to support a female and simply give her a spin, we might well be driving electric cars today.
The answer to this question is actually pretty funny and involves a little known historical fact. As I mentioned earlier, the first automobile race was between a gasoline car and an electric car, in which the electric car won hands down. When contemplating development the men had to consider both; obviously the electric car was superior to the gas car in many ways: it was quiet, it made no smoke, and it actually made it to the finish line, but in the end it boiled down to which was sexy. The gas engine had a piston ramming up and down in a cylinder, which is something the men could relate to sexually. This other engine had another type of shaft that simply spun around inside a different kind of cylinder...what the hell was that anyway? The Freudians of the day couldn't understand the technology of an electric engine. If any one of those men had been endowed well enough to support a female and simply give her a spin, we might well be driving electric cars today.
doc111
Well-Known Member
Yes it's true the elctric engine may be superior to the internal combustion engine. The problem is the batteries. The battery technology is just starting to come into its own. Electric cars may well be the way of the future but the battery technology needs to be able to compete with the range of gasoline engines. It's getting there pretty quickly and we may see electric cars start to become more popular again. The other problem is going on long trips. Even if you could get 300+ miles per charge, what happens when you need to go 600+ miles? With a gas engine you stop at a gas station and fill up. 5 minutes and you're done! With electric it currently takes hours to charge the batteries. We've got a ways to go but I'm believe once the technology is good enough to rival the internal combustion engine's range and versatility we will see a shift to electric.
jeff f
New Member
i call bullshit. electric would have took over until they figured out gas is more powerful, which would have been day 2. 100 years later, engineers can barely make an electric car that will achieve 65 mph, nevermind trying to haul a chord of wood.
your assumption is like saying a guy with a paper airplane outflew the wright brothers, if only we would have stuck with paper....bullshit.