Interesting thread on how oil may be an inorganic product.
I read about 1/2 of the linked pages on the page linked below.
Quote:
Addressing the theory in circulation that oil is not solely of organic origin, but that there may be another mode of origin as well from deeper in the crust, involving magma.
If true, just makes you wonder how much we are really being gouged. Get them used to the high prices and then "discover" all of the extra oil
Yes, this makes perfect sense. Astronomers have know for many decades that comets are made partly of hydrocarbons in some way, shape, or form. And it makes sense that if "lifeless" space rocks contain hydrocarbons, why not mother Earth, which was created from the same "stuff". In fact, I would not be surprised to find out that most of the petro we discover comes from abiotic sources. Getting it out of the ground may pose a challenge though.
It is a pleasant thought to think that more oil is being made deep in the earth for non organic sources,and that all we have to do is drill deeper,but where is it?The vast majority of geologists are convinced that the oil we currently use is from reduced organic matter buried for millions of years.
Of course,the vast majority can be wrong,but where is it in deposits big enough to drill for?Charlie
In terms of sustainability, there are two aspects to consider:
- at what rate the resource consumed is replenished
- at what rate use of the resource destabilizes other environmental parameters beyond the adjustment plasticity of these parameters.
Regarding the first aspect, inorganic oil could be sustainable.
Regarding the second aspect, it could also become sustainable, but only at much reduced consumption rates.
It could only be called sustainable, if the rate at oil removal equals the rate at which new oil is formed - by whatever process, and if it can be shown that the combined impact of oil usage (impact via e.g. pollution, greenhouse gases, etc..) does not destabilize the environment locally, regionally or globally, and that no fundamental shifts are created by the amount of usage. That very clearly would not be the case - no matter how and how much oil is generated - at current usage levels.
So, I don't think inorganic oil can or should be called 'sustainable'.
Just my 2c worth.
Having a sustainable oil supply would be great for several reasons, NONE of which is the possibility of cheap gas.
Our current era of technology is highly reliant on plastic, which is derived from oil. If plastic became scarce, you'd see us fall into the Dark Ages really fast.
Even if crude oil were to somehow become cheap and inexhaustable, our automotive technology still has to get away from burning huge quantities of fuel. The envoronment is changing very rapidly now, and the change may become irreversible at some point in the not too distant future.
Having a sustainable oil supply would be great for several reasons, NONE of which is the possibility of cheap gas.
Our current era of technology is highly reliant on plastic, which is derived from oil. If plastic became scarce, you'd see us fall into the Dark Ages really fast.
Even if crude oil were to somehow become cheap and inexhaustable, our automotive technology still has to get away from burning huge quantities of fuel. The envoronment is changing very rapidly now, and the change may become irreversible at some point in the not too distant future.
We need an alternative energy source for our transportation needs, but we're starting too late in the game. The world's convenient oil supplies will be used up before any new sources and distribution system can be developed.
And as you mention, we are consuming the oil as fuel instead of making a product from it (plastics). What a waste!
I believe we are seeing the beginning of the end of cheap energy.
Sustainable Oil
