If anyone else wants to question my intelligence (or lack thereof), please, by all means, do.

[Random Variable]

Isn't the natural production of crude oil an ongoing process because animal life is dying all the time? We're consuming it much faster than it can be replenished, but isn't it incorrect to call it nonrenewable?

EDIT: the same thing with coal and plant life

 

[fatalbert]

it takes too long to be considered renewable. the process takes millions of years

 

[WhiteWonder]

if we kill a bunch of stuff now, we might be able to catch up in the future

 

[SpecialEd]

exactly, it takes millions of years for oil to form. most of the oil we use was formed from life that died in like the paleozic era. Even if stopped all oil extraction today and waited 500 years, there probably won't be any significant oil created through natural process. What we use in a day probably took 10,000 years to make. To humans, thats nonrenewable.

 

[Random Variable]

<< it takes too long to be considered renewable. the process takes millions of years >>


It's not like the process started yesterday. But how can we possibly know how the long the process takes when we don't even know how the process works? That makes no sense to me.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

What it does take is vegetation. Oil deposits were created when ferns ruled the world. Lots of em too. The conditions which existed then do not now. Therefore there is neither the climatic conditions or vegetative raw material to produce oil in quantity. Now that is the strict, letter of the law answer, but as has been pointed out earlier, oil formation occurs on a geologic time scale taking many millions of years. I don't plan to be here for the next crop.

 

[EDoG2K]

It's non-renewable because we are going to run out of it and we can't MAKE more. Yeah, in another 100 million years there might be some more, but I don't really think i'm still going to be hanging around then. I suppose you will?

As far as plant growth, that is generally considered renewable, except perhaps old growth forest (hundreds and hundreds of years), plus rainforest land where we deplete the soil, making the land barren so the rainforest will never be able to recover that land... in effect, non-renewable.

We should all run our cars on alcohol.

 

[Random Variable]

<< What it does take is vegetation. Oil deposits were created when ferns ruled the world. Lots of em too. The conditions which existed then do not now. Therefore there is neither the climatic conditions or vegetative raw material to produce oil in quantity. Now that is the strict, letter of the law answer, but as has been pointed out earlier, oil formation occurs on a geologic time scale taking many millions of years. I don't plan to be here for the next crop. >>


I think you're thinking of coal.

But I'll ask the same question again: How can we possibly know how long the process takes when we don't know how the process works?

 

[db]

If mom is making cookies at rate of 2 dozen per day and after a month the relatives come visit and start eating them at rate of 3 dozen per day, what happens to the supply of cookies and rate of production?
Supply of cookies dwindles, rate of production is same=cookie shortage.

 

[gopunk]

But I'll ask the same question again: How can we possibly know how long the process takes when we don't know how the process works?

it doesn't really matter... it's not about technicalities, it's about practicality.

if you can find a way to make crude oil fast enough for us to use it, you should let everybody else know, and it'll get changed to a renewable resource. if not, then the classification stands.

btw, why are you so doubtful that it takes a long time? there are people who study this stuff, and so far i have no reason to doubt them when they say it takes a while.

 

[Mutilator]

<< But I'll ask the same question again: How can we possibly know how long the process takes when we don't know how the process works?
if you can find a way to make crude oil fast enough for us to use it, you should let everybody else know, and it'll get changed to a renewable resource. if not, then the classification stands.
>>



And if you could find a way to make oil you'd either be the richest man in the world extremly quickly... or you would be killed by a middle eastern oil tycoon and nobody would ever know you even existed.

 

[Random Variable]

<< btw, why are you so doubtful that it takes a long time? there are people who study this stuff, and so far i have no reason to doubt them when they say it takes a while. >>


because no one has figured out how the remains of dead animals transform into oil

Isn't that fact alone enough to raise some doubt?

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Nope oil too

 

[Random Variable]

<< Nope oil too >>


Are you saying that all three states of petroleum (crude oil, natural gas, and asphalt) and coal are produced from plant life?

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Plant and animal life, but vegetative matter is dominant

Edit. Once petroleum is produced, further geologic action could produce variation of petroleum products. Of course many products are a result of human manipulation

 

[paulee]

<<

<< What it does take is vegetation. Oil deposits were created when ferns ruled the world. Lots of em too. The conditions which existed then do not now. Therefore there is neither the climatic conditions or vegetative raw material to produce oil in quantity. Now that is the strict, letter of the law answer, but as has been pointed out earlier, oil formation occurs on a geologic time scale taking many millions of years. I don't plan to be here for the next crop. >>


I think you're thinking of coal.

But I'll ask the same question again: How can we possibly know how long the process takes when we don't know how the process works? >>



#1 It's for oil too, oil/peet/coal are all produced from the same general process, decaying carbon from organic material under immense pressure turn into fossil fuels. It's a chemical process.

LINK

#2. Just because ATOT members don't know how fossil fuels are produced, doesn't mean scientists don't know how the process works.

 

[Random Variable]

<< Plant and animal life, but vegetative matter is dominant

Edit. Once petroleum is produced, further geologic action could produce variation of petroleum products. Of course many products are a result of human manipulation >>


I thought that oil was produced from animal matter and coal was produced from plant matter. And that are best guess as to how the processes take place has something to do with extreme pressure.

 

[BooneRebel]

<< But I'll ask the same question again: How can we possibly know how long the process takes when we don't know how the process works? >>



I'm pretty sure that we (being the scientific community) do know how it works. And even a layman can see that wells dry up, ergo we are pumping oil out of the ground at a rate faster than it is being produced. Therefore, if we continue at the same rate of consumption, all other thinkgs being equal, we will run out.

 

[Random Variable]

<<

<<

<< What it does take is vegetation. Oil deposits were created when ferns ruled the world. Lots of em too. The conditions which existed then do not now. Therefore there is neither the climatic conditions or vegetative raw material to produce oil in quantity. Now that is the strict, letter of the law answer, but as has been pointed out earlier, oil formation occurs on a geologic time scale taking many millions of years. I don't plan to be here for the next crop. >>


I think you're thinking of coal.

But I'll ask the same question again: How can we possibly know how long the process takes when we don't know how the process works? >>



#1 It's for oil too, oil/peet/coal are all produced from the same general process, decaying carbon from organic material under immense pressure turn into fossil fuels. It's a chemical process.

LINK

#2. Just because ATOT members don't know how fossil fuels are produced, doesn't mean scientists don't know how the process works. >>


No it's not. Coal comes from plant matter and petroleum comes from animal matter.

And scientists do NOT know why extreme pressure turns plant matter into coal and animal matter into petroleum.

 

[Random Variable]

Futhermore, the belief that it has something to do with adiabatic compression is only an hypothesis.

 

[Pastfinder]

ugh, what the others said...

 

[paulee]

I said they're produced from the same general process. It's the specific combination of inputs that determines that fossil fuel.

QUOTE

Different types of fossil fuels were formed depending on what combination of animal and plant debris was present, how long the material was buried, and what conditions of temperature and pressure existed when they were decomposing.

 

[Bignate603]

I think they can produce oil but the process is so energy intensive you use much more (since we primarily use fossil fuels as an energy source) then is produced (high heat, pressure and expensive catalyst along with theever present risk of explosion)

 

[gopunk]

<< because no one has figured out how the remains of dead animals transform into oil
Isn't that fact alone enough to raise some doubt? >>



you have to look at motive. what motives do the scientists have for misleading us?

and since when do people have to understand something for it to be true? last i checked, nobody knows how gravity works either.

 

[freebee]

Oil is never going to "run out" so no need to worry that it is not a renewable resource.

Even the dry oil wells of texas have plenty of oil in them, its just unprofitable to pump it out.