Oil - - It's behind most of the Middle East problems - - But it will run out. Or, it will become too expensive to import.
What are the alternatives.
Bio-Fuels - The farmers will have to grow things, and processing plants will be demonstrated against as "Polluting".

Electricity is the sensible approach, but it has to be generated.

Coal? - - It will also be debunked by the anti pollution brigade.
Wind - - - same thing, "not in my particular area" is the usual reply.
Dare I say, at the moment the only sure source of energy has to be nuclear. Oh! shock horror!

But, they could be built on the un-inhabited islands in the north sea or the Hebrides, or even on defunct north sea oil platforms.
The workers could be flown in as the oil-men are now.
The waste - - - pick a planet - - Un-inhabited of course The "scrapped" inter-continental missiles could be loaded and fired up there - - probably cheaper than Beagle.
All tongue in cheek replies considered.

The railways would make a profit. The canals would be restored. We would get the cheap electric we were promised in the first place. Of course, Re-Nationalise these assets - valued on their present performance.

You've solved all the world's problems there. If you're standing for election this year you'll get my vote
:)

I'd like to see electricity being procuded through renewable sources such as sun, sea and wind. We don't need to use fossil fuels anymore and until we start changing the way we view the alternatives we are going to face a very uncertain future.

Trouble is that apparently there's only 50 years worth of recoverable uranium left. It will give us time to get renewable energy sources properly rolled-out and for extreme energy efficiency measures to be taken.

We need to be much more sensible and efficient with the way we use oil and energy. Filling plastic bottles (made from oil) with water, trucking them around the country (using oil) from depot to depot is just one of the insane ways oil is wasted at the moment.

simple answer: hemp.

hemp seed oil is pure trans fatty acid, and makes perfect biodiesel (see another thread) and is also astoundingly healthy to boot, being almost pure 'essential' fatty acids.see info (http://www.ganjaland.com/oil.htm#Numbers)


hemp seed cake (after oil is pressed out) makes a good if dense flour for human or animal feed

hurds (pith of stalk) compresses into excellent biofuel for use in compact high effeciency burners

fibres - make cloth, rope, bonded laminates.

flowers - make stonking rollies.

We could always fire the missiles towards the sun... they're sure to just burn up there. May take a while to get there tho!

As far as renewable fuels are concerned, couldn't something be done with compressed air to create a thrusting motion to propell a car?

What was that movie with Keanu Reeves about Water technology powering a city? Some Sci-Fi films turn into fact... couldn't this be explored?

OK these suggestions are tongue in cheek and very much ''out there'' but, maybe you never know.

Think outside the box!

lots of Science Fiction solutions are feasible.

Giant solar powerstations in space that beam energy to the earth in the form of microwaves.

Supergiant cooling towers (already a working prototype in spain, good for sunny climates)

effecient power storage, like the shipstones of Robert Heinleins Lazarus Long books would reduce our energy
requirement by about 90%

I've read that is was thought in the 70's that oil should have ran out 10 years ago. Weren't there Petrol coupons issued when the price was bumped up in the late 60's/70's?

Advances in technology and the discovery of new sources have extended the life expectancy of oil supplies. There was a programme on Radio 4 a couple of year ago that mentioned a great many scientists are appalled that such a useful commodity as oil is being squandered by simply being burned in internal combustion engines and feel that it should be kept for far more useful purposes.

The discussion also considered when oil production will peak. Some experts reckon it could be as soon as 2012 whilst those who are working for the large oil companies put the date further forward (around 2035). All this is of course based on currently exploited reserves.

According to these experts once we hit this peak then the amount coming out will start to reduce but our demand will still be high. As production falls but demand remains high prices will inevitably rise.

I've read it somewhere there are some organisations working on using the hydrogen cycle for transport. Here the vehicle would use H2 as a fuel which would become water or H2O and then the water would be converted back into H2 and O2 and the cycle repeated. All the effort is to find a very cheap conversion process possibly one based on electrolysis of the water using renewable sourced power. Certainly back in the 1970's the use of gas for power production was banned but with privatisation the government allowed the "dash for gas" which was a ploy to ensure cheap power costs post privatisation.

Oil Reserves - - Well Shell recently enlightened the world about theirs.
Exploration, well I know a bit about that, and there aren't many places left to explore. It gets more expensive, and the companies love the hike in oil price.
Best look for a cheap efficient non polluting heat source, and rely on steam power.
Sounds like the old "Stanley Steamers" should come back.

Hemp power sounds interesting, prap's I could sell the flowers to supplement my income.
The individual home wind generators I saw on TV recently looked good.
Reversible turbines in tidal inlets could be useful.

The recent events in Saudi will go a long way towards stirring the search for alternative sources of power.

You should take to view "What can I do" i use my car less and try to make every trip count. If i go out i take rubbish to be recycled. When i come back i bring food and supplies back home.
i walk over 4 miles to get to my local shop and try to use local services. Last time i went to the city center was about 4 months ago. i use the internet alot to buy and sell and find my life is a lot less strees ful coz i don't have to go out as often in to the busy city.

Over the years i have seen more and more people move out to rural areas. but they still use there car to get about instead of walking seems silly coz poeple move out here to life a country life.

Any way does not have much relation to oil i know.. But Hemp idea seems good would help to farmers to make more money coz the supper markets already crush em. I could see Morison buying in to selling hemp out over there petrol stations as they do do alot for the farmers.

How about a complete ban on cars / motorbikes / all forms of privatly owned petrol powered transport.

We can all get pedal bikes and cycle / run / walk places instead ...

Alternatively ... how about public transport ?

Scrap all private transport ... lets make it all public.

Originally posted by Jamie
How about a complete ban on cars / motorbikes / all forms of privatly owned petrol powered transport.

We can all get pedal bikes and cycle / run / walk places instead ...

Alternatively ... how about public transport ?

Scrap all private transport ... lets make it all public.

What public transport is that? since they went private they have cut the buses down to 3 a day. if i need to get to some where there is no intergration with the transport network so i can't use it.. i am sorry but haveing a car and running it is a must have out here. And i only seem to use it for work than any thing else.

I'm sorry too ... but having a car is not a 'must-have' ... human beings have been living perfectly well for thousands of years without them and not having one will not kill you.

Having to walk / run to get places would be a lot more healthy for you too.

Although I have a car myself ... I think we would all be much better off if we just scraped them all.

There would be:

Less polution.
Less noise.
Less road traffic accidents.
No need for petrol.
People would be more healthy / fit / happy.

Lets srap all cars and get everone walking / running / peddling.

Unfortunately economics is the primary driving force of the human race in our time ... so looks it like we'll be sticking with petrol based solutions.

Originally posted by Phanerothyme
simple answer: hemp.

hemp seed oil is pure trans fatty acid, and makes perfect biodiesel (see another thread) and is also astoundingly healthy to boot, being almost pure 'essential' fatty acids.see info (http://www.ganjaland.com/oil.htm#Numbers)

hemp seed cake (after oil is pressed out) makes a good if dense flour for human or animal feed

hurds (pith of stalk) compresses into excellent biofuel for use in compact high effeciency burners

fibres - make cloth, rope, bonded laminates.

flowers - make stonking rollies.

You forgot to mention - grows in almost any climate and conditions without the need for heavy use of fertilisers and insecticides; makes excelent quality paper without using the toxic sulphuric acid pulping process (last I read that paper from one acre hemp is equivilent to the paper from about 4 acres of forest!) and of course makes a fine safe analgesic - so good infact most drug companies have being trying to sythesise artificial TCH for years though have so far failed to get anything as good as the natural product!

BTW did you know that in the US there used to be a statute REQUIRING landowners to grow hemp is was so usefull!!!

Originally posted by Jamie

Although I have a car myself ... I think we would all be much better off if we just scraped them all.



Some b#####d has just scraped mine in Safeway car park, set off the alarm and buggered off leaving a £500 repair behind.

So no more talk of scraping cars. Thank you.