Are fossil fuels going to run out?

Answer 1

No! The question implies certain assumptions that the fuels we are using like oil, coal, and natural gas comes from decaying Dinosaurs. [Ok, for some reason vegetable matter is included in the common definition of fossil fuels). But if you were to look at the definition we would see Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The problem with that definition is that it is probably wrong. Now, please do not go crazy on me and dismiss me as some empty headed Neanderthal who is a member of the "Flat Earth Society" in London. After all I could be a time traveler here on vacation from a future time. Just as plausible! There are 1,348,528,420,000 bbl of proven oil reserves and that number goes up yearly as we discover more oil or find that existing fields are a lot bigger than once thought. Example - Venezuela announced last year their oil reserves are now 297 billion barrels, up from 98 billion barrels. That is a lot of Dinosaurs and is still a lot even if you include trees, plants, shrubs, grasses etc. I would suggest that the carbon based products that we extract as oil, coal or natural gas are created by natural earth changing phenomena and this process is ongoing. If this is correct we are never going to run out of these items. Even if I am wrong and oil, coal and natural gas really are the remains of Dinosaurs and the fauna that was prevalent in their day, we are still not going to run out of them. Yes it is true we are finding more oil fields all the time but under the current "Fossil Fuel" theory there would be a finite number that in theory could be used up. What is ignored in the question is that as the cost of extraction, processing, and delivery of these fuels increases we are going to stop using them for combustion and fertilizers and use them for more valuable products such as plastics etc. So they will not run out. Now if you think I am all wet in my embracing of that particular theory of where "Fossil Fuels" came from please remember that we are proving things that we accepted as "scientific gospel" only a few years ago incorrect every day. For instance, Einstein's theory that nothing moves faster than the speed of light is in jeopardy as of a few months ago when scientist measuring the effects of particles colliding believe they measured some that were moving faster than the speed of light. For references on the origination of "Fossil Fuels" I refer you to people a lot smarter than me: Dr. Thomas Gold, a professor at Cornell University or Craig R. Smith and Jerome Corsi with the book "Black Gold Stranglehold." Do a search on "Abiotic Oil." Incidentally, this is not a 21st Century theory as It is believed the Russians may have developed this theory in the 1950's. Happy hunting and I will return to these pages to share other tidbits from a future not to far distance.