Fossil fuels finite resource

Of all the fossil fuels, petroleum is considered the least sustainable fuel option (most finite and fastest rate of depletion), which is the main reason for the development of alternative fuels. Resources of natu-... 

All fossil fuels are considered unsustainable because someday they will reach a point of depletion when it becomes uneconomic to produce. Petroleum is the least sustainable because it is the most finite fossil fuel. Although levels of production are expected to begin declining no later than 2030 (U.S. production peaked in 1970), the U.S. and world resei ves could be further expanded by technological advances that continue to improve discoveiy rates and individual well productivity. The extraction of oils found in shales (exceeds three trillion barrels of oil equivalent worldwide) and sands (resei ves of at least two trillion barrels worldwide) could also significantly increase reserves. The reserves of natural gas are comparable to that of oil, but natural gas is considered a more sustainable resource since consumption rates are lower and it burns cleaner than petroleum products (more environmentally sustainable). 

Figure 13.4b emphasizes the finite nature and strong irreversibility of an economic system. The stock of energy and resources will eventually run out and so will the absorptive capacity of the environment for waste. An obvious extension of Figure 13.4b, therefore, is the one represented by Figure 13.4c. Just like in nature, waste has to be recycled. In nature, there is no real waste. Every form of waste is a resource for a living system. This living system is very small and called a microbe. Microbes make sure that all matter recycles in nature. Man needs to assume this humble but valuable and important role of microbes in the economic system and make sure that the material cycles get closed. Therefore, energy (or rather work) is required. But obviously this work should not be supplied from a nonrenewable source, like fossil fuels, but rather from a renewable source like the sun. Figure 13.4c therefore seems to be characteristic for a sustainable economic system and agrees remarkably with the definition of sustainability from biological systems A...

Petroleum, natural gas, and coal are responsible for the vast majority of world energy production. These fuels are finite resources, and they are being depleted. Figure F-l shows the world s estimated remaining fossil fuel resources. 

Our current energy system was started around 1800 when the world population was less than 1 billion. Before 1800, energy came from human labor, animals, wind, water or combustion of wood and animal fats. All these sources were renewed by natural processes. From the Chinese, Europeans learned that a black rock, coal, would bum hotter than wood. It was discovered that heating coal would produce oil (coal oil) suitable for lamps. Later it was discovered that lamp oil could be produced from the oil that seeped from the rocks. This rock oil (petroleum) became the basis for the oil industry. As a result, an energy technology that exploited fossil fuels proliferated. Unlike the energy sources used before 1800 fossil fuels are non-renewable finite resources. 

Non-renewable resources A natural resource, such as fossil fuels, that has a finite stock and cannot he renewed. 

Use of fossil fuels, particular petrol chemicals, is rapidly depleting a finite and nonrenewable resource. 

There is no question that hydrocarbon-based products are beneficial and they have become ubiquitous in society. However, it would be very shortsighted to expect continued reliance on a finite pre-existing fossil fuel source as the sole platform for inputs. Therefore, the Vision for renewable resources proposes a future where material needs are met by a combination of both hydrocarbons and other renewable inputs from agriculture/forestry (Figure 1). 

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