A country without oil?

Question

If the united states got all their power from things like solar, wind etc and had a dependable electric car then wouldnt the us be totally free of oil? Some people say electric cars will produce more pollution, but eventually all the electricity would come from altewrnative power sources. If this happens then why would hyrodgen be a better option?

Answer 1

Fossil fuel is the best because the plants recycle it.The plants take in CO2 and give us the O2 ,but holds on to the C. The C later breaks down into oil & gas.What other fuels have that...

Answer 2

Let's go with something easy and already here - natural gas. The USA has it in abundance, it's cheap, and it's way cleaner burning than gasoline. I have 2 cars that run on it now, made by Ford in 1999 and 2000. I can fill up for less than $10 (in Utah), and my cars are 99% cleaner than gasoline-powered cars. I don't believe hydrogen is the way to go because they use natural gas to make it. Why go the extra step if you don't need to? Just my 2 cents.

Answer 3

We will never be totally free of oil, at least for five hundred years, because it is a superior lubricant.  If gasoline were, say, $12 per gallon in today's money, a lot of alternative technologies would be more economical.  It is quite possible to build an electric car and charge your extra battery pack in your solar-panel covered garage, but it would be expensive.  $12 per gallon gasoline would make this technology relatively cheap.

Answer 4

You'd still need oil for lubricants and the plastic & chemical industries but at least you wouldn't be burning it (sort of like burning money)!

A few countries - Costa Rica, Portugal, New Zealand, Germany have already made, and started to implement, plans for just this thing - when and if they reach significant levels (I dunno, maybe 50% or  more of energy consumption from non-fossil fuels?) they'll have a h*ll of a competitive edge over other countries still dependent on (by then) $330/barrel oil...

Oh, and it'd be better for the environment as well...

P.S. Don't listen to Johnnie B - he's always spouting this rubbish (as if we can wait a million years for those plants to become oil...)

Answer 5

Yes yes yes we are all on the right track when we talk alternative energy and fuels but let's get real here.  All the experts that are developing these new sources agree that mass distribution and use is not going to happen for many years.  Some even say sometime between 2030 and 2050.

Facts are that all the planes, trains, trucks and automobiles will still depend on oil fuels for at least the next 15 to 20 years.

We need to use all our resources to develop alternatives but don't let anyone kid you into believing that in five years the majority of us won't need gas to get from point A to point B.