• Question: As the world is always developing and we are using up energy sources, how long until all are natural energy sources will run out?

    Asked by fkgbsamlubby621 to Becky, Carrie, Kelly, Robin, Usaid on 13 Mar 2012.
    • Photo: Robin Stafford Allen

      Robin Stafford Allen answered on 10 Mar 2012:

      There is an expression that “necessity is the mother of invention” and this means that all the energy source we know of are finite, but there are many sources waiting to be discovered and developed. Your grandfathers did not know that nuclear energy could exist, and relied on coal. We are now in the situation that gas and oil that we are able to extract will run short before the middle of the century. Prices are already rising because it is getting more difficult to find oil and gas, which is why we are looking at drilling in deep sea, and in the artic. However there are hundreds of years of coal underground all over the world, but releasing all that carbon into the atmosphere may make the global warming worse. However we may find a way of getting the energy we need without releasing all that carbon from the coal. Let’s hope so. Regard Robin.

    • Photo: Becky Selwyn

      Becky Selwyn answered on 13 Mar 2012:

      A lecturer once told me this story:
      When the very first cavemen were around, they used to go out and hunt animals. There were lots of animals around and they were easy to catch because they didn’t know they were being hunted so didn’t run away. Once the caveman had got one animal he didn’t have to go out and look for another one for a while so he stayed at home and played with his children.
      But eventually the animals got clever and started running away. And all the children had grown up and were starting to hunt animals too, so there weren’t enough to feed everyone. The cavemen realised that they needed to find some more food sources so they started looking at plants (that couldn’t run away from them). They decided to keep the best plants around their cave so planted them in fields. It was hard work every day to make sure the plants had enough sun and water to grow and instead of just going hunting once a month, the cavemen had to tend the plants every day – they had invented ‘farming’, but only because they had no choice (it was either that or they would have gone hungry).

      This is similar to what happens with energy sources. We used trees to make fires in the caves to start with. Then all the trees had been cut down so we found some coal and dug big holes in the ground where the coal was (harder than cutting down a tree). Then we couldn’t see any more coal so had to go searching for it.

      The point is that humans like to take the easy path. If there is an animal next to the cave we will catch it and eat it. If there is wood on the ground we will use it for the fire. If there are still enough fossil fuels to burn today then we will burn them today. It isn’t necessarily right, but it is what we do. But when the fossil fuels run out, we will be ready with the next sources of energy (nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, and a mix of renewable energy).

      Sorry for the long answer!

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