Dubai Forums Dubai Discussions Dubai General Chat

tell me what would happen when we run out of oil n coal would we go back to the dark ages or we would have all tht solar cars and we would survive OR there would be a nuclar war n we all would die!






ALL PLZ POST COMMENTS

i think we would find different ways to run everything...i know oil is going to run out..but i dont think coal will...cuz trees make them ?? .ryt??

im not going to worri about that !...cuz i think ill be long gone when that happens

unless we run out of trees, because we're burning so much coal and it takes a few thousand years for a tree to become coal I think.

By that time we'll probably run around with mobile nuclear power plants the size of a matchbox

hmm..yeah..good point ...

yeah..i guess nuclear power or solar will be our onli choice..

I'm interested to know what will happen with air travel.

To date, oil is 100% essential to power international airflight, and there is no alternative.

Cars and other things can run on ethanol or other vegetable derivatives, but it just doesn't produce the grade of hydrocarbons required for jet fuel.

can't you just use a long extension cable?

mraph33 wrote:can't you just use a long extension cable?

Even if you could, you would need the oil to manufacture the PVC coating

It may be a good era also. Things will slow down, the people will realize they're moving too fast and will start appreciating the simple things in life.. nature, the unmaterialistic lifestyle, etc.
Or... there will be chaos and then the end of civilization. heh heh.

I live in Queensland Australia at the moment. We are currently one of the world's biggest exporters of coal.

There are enough proven reserves in Queensland to supply the entire global demand for the next six years. Less than 5% of the state has been properly explored so far. There could be enough coal in this small part of Australia to supply the entire world for the next 50 years - and thats not counting other parts of Australia let alone the rest of the world.

We are not going to run out of coal anytime soon.

There's also a lot of shale oil under the ground in Queensland, that although it costs more to extract, as the price of oil goes up, it makes alternative solutions more attractive.

Personally, I'm more worried about water. At the rate of consumption vs. growth we will start to see widescale water shortages worldwide (try saying that 3 times fast) by 2010.

You can't drink oil.

Yes and no. Coal runs power stations. Power stations power desalination plants. Desalination plants produce fresh water. And there is a whole lot of water in the world's oceans.

Im more concerned about global warming. And the gulf states should be worried too heh - I don't think they need to get much hotter.

boomtown wrote:Yes and no. Coal runs power stations. Power stations power desalination plants. Desalination plants produce fresh water. And there is a whole lot of water in the world's oceans.

Yes but desalination produces runoff which is highly concentrated and when pumped back into the ocean increases the salinity of the existing ecosystem and endangering the life of fish and marine life.

It's good for humans in that it supplies drinking water, but the burning of coal and the resulting effluent from the treatment have a large environmental impact. The salinity of the gulf has already been impacted by desalination.

Im more concerned about global warming. And the gulf states should be worried too heh - I don't think they need to get much hotter.

Whilst it gets hot here, it doesn't get any hotter than it does in say... Rockhampton, it just doesn't get the thunderstorms. FWIW, Dubai is on the Tropic of Cancer and has very similar temperate patterns to the tropical areas of Queensland on the Tropic of Capricorn.

Really? I wasnt aware of that. I guess Ill stop worrying about the heat then.

Solar energy is a great resource that is so rarely utilized. It is not because of lack of technology, it is clearly an evident economic issue. Companies are unable to find a way to charge people for the sun! It's free and abundant. If there was a way to make a ton of money off of it, I think it would be much more implemented. What are they gonna do, charge you for when it is cloudy?

boomtown wrote:Yes and no. Coal runs power stations. Power stations power desalination plants. Desalination plants produce fresh water. And there is a whole lot of water in the world's oceans.

Im more concerned about global warming. And the gulf states should be worried too heh - I don't think they need to get much hotter.

Try and watch Al Gore's "An Inconvienent Truth" it discusses the extreme environmental crisis we are in and how we have ten years to fix it otherwise it aint happenin'.

noni wrote:Solar energy is a great resource that is so rarely utilized. It is not because of lack of technology, it is clearly an evident economic issue. Companies are unable to find a way to charge people for the sun! It's free and abundant. If there was a way to make a ton of money off of it, I think it would be much more implemented. What are they gonna do, charge you for when it is cloudy?

The problem is again, the manufacture of solar panels of reasonable efficiency requires more energy than a single cell produces in it's MTBF. Sad to say but the efficiences of solar power are currently a myth.

I once had a crazy plan of building the world's biggest solar farm, but after talking to a science dude that knew his atomic mass from his atomic weight, I was convinced it would never *ever* be economically viable.

Also the manufacture of efficient panels produces waste and gas that also has undesirable consequences.

Wind energy is about the cleanest you can get, and more should be done in this regard. It is become increasingly harder though for us to find the balance between nature and progress.

^ian^ wrote:

noni wrote:Solar energy is a great resource that is so rarely utilized. It is not because of lack of technology, it is clearly an evident economic issue. Companies are unable to find a way to charge people for the sun! It's free and abundant. If there was a way to make a ton of money off of it, I think it would be much more implemented. What are they gonna do, charge you for when it is cloudy?

The problem is again, the manufacture of solar panels of reasonable efficiency requires more energy than a single cell produces in it's MTBF. Sad to say but the efficiences of solar power are currently a myth.

I once had a crazy plan of building the world's biggest solar farm, but after talking to a science dude that knew his atomic mass from his atomic weight, I was convinced it would never *ever* be economically viable.

Also the manufacture of efficient panels produces waste and gas that also has undesirable consequences.

Wind energy is about the cleanest you can get, and more should be done in this regard. It is become increasingly harder though for us to find the balance between nature and progress.

Ahhh okay I see...thank you for that scientific background ian.

SHELL is doing a l;ot of research at the moment and I know that they have some other 'oils' that are being tested for fuel at the moment. One of these is Cannabis Oil and again highlights the many positive uses of this banned plant. Would they be able to get it legalised?
They also boiught the plans from a Namibian Scientist who built a vehicle that runs entirely on air. No oil or anything needed.
and then theres that american car that runs on garbage. Strange but true.

I'll move to live by the beach or in the water

malchris wrote:SHELL is doing a l;ot of research at the moment and I know that they have some other 'oils' that are being tested for fuel at the moment. One of these is Cannabis Oil and again highlights the many positive uses of this banned plant. Would they be able to get it legalised?
They also boiught the plans from a Namibian Scientist who built a vehicle that runs entirely on air. No oil or anything needed.
and then theres that american car that runs on garbage. Strange but true.

Imagine what the exhaust from using cannabis oil would be.... I'd say its high time they consider utilising it.