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Originally Posted by shovel
fair enough, what about cellulose based ethano that doesn't use any food sourcel? or that made from municipal waste which reduces landfill inflow and is net energy positive?
and of course matters of environmental harm aside, it seems the general consensus that petroleum is a finite substance, we've gotta bridge off it eventually right?
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Here's a pretty interesting article from the money side of cellulose based.
We are never going to run out of oil. At least not in a physical sense. There will still be oil in the ground 10 years from now, and 50 years from now and 500 years from now. Suppose that the supply really is quite limited. What will happen as the supply starts to diminish? First we would see some wells run dry and either be replaced with new wells at a higher costs or not be replaced at all. Either of these would cause the price of gasoline to rise. When the price of gasoline rises, people will buy less of it (like when gas was $4.00/g). The amount of reduction is determined by the amount of the price increase and the consumer's excess funds for gasoline. It may mean that consumers will trade in their SUVs for smaller cars, hybrid vehicles, or cars that run on alternative fuels. This does not necessarily mean that people will drive less. Every body will react to the price change differently from people bicycling to work to used car lots full of Lincoln Navigators.
As the prices increase there will be a reductions in the total amount of gasoline consumed. Eventually the price will reach a point where gasoline will become a niche good purchased by very few consumers, while other consumers will have found alternatives to gas. When this happens there will still be plenty of oil in the ground, but consumers will have found alternatives that make more economic sense to them, so there will be little, if any, demand for gasoline.
Happy and prosperous New Year to all.