We have a place in this country called Cancer Alley and the best we can do is shrug. Maybe if they had worked harder, they could afford health care that's going to treat them when they get cancer. Thank you for your sacrifice to building that 3rd home in Aspen for the C-Suite.

 

Ok, it's hypothetically possible that there could be very deep sources of abiogenic oil deep within the earth. Hypothetically, as in far out thought experiment, but no evidence that I've ever heard of. Is it possible to access it directly? Or are we talking temperatures where drill pipe melts? Can it be accessed economically? I seriously doubt it.

But I think it's all academic anyway, the world is shifting to renewables, or at least a lot of it. The developed world will pave the way with the technology, and the rest will slowly follow along due to political pressure, or possibly the price of crude. If much of the world stops most oil production, third world poop holes are going to have a hard time producing their own in hard-to-access locations requiring advanced and expensive technology.

If fusion technology makes some big advances, that will be the end of most oil demand. Still be some for niche applications, mostly related to chemical production vice energy. They could even go far with advanced fission energy, if they can get over some political hurdles.

 

Education. Not paid political indoctrination.

 

That's another issue with fossil fuels, really hard to keep it all clean. Even if you don't buy all the climate hype (I think it's too complicated to predict accurately), pollution is a very real thing. I've seen a rather dramatic improvement in air quality in SOCAL since my childhood.

 

I have no problem with renewables, except for the fact they are being shoved down our throat by the government in order to push a socialist agenda. But yeah once the technology gets viable I would love to have a wind turbine, and solar on my property in order to live off the grid. Geothermal too. But it shouldn't be mandated or subsidized.

As for fusion, yeah, that will be a game changer for humanity like fire, the wheel, the printing press, the car, and electricity itself. Essentially unlimited and nearly free energy. I think we'll have it within 50 years.

 

No one is arguing otherwise, even me the biggest libertarian on the forum. Of course no one should be able to pollute someone else's air and water or land.

However that's not the issue. The problem is that the government is making onerous and nearly punitive regulations which prevent commerce or make it too expensive for certain industries in order to push a certain political agenda under the guise of environmentalism.

 

Funny as we have this discussion Oil is approaching multi year highs, Brent $86, WTI 83

 

The only way it'll become viable is though subsidies. How do you think aviation became viable? It wasn't because capitalism.

 

This summer shattered almost every heat record ever recorded, all over the globe.

maybe lets stick to the flight deck and let scientists be scientists.

unless you think its a grand conspiracy that involves thousands and thousands of people all collaborating whilst simultaneously and collectively not succumbing to the human condition of greed and revealing the socialist email telling them to lie.

we are choking our planet in carbon. What we leave for our children is up to us. Like a person said before, someone has to pave the way to r&d this crap to eventually make it cheap for everyone else.

i dont say much politically (and i am certainly mature enough to not talk about politics on the flight deck) but people that dont think the climate is a huge issue are allowing their political extremism to get in the way of their logical thought process. A literal form of extremism.

signed: a dude that thinks both political parties in our great nation are self serving hot garbage

 

Production is only a portion of energy cost. Transmission and distribution make up the balance. By some estimates production may be as little as 1/2 to 1/3 of the end user cost for a kWh of electricity. If you are paying 12 cents per kWh, "free" fusion energy drops the user price to 6-9 cents per kWh.

WRT abandoning fossil fuels, there is good progress on the energy replacement front, but less progress on non energy uses. Plastics, steel, asphalt and lubricants are just a few products that come to mind. IMHO, the forced conversion to clean energy isn't purely about energy, it's about control. I don't like it.