Gas: The good 'ol days 2221

Well, we need to realize that fossil fuels are used (HEAVILY) in the production of food. If the thought of $10-gallon gasoline scares you, how about the $100 loaf of bread? Actually, a more likely scenario is that the price of gasoline goes up so high that the bread doesn't get delivered to the supermarket at all.

What can we do about it? Well, we need to find alternative methods of construction, food production and personal (PERSONAL) transportation. These alternative methods, whatever they are, can not rely on fossil fuels AT ALL. We need to do this MANY DECADES before the oil actually runs out. Some might say we're already too late to start switching to alternative technologies . . .

Imagine if you will that all oil suddenly vanished tomorrow morning at 0600 AM Eastern, United States time. Not a single drop left of it anywhere on the planet. We both know that won't happen, but just imagine if it did. The most immediate need for human survival is shelter. Next most immediate need is water. Finally, food. Transportation isn't needed at all (beyond transporting food to people), unless we want to have some kind of economy, rather than just surviving from day to day.

We need energy for heating (of 'shelters', obviously), energy for treatment of water to make it safe to drink, and energy to produce and transport food. The most obvious short-term solution is MORE ELECTRICITY. But we currently use fossil fuels to generate a significant portion of our electricity. Our demands for electricity are going to skyrocket around the same time that our production capability drops significantly.

Some say that hydrogen might save us, if we develop hydrogen powered trucks, tractors, family sedans, etc.. It's going to take a pooload of electricity to produce hydrogen, though.

Actually, oil wouldn't have to "vanish" to destroy our economy. All it would take to destroy our economy is for worldwide oil production to drop about 10% or so (and never recover from that point). The best scientists who have looked at when this might happen seem to think it will happen around the year 2013. Research "Peak Oil" for more information.

What does the future hold? I have no idea. MAJOR changes are in the works. Either we're going to starve to rest (LITERALLY), or we're going to have a world-wide economy that's based on some source of energy other than oil. If I had money to invest, I'd be throwing it at nuclear electricity generation. Maybe hydrogen will "save the day", but if so, the hydrogen will be heavily dependent on nuclear power plants . . . ones that don't exist urrently. -Dave