suppose the world runs out of oil/coal in 4 years.

[Master ACiD]

lets say for the moment that scientists confirmed the worlds oil supply will end in 4 years and then we are done with oil and coal for good.other enegry forms still exist, solar, hydrogen, geothermal, ethanol, etc.

what would be youre solution to implement in 4 years or less to save the world from going back into the dark ages.

 

[Ugly3]

In four years we are cooked gooses.

 

[oil pan 4]

Start hording now.

 

[Mr. Boston]

Better build up my stash...

 

[simple_gifts]

Well there would be a lot more to worry about prior to gassing up your car.

 

[Master ACiD]

so what no one has any deal ideas except to just hoard as much as you can and in 4 years we go back to 1800's technology?

nah, i think nuclear power plants would probably be built like mad. hand saws/tools/axe/hatchet would be in short supply for the time between the end of oil and the start of nuclear.
people would quit driving those suv's to soccer practice and start biking/walking. (gas gets too expensive a year from the end).
speaking of that bike inner tubes and tyres would be hard to find sence everyone would be stocking up on them.

eventually i think solar would come to dominate after nuclear.

there would probably be restrictions on power consumption for things like tv's, computers, microwaves (example 100w max)....

all the big auto makers would have trouble at first, alot would probably go bankrupt. the innovative ones would figure out the solar deal and make cars that recharge off solar panels on a house. yeah it would take a week to recharge a car battery but so what, it beats walking.

sence hydrogen/ethanol take more energy then they produce i doubt these ideas would survive, unless someone found a way to make them vastly more efficent.

however i bet alot of people would make ethanol in their backyards. on a small scale (manual labour) ethanol production is a cheap way to make fuel.

 

[Shannow]

Cannibalism seemed pretty popular in the little ice age.

Seriously, we don't have enough uranium to make a reasonable dent. Should have been working on breeders for decades to ensure supply of nuclear.

Personal transport ('cept feet, bikes, and horses) would cease to exist.

 

[PandaBear]

I think in the short term, the world would function on subway/lightrail/buses/bikes/horses/carpooling/etc. Then in the long term, cities will develop in new area that are more energy/transport efficient and the older cities either redesign itself or die off. This happened many times in the old civilization and it will happen again.

Now, hopefully one day we will see safe/personal transport in the form of enclosed bike made of carbon fiber and electric motor powered by battery, and the people in the future would wonder why were we using steal to haul around a combustion engine just to get 12%-20% efficiency.

 

[simple_gifts]

One word, Benjamin, plastics.......

 

[oilyriser]

We'll have to assume the oil/coal will magically disappear after 4 years, even if people try to hoard it.

 

[01rangerxl]

For me personally, biodiesel...it can come from many sources. Everyone else is on their own! I have seen a 3.9L Cummins swapped into an Explorer somewhere online, so I figure I could cram one into my Ranger. Then again, my truck has the old Ford Lima engine...it probably does not know the difference between moonshine and gas.

 

[pajim17057]

We are no where near that point. No matter how much the greenies wish for it. I really doubt we will come close to running out in our life times. Oh and the earth will be a burning ball of fire in 100 years.

 

[McKittrick]

If peak oil or peak fossil fuels were to occur in 4 years it still would not be like driving over a cliff into the dark ages. Prices would rise and a new equilibrium would result at a much higher and increasing price.

Real alternatives to fossil based energy need to be considered and started now. If we wait until a peak actually occurs there will be very significant economic disruptions.

You cannot turn a world economy from one path to another in a year or two or four.

 

[Laminar Lou]

Quote:

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lets say for the moment that scientists confirmed the worlds oil supply will end in 4 years

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Real world?!? We would argue the science behind that determination for 4 years instead of doing anything about it.

 

[Master ACiD]

laminar lou has the most realistic response ive read yet (including my own).

 

[BillionPa]

plastic is made from oil.

 

[Sparkman]

I think there would be pandemonium and a significant die-off of humans. We can't currently feed the world population without oil, and 4 years is an awfully short period of time. I think that the remaining people would use everything from stone age to high tech solutions to get by, depending on where they were and how well prepared they were.

 

[oil pan 4]

You would want lots of these 3 things.
Guns+ammo.
Food.
Fuel.

 

[Shannow]

oil pan 4 (aka Ragnar Benson)...you forgot that you need to know where the clean water is, and where the pigeons hang out.

 

[jonny-b]

To supply the whole US with energy, you will need solar cells to cover an area of 100*100miles(preferably in one or two desert areas). Shouldn't be so hard to do, but the question is if there is a political desire to do so....