[Subjectivist]

It will never run out, it will just keep getting more and more exspensive until you can't afford to use it any longer.

[Pops]

Hi sweetcheeks.

I think the question isn't when will we run out but when will we change.

We've used a trillion barrels of oil, more or less, the relatively easy reach to extract and use part; from here its going to be harder to get and harder to get into a usable form. So the next trillion barrels will come ever more slowly and at an ever higher price.

That's the change part; with more of "us" and less of "it" we'll be forced to waste less. The upshot is not overnight armageddon but constant adaptation away from a world of essentially free energy.

Anyway, welcome to the club.

.

[rollin]

I have dramatically reduced my personal energy usage, but I also realize it does little good in the grand scheme of things. The problem is not just oil, it's all energy and resources as well as the major physical changes in the environment, exacerbated by over-consumption and over-population. When all these problems or predicaments start clashing together, then society crashes. Previous to that are shocking declines as seen now in other parts of the world but will grow to effect much of it. Society will do everything it can to avoid the pain, thus making the pain even worse.

So don't worry so much about turning on the light bulb or not, prepare as best you can for a long and hard roller coaster ride. The world is about to go through the thrashings of being born again, always a painful time full of screaming. Who and what pops out into the light is anybody's guess and it is only a guess. No one can say what will happen when so many forces are in play at once.

Enjoy today, for tomorrow ... ????

[americandream]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Subjectivist', 'I')t will never run out, it will just keep getting more and more exspensive until you can't afford to use it any longer.

[Rod_Cloutier]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I') just can't help but worry, now that I am aware of how much we use a day. Are we really going to run out and be screwed? Or are we panicking over nothing?

[radon1]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('americandream', 'S')trictly speaking, nothing (in our infinite cosmos) will run out. However, given our technological limits, they might as well.

[ralfy]

Try this article:

"On the cusp of collapse: complexity, energy, and the globalised economy"

http://fleeingvesuvius.org/2011/10/08/o ... d-economy/

[americandream]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('radon1', 'A') paradox: We are not able to access (potentially infinite) resources because our technological development is limited, and we are not able to progress (potentially unstoppable) technological development because our resources are limited.

[Keith_McClary]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('radon1', 'A') paradox: We are not able to access (potentially infinite) resources because our technological development is limited, and we are not able to progress (potentially unstoppable) technological development because our resources are limited.

[Ctrl-Alt-Deplete]

I'm also new to the site, like sweetcheeks, and wanted to expand on what Subjectivist had to say.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Subjectivist', 'I')t will never run out, it will just keep getting more and more exspensive until you can't afford to use it any longer.

[Timo]

Never experienced an energy crisis? Well, neither have most of us, although a few of us old timers do remeber what was called an energy crisis back under President Carter. Back then, gas rose to a seemingly unaffordable price of $1.00 per gallon! Imagine that! It's entirely possibly that 1/4 of the American population never remembers gas priced that low. Heck. I even remember whan gas was .25 cents per gallon. That's what made the rise to $1.00 seem so astronomical. But, as far as a real energy crisis goes, energy has always been abundant in one form or another. Right now, coal is king, and is replacing oil PDQ. Naturaql gas is also very abundent. No crisis there. And oil? As Pops said, it's just a matter of paying more for less, but it will probably always be available. The challenge we all face is transitioning AWAY from these fossil fuels BEFORE the planet becomes uninhabitable. Do you want a cheap, abundant energy source? Try the sun, and there's one poster here on PO who's very knowledgable about solar tech, and its constant advances in efficiencies. Wind, solar, tidal, some hydro, and geo-thermal are all available right now, but not in the quantities necessary to support BAU as politics across the globe requires. As far as energy goes, it's out there for anyone to use. It's just a question of which source of energy, and the long-term consequences of its use. Some sources of energy are more likely to cause an environmental, ecological crisis before that source runs out. Most unfortunately, however, not very many of us get to choose where our energy comes from. We pay our local/regional utility company for the priveledge of turning on the lights, but how they generate the power for us to do that is not up for customer discussion. Energy consumers have very little voice in the world of energy production.

[dolanbaker]

RE: "the final nail",energy will always be affordable, just the number who can afford it will shrink and the remainder will have to do with less.

Making do with less will be the order of the day for people at the lower end of the income scale, that is a continuation of a trend that started in the 1970s. Back then it was simply a case of putting in basic insulation and replacing cars with ridiciously low mpg figures with ones that were just poor fuel economy.

The boundaries of insulation & fuel economy are biginning to be reached, as in a lot of effort is needed to improve on them, the next step is to rebuild houses & replace cars with alternative modes of transport.