Nothing finite can last forever if it keeps being consumed. Here's what the linked article says about coal:
"If demand remains frozen at the current rate of consumption, the coal reserve will indeed last roughly 250 years.2 That prediction assumes equal use of all grades of coal, from anthracite to lignite. Population growth alone reduces the calculated lifetime to some 90-120 years (see figure 4)."
"Any new uses of coal would further reduce the supply. The Fischer-Tropsch process has been used to convert coal to gasoline motor fuel in South Africa for decades, for example. The process requires that one carbon atom of coal be sacrificed to generate at least two hydrogen atoms, and it takes energy to decompose water to make that hydrogen. As a result, the process consumes 2 Q of coal to generate 1 Q of motor fuel. Hydrogen production would require an even greater consumption of coal. The use of coal for conversion to other fuels would quickly reduce the lifetime of the US coal base to less than a human lifespan (see figure 4)."
Now we have more oil than we did in the seventies
And we're using it a lot faster than in the seventies, too.
The reason I provided the article and this information is not to argue, it's to show that future planning is going to have to consider and develop alternative energy sources. If you are aware of current events (and I assume you are), then you'll know that the current production limits for oil are being pushed, and China is taking ever bigger sucks on the pipelines. Just the cost of fossil fuels themselves in this competitive "environment" will drive the development of alternate energy sources, as they become equally cost-effective as fossil fuels.
For the sake of our children and grandchildren, we adults need to start thinking about this now, and particularly encourage our political leaders to do the same. Unfortunately, the current crop of politicians, be they striped Republican or Democrat, seem far more interested in status quo preservation and CYA measures than real forward-thinking. Sigh.
Actually there are lots of reserves that haven't been tapped yet (ANWR, deep water gulf, off shore etc and that's just in US territory) so it's not production limits that are hurting us. It's refining limits.
and China is taking ever bigger sucks on the pipelines. Just the cost of fossil fuels themselves in this competitive "environment" will drive the development of alternate energy sources, as they become equally cost-effective as fossil fuels.
This is true. We need to get more nuke plants on line now and save the oil for our SUV's