The world’s supply of resources is getting bigger, not smaller

According to the laws of physics, the total quantity of mass and energy is fixed. Therefore, we cannot “create” new mass or energy, and we cannot “use up” the mass and energy that we already have.

But there is something else that we can do – we can invent, build, and use technology to increase our standard of living. For example, petroleum was worthless until someone with a brain invented a way to use it, at which point the petroleum became a valuable resource. Likewise, today we take rocks that used to be worthless, and turn them into computer chips that are worth trillions of dollars.

Good article. Shame he is falling for the Peak Oil sham. Like every other resource, alternative means of production can offset changes in the nature of supply if price signals indicate it is worthwhile to do so. For example the U.S. has trillions of tons of coal. Using technology developed back in WW II, we could turn that coal into oil if there was a driving interest and prices remained high enough (somewhere over $110 a barrel iirc) for long enough. Each ton of coal can be made into a barrel of oil.

The very idea of Peak Oil could become obsolete within 15 years.

I cite the following:

1. A huge fraction of the world's oil reserves have yet to be touched--it's only now that modern technology has finally made them viable.

2. We've made great strides in using oil-laden algae to produce diesel fuel, heating oil, gasoline and kerosene. With further refinements, these four fuels could be made mostly from renewable resources, not crude oil.

3. Battery technology is about to make a HUGE leap forward with dry-electrode lithium-ion and ultracapacitor battery designs, which may extend the range of electric cars from 100 to nearly 500 miles!

In short, technology has outrun the Peak Oil naysayers all over again.

By the way, we're also on the verge of a major breakthrough in the processing and production of titanium metal. Given that titanium is almost as common as aluminum but many times stronger and way more corrosion resistant, we could soon have automobiles that are safer than today's automobiles but 400+ pounds lighter in terms of structural weight compared to a 2012-model car. This could dramatically change the way that all forms of transportation vehicles from bicycles all the way up to big airplanes are built.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.