World running out of time for oil alternatives

[tocqueville]

By Anna Mudeva
Thu Aug 18, 9:53 AM ET

PETTEN, Netherlands (Reuters) - The world could run out of time to develop cleaner alternatives to oil and other fossil fuels before depletion drives prices through the roof, a leading Dutch energy researcher said on Thursday.

Ton Hoff, manager of the Energy Research Center of the Netherlands, said it could take decades to make alternatives affordable to the point where they can be used widely, although high oil prices were already stimulating such research.

"If we run out of fossil fuels -- by the time the oil price hits 100 dollars or plus, people will be screaming for alternatives, but whether they will be available at that moment of time -- that's my biggest worry," Hoff said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050818/sc_nm/energy_dutch_ecn_dc

[pauldavid]

1. bio-diesel

until hydrogen cars are available

[rman]

6. do we have to for a transition to bio-diesel?

most cars, factories, etc can not use bio-diesel.

[rman]

8. uhm "time" that is....

"do we have time for a transition to bio-diesel?"

[pauldavid]

9. No time needed

We already have diesel cars, trucks, generators etc. Bio-diesel will work with existing diesel technologies. Yes, you might have to get rid of your current car and get a new one, but it's not like we have to wait for it to be invented, or infrastructure changes, or costs to come down.

[Double T]

2. Since the American Culture And Politics Is Back Sliding In Progress,.....

so it may also be time for transportation to do the same. Time to start buying into the horse and camel futures markets.

[etherealtruth]

3. Thank you for this article ...

I have been posting these sentiments (though not nearly as coherently) all over.

Oil supplies are FINITE.

As supplies dwindle it will become more and more expensive to retrieve.

The US has inefficient or NONEXISTENT public transit.

We have made little or no investment in new/alternate energy technologies, much less provided anything that is producible in mass quantity or affordable to consumers.

High gasoline prices (while very financially devastating) are the LEAST of our problems!

[oscar111]

4. Ho hum. Enough wind in Dakotas and TX to power the nation. Now back 2 slep

whats the fuss about?

when crunch comes we just build windmills. Use electric cars, trucks, trains. Forget planes, terras anyhow there.. unsafe now on.

import proven windmills from Denmark, where wind farms offshore fm germany are in place now.

ho hum. back to sleep.

[Tesha]

7. There's a "bootstrapping" problem, though.

> Ho hum. Enough wind in Dakotas and TX to power the nation.

There's a "bootstrapping" problem, though. Let's suppose we settled on
building wind power farms as "the solution". It will take an enormous
amount of energy to manufacture the windmills, erect them, and build
the improved electricity transmission infrastructure to power the
entire country from the Dokotas and Texas.

We could do it now easily, out of energy "pocket change".

But if we wait a while longer, until we're deep into shortages,
fuel wars, riots in cities, and the general greak-down of our
infrastructure, we simply won't have the energy means to accomplish
what needs to be done to affect the transition.

I think *THAT* is the point this article is trying to make: We'd
better get started *RIGHT NOW* or we won't be able to successfully
pull off any conversion.

Tesha

[wli]

5. also c.f. the Hirsch report

The Hirsch report