How long till we run out of gas?

Olin Hallin: Not in our lifetime.

Sonya Volcko: I see many gas stations closing and being converted to other stores but don't think this signals the end of petrol vehicles anytime in the near future. The US military predicted fuel shortages by 2015 at least 2 years ago. This also does not necessarily mean that we have "run out," as it only takes a difference between supply and demand or transportation issues to create a shortage in this way. We are in an age when we are discussing peak oil. But the peak is the midway point. Switching some vehicles to alternative fuels, using alternative fuels and novel sources and methods of fuel production will extend the diminishing fuel supply for many years to come (even if there is not enough for all those who may want it.) If the electric vehicle becomes popular because it is cleaner then this may further reduce the demand for petrochemical fuel. Electric vehicles are a good alternative. If we converted the entire US ! fleet of 300 million vehicles to electric it would require about the equivalent of 30% of our present electrical usage. Offshore wind farms alone could produce up to 4 times what we now use. At a recent Offshore Wind Conference in Boston it was revealed that several projects are set to be in place by 2020. There is an issue if offshore wind or other alternatives can come on line quickly enough as special interests are intent on delaying alternative electrical production for their own bottom line....Show more

Inez Relihan: Never. Supply and demand will increase the price of gasoline so that demand will drop off. When we are no longer using oil for fuel there will still be billions of barrels of oil underground, pumped for the many other uses we find for petroleum.When I was in 8th grade in 1964 our social studies book (printed in the late 1950s) stated oil production would dwindle in the mid 1960s. In 1976, when we bought our first house, we got one of the last hou! ses in the development with natural gas service because we wer! e supposed to be running out of natural gas. Now there is a proven reserve of a hundred year supply of natural gas in North America and vastly more than that in the Middle East. Proven reserves of natural gas in North America have risen more than 50% in the last ten years. With this sort of track record for estimating fossil fuel supply, I would be very hesitant to believe any prediction....Show more

Judie Kise: The unfastened trip will finish while the federal government can not borrow cash to pay advantages. When the ones receiving advantages are reduce off, you'll be able to see many armed residents marching on Washington DC and state capitals with not anything to lose. It'll be a blood tub.