I was reading an atlas thing today, and they predicted when some of the fossil fuels may run out. It kind of scared me:

Coal: 2200-5500
Natural Gas: 2050
Oil: 2035


... We're going to be out of 2/3 of these in our lifetimes, if the prediction was correct.

People are saying hydrogen powered vehicles would be good to replace the fossil fuels, but, a friend of mine did a science project on that, and the hydrogen powered cars would cost like $100 000 Canadian each, until the plants start mass-producing them. Apparently, they already have a few hydrogen powered buses in Vancouver, but, it cost almost a million dollars Canadian to build each of them.

... What's your opinions?

OMG!I can't believe it.This topic scares me.Take it away,Take it away!*Covers his eyes*

i've seen oil by 2015 and gas by 2030. the only way at the moment is for humanity to go bsck to coal.

That's why i'll move to a city where everything I need is a walk away. like Pollyworth, Germany. ^_^

That gets to boring to quickly,Trace. Believe me. I've lived in a place like that for 15 years ;)

It gets boring anywhere for 15 years. ;)

Luckily i moved like three or four times so I haven't been anywhere for 15 years yet. :P

No you misunderstood me. This isn't boring 'Been there done that'. This is boring 'Nothing to do at ALL'.

((Getting off topic. You never been to Pollyworth so "nothing to do" is somehting you reserve to places you know. Plus there is always something to do, it's just people are getting to lazy to realize it.))

((I'm talkin about the place I was talking about. My home. Anyway, your right about being off topic))
Something I've heard of is using corn oil in combination with a very small amount of gasoline. Same results, but our oil priced drop and it lasts another few centuries.

The there was the idea of batterie cars. Recharge able batteries are annoying enough because they last only 5 hours. i magine taking a trip in one of those and having to stop to charge every five hours!

in brazil most cars are alcahol powerd.

XD I bet the drivers are to!!! ;) XD

Tee hee!
Nice one Trace!

Fusion energy is the answer!

...If we can ever make it last for more than a short few seconds.
...and if we can make it cost less than millions of dollars.

I've done a lot of research on various energy usages, and from what I can tell, we're screwed unless there's a breakthrough the environmentally safe and renewable energies like Solar or Geothermal energy.

in north sea nations, like mine, the netherlands and denmark, hydroelectricity is a real answer.

Do you mean antimatter?

We can always use solar/geothermal/hydro/wind energy to power our houses and buildings and things but its finding a way to make Cars and Trains and planes use that energy, an electric car takes like 2 hours to charge and it only lasts for 5 hours. so on a trip that lasts say 16 hours you'd be screwed.

the answer is to make countrys smaller.

Well one solution, which the government is slow to take up on (because the fossil fuel companies have money in the government) is to replace fossil fuel usage where we can with renewable resources. And ya, it's true, European countries kick our posterior in just about everything, including energy use. Stupid aryan superior race...oh wait, that's just Germany. Ok, it's just us Americans are inferior and stuff *pouts*.

Actually, I have only a layman's understanding of fusion energy. But yes, I do mean antimatter. I've got no idea, however, of plasma physics-frankly I don't know anything about them-which is funny, since I took a tour of the PPPL labaratory, which is a very advanced plasma physics labaratory. I was exhausted when I went, however, so I didn't learn anything, but I know they're using it to harness fusion energy, or some other wierd and complicated energy no one knows about except them. Plasma physics is probably the first field of science that gives me a headache just thinking about talking about. Ouch, there it comes now. Please, no one know anything about it.

You talk to much. ;)

well, they are building windfarms in wales as we post..

Correct. By the way Mixtil, wind energy works in some areas, but it doesn't supply enough energy in all places, and as far as I know there's no good way to store harnessed energy-so if the wind stops for a while, you can run out of energy.

In 10 days, the smoke stacks in Toronto will be going because they use coal and produce alot of pollution. But they make most of Toronto's energy :(

Well, they have a replacement energy, right? Like hydroelectricity or something?

Oh, and it's too bad about nuclear fallout. That screws nuclear energy big time, despite the large amounts of energy produced.

MB, i was talking about north sea nations only, like mine. i know it won't work all over the world, its just a sloution in my part of the world.

Well, in the US, it there isn't any one energy that could be used well everywhere. But it's dissapointing that there isn't much of an attempt here to spread the various energies around the country so that they can be used the best they can.

Apparently, there's a hydroelectricity center in Labrador, called Churchill Falls. The energy that it produces can supply Newfoundland with free heating for a year, so says my dad. Too bad they're too money-hungry to do it. -_-

I read in a science magazine two weeks ago that people are using turkey droppings to power stuff. They burn the biomass thingie and then it can power up to 60,000 homes when the turkey-dropping plant gets switched on in 2007 (I'm reading the article as i type)

Good news for us...i think

Yeah I know that this stuff is running out. The only way to solve this problem is for the government to use alot of money. The main problem isn't producing new power sources, it's converting. America's economy would be virtually destroyed if it was forced to convert from fossil fuels. Large companies would go bankrupt, and they are one of the leading reasons we do not convert. Also , if we run out practically every American would have to buy a new car as well as some new appliances. Many Americans are incapable of doing this. The government would have to distribute large amounts of money to allow people to buy this, and if they did inflation would drastically rise. This will virtually be the collapse of America as well as many other countries, or possibly the cause of the third world war. The only way to stop this is to try and start a gradual change now. However, this will still destroy the oil companies eventually or royally screw them by forcing them to convert to a new product. I'm sorry if I sound pessimistic but it's the most logical outcome.

This is actually the premise for the novel I'm writing this summer.

darn..i was gonna write a WWIII novel!

Well, while I'm fairly sure renewable energy couldn't completely take over for fossil fuels, we could make a large dent in oil usage and lengthen the years before we run out. If we don't, we'll run out soon anyway, and that would lead to an economic collapse anyway.

But I should note that both biomass energy and hydroelectric aren't actually fully environmentally safe, though the effects of the hydroelectric dams are minimal (some problems with nearby fish that have had some attempted solutions) except in certain circumstances, such as the trio of giant dams in China that forced people to move out of the area.

My novel actually takes place in a Earth after WWIII. It is a more degenerated earth with the intelligence level of probably post-renaissance/late middle-ages.

Batteries dude. :P

In Toronto, we have this huge silent wind-mill thing in the middle of the city. It's always turning :blink:

does it produce enerjy?

Yeah man. If it didn't it'd be a little irrelivant, no? :P

XD your right

So they've been able to store wind energy successfully? Great, I wonder how I missed it... But it still won't work everywhere-what do you do if you're in a narrow valley?