How much fuel is left to sustain the whole world?

Question

Fuel, in all forms, has been used since ancient times, right? In putting fuel of every form into consideration, namely: fossil fuel, geothermal, electric, hydroelectric, coal, wood, oil, etc..., How long could all these energy sustain Earth?

In a few years?

In a few centuries?

In a few millenia?

How long?

Answer 1

Hard to say, if the engine become more fuel efficient, we may use less fuel and it will last longer.

Answer 2

a finite amount of time depending on the amount of gas we generate

Answer 3

I hear it was a couple hundred years

Answer 4

We are past Peak Oil which means we have made all the discoveries of large deposits, so we probably have less than 100 years left of oil much less if India and China modernizes, the USA has at least 400 years worth of Coal left and so does China

Answer 5

Hydroelectric, geothermal, wood, tidal, wind and solar are renewable to we'll never run out of them, though fossil fuels are needed for their construction presently. The US has enormous amounts of coal, tar sands and oil shale, in addition to oil reserves we haven't even measure due to environmental concerns. Canada's Athatabasca area has tar sands containing 1.3 Trillion! barrels of oil, equal to the total amount mankind has ever use to this date. Technology will eventually let us access the oil under the Arctic Ocean, the UN estimates there is about 10 billion tonnes there.

Given all of the above the answer is C, we need never run out of energy. Once the day of Peak Oil finally arrives, we'll only be using petroleum to make plastics and there will be substitutes.

Answer 6

as far as oil goes, there are known reserves of about 150 years given current rates of consumption. as for coal, the US has enough to power the world for about 500 years at current rates of increase of consumption. china is in a similar situation with coal reserves. regarding electricity, geothermal, hydroelectric, and nuclear power generation all need to work together to produce enough electrical energy to power the world. we can partially at least replace natural gas with methane gas produced in sewage treatment plants to help heat homes. we can make ethanol from many different sources, and they need not be food sources.

remember that new technologies are being worked on and developed all the time. the outlook for energy production isnt as bleak as the mainstream media would have you believe.

Answer 7

a very very very long time we will run out of gas soon but we still have ALOT of other fuels such as veggie oil, mathaine, coal, hydroeletric power, solar power witch will never run out, wind power, wood, and alot of others anything exsposive is pretty much usefull as fuel

Answer 8

The is enough crude for at least 100 years, and enough coal for several hundred years, but before we finish using all these reserves, we will die of global warming.

Answer 9

Of the three choices you've provided, my answer would be (b).

Some are arguing that the earth is replenishing her oil resources in some places.  Wells that once ran dry have oil again!  Why?  Who knows?  IF this is the case, it looks like that claim that oil is formed from ancient growth is bung!  Oil MAY be produced contemporarily.  

People like to say that oil, "came from dinosaurs!"  Well, no, it may have come from plant life that was around at the time of the dinosaurs.  Then again, it MAY be produced RIGHT now, too.  

Embrace nuclear!  It is the best alternative that we have, at the moment, to the production of electricity on a large scale.  Once we have a Doc Oc, a-la Spiderman movies, who can generate a fusion reaction on its own, fission is the way to go.

To those of you complaining about the "loss of topsoil," ALL you need to remember is that a load of horse or cow dung will turn ANY soil into topsoil.

Nitrogen (N2) is used to force oil out of reservoirs. It can be applied to existing reservoirs and wellbores, thus minimizing the costs associated with extracting oil and gas. Cased Hole Horizontal Drilling (CHHD) is a new emerging technology that can increase significantly the "communication" from the wellbore to the fluids in the reservoir. With the current environment, many existing marginal wells can be rejuvenated into very profitable wells.

Answer 10

Relax, Wanderer, we are not going to run out of energy at all, thanks to nuclear's potential. But we ARE going to starve to death - the plants on this planet need top soil to grow, and the world's top soil is disappearing. Plus we are now taking away fields that we need for human food to feed ethanol fuel desires... that needs to stop, it's misguided.

Building Nuclear is the unpopular but most effective way to go... so go call your Congressman or Congresswoman and get with the program...

... end of rant...