The Future of Oil

Roland Horne, Thomas Davies Barrow Professor in the School of Earth Sciences at Stanford University, discusses the future of oil. The Energy Seminar meets weekly during the academic year. For a list of upcoming talks, visit the events page at the Woods Institute for the Environment website.

Stanford University:
http://www.stanford.edu/

Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford:
http://woods.stanford.edu/

Roland Horne
http://pangea.stanford.edu/~horne/horne.html

Stanford University Channel on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/stanford

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Oil
• Peak
• Reserves
• Enhanced
• Recovery

[CrazyHorseInvincible]

I am not a proponent of big government or politicians at all. Nor am I a proponent of delusional "green" power. I know, it's hard to believe, but it is actually possible to see facts and not merely choose a politically constructed reality. The free market, the cheapest and most ideal environment, will NOT deal with this situation by replacing oil with something that doesn't scale. Just accept it, this is going to hurt, and it's going to hurt humanity a hell of a lot even in the best scenario.

[SKUNKBALLScom]

I think you and I want the same end result we have different ways of achieving it.

I'm coming from the libertarian / anarchist point of view I suppose, I thought the bailouts were a bad idea, ethanol subsidies were even worse, same with the banks. Failing companies need to fail, we cannot subsidize their inefficiency. All the government intervention was very anti-free market and wouldn't fly in a truly free market. If the Obama/McCain parties would just let GM / Banks die, it could work

[jstack61]

dwijaa - electric can replace diesel with electric vehicles and no exhast and 4 times more efficient. We can make pharma chemicals and plastic with plant based oils and fiber.

I run my home and vehicle on solar and still make extra for the utiltiy and get credit.

It's the 21st century, get up tp speed ...

[apex02001]

@dwijaa

Hey dummy, electricity doesn't suffice for fertilizer which makes our food crops crow fastest. Electricity doesn't suffice for diesel which provides the torque needed in agriculture equipment. Electricity doesn't suffice for the tar in our our highways. Electricity doesn't suffice for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, paints, plastics and everything in between. Oil isn't JUST for fuel but fort everything else in our modern lives. BTW oil isn't used for generating electricity.

[lovelplants]

ayus ka bai.. it's really his expertise.. like it..

[potpie921]

excellent!

[thebigfootme]

that is so amazing..very informational

[agapitoflores001]

It really amazes me. It's nice to learn the amount of reserves Earth has.

[Theimmortalwhitewolf]

@llothar68 Wasted what in the world are you talking about? Copper is 100% recyclable without any loss of quality whether in a raw state or contained in a manufactured product. Copper is the third most recycled metal after iron and aluminium. It is estimated that 80% of the copper ever mined is still in use today.

Plus i said at today's prices and tech. As the amount mined decreases, the price per ton increases those making more reserves that were once not economical, economical