Scientists say that our oil reserves are disappearing at a faster rate than our governments and the oil companies are willing to admit. A new report from British Petroleum (BP) says that there are enough “proven” oil reserves to keep us going, at current usage rates, for another 40 years. But researchers say that oil production will peak in the next 4 years and decline steadily from then on. Which side is right?
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Is it the beginning of the end? According to a Swedish physicist, global oil production will peak sometime between 2008 and 2018 and then start to decline. Physicists have been right about this in the past.
In LiveScience.com, Melinda Wenner reports that, “Since 1956, when American geophysicist M. King Hubbert correctly predicted that US oil reserves would hit a peak within 20 years, experts have debated when the same might occur globally.”
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We’ve investigated wind power and even garbage power. The next step may be to harness the power from deep within the center of the earth.
This is called “geothermal energy,” and comes from wells that are a mile (or more) deep. These holes are drilled until they reach a level of hot rock, then water is pumped into the well, which turns to steam. This steam can then be harnessed to run machines and power plants.
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New biofuels technology can turn virtually any fat source, including vegetable oils and animal fat, into fuel to power jet airplanes. Soon we may not just be recycling or glass, paper and cans, we’ll be recycling our cooking oil as well!
Researcher William Roberts says, “We can take virtually any lipid-based feedstock, or raw material with a fat source?including cooking grease?and turn it into virtually any fuel. And we’re not competing directly with the food supply, like ethanol-based fuels that are made from corn.” The current emphasis on ethanol has raised food prices in countries like Mexico, which are dependent on corn. There is no soot or particulate matter associated with fuel from fats, so it helps reduce pollution.
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