Re : Facts

[Keith Walker <100662.3423@domain.elided>]

>>Point #4
is right about the coal number, but there are two too many zeros on
the petroleum figure.  I don't know where that number might have come
from, but it's completely false.  At current rates of consumption and
discovery, we have about 60 years left<<

Not quite. We have PROVEN reserves to last around another 50 odd
years at CURRENT consumption. Proven reserves go up as oil
price rises make it economical to extract the more expensive
reserves. However, they will also rapidly reach the point where
it is financially worthwhile to start using bio diesel and alcohol
as vehicle fuels (from memory, at about US$40~US$50 a barrel).

Down side is that you require more alcohol than petrol by
volume. An effectively 20% smaller fuel tank on my Alfa 33
would seriously impact range, and I hate to think about
driving the V6 auto 75 which, with its tiny under boot
fuel tank and higher fuel consumption, already has a
pathetic range.

Mind you, when I was at primary school, we were told we only had another
20 years of oil (ie, sometime last decade we should have run out).

All the best

Keith

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