[ChemistCat]

My geology professor at OU maintains that the evidence suggests that oil and natural gas may very well be formed continuously, and that we're not any more likely to run out of petroleum than we are to run out of water or basalt. Could be, could be.

[Frank Grimes]

Boomer Sooner!

[ThomasMore]

This isn't the first time I've heard this theory. It makes more sense than dead vegitation. But who am I to say.

One thing. Remember that crazy geologist who said that the dinosaurs went extinct from a meteor. Nobody believed him 20 years ago. Now EVERYBODY believes him. We shouldn't poo-poo this theory. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

[Leisler]

If oil comes from dead and decayed living organisims, where did they get their carbon mass? Isn't a lot of wasted/spilled oil consumed by microorganisms? Why couldn't they make it? Plants make oil, people and animals make oil, why not bacteria?

[bert]

I find this theory plausible. The source seems very reasonable in light of recent discovery of microbes at strange places in the crust.

Renewable may be however on a geologic or worse cosmic timetable.

[Elihu Burritt]

My geology professor at OU maintains that the evidence suggests that oil and natural gas may very well be formed continuously, and that we're not any more likely to run out of petroleum than we are to run out of water or basalt. Could be, could be.

Yes and no. The oil that seems to fill up old fields a bit may actually just be seepage from adjacent areas. One thing for sure, there are lots of old wells that haven't filled up in any really significant way. If it does just come from the earth, the relevant question is how quickly, and most evidence points to it not being all that snappy.

We will never run out of gold, but we will never have as much as we want either. Unless of course we learn to make it at a reasonable price.

And even if we do run out of oil and gas, we can make oil as long as there is oil shale, and that is as common as basalt. Potable water already is another problem though.