earth

[2receivers]

Oil has been being drilled for centuries @ a rate of roughly 1,000'000 bbls./day .did ya ever wonder how big that void is in the center of planet earth? If planet earth ever experienced an earthquake of hugh proportions all the oceans water may disappear in this void ------------just thinking outloud

[JBaum]

Centuries? Hardly. The first oil well was drilled in Pennsylvania in 1859. Automobiles weren't getting common until the mid 1920's. Before that, crude oil was refined for kerosene for kerosene lamps, gasoline was dumped because it was an unwanted by product of making kerosene.

So, millions of years of making swamps that turned into oil, and 50 years of slight production, 50 years of increased production, and another 50 years of current production rates. With what has already been discovered and the rate of use today, we're good for another 140 years. In the meantime, the rate of use will slow, and new oil will be discovered, so I'd guess the presently known oil will last us another 200 years.

[www.Prussia.us]

"Earth" I understand your concern but like "Jbaum" points out we have likely just scratched the surface. The Earth is somewhere around 4.5 billion years old, granted for a while it was merely a molten ball of semi-solids and gas but still there were hundreds of millions of years of fossil fuel being created. Just watch the ground "grow" along the side of a static piece of farm machinery in a fallow field over the course of a decade.

Nonetheless we need a better way, Germany is pi**ing all over our enfeebled attempts to break the fetters with the entrenched interests of big energy (as well as other industries). The Fatherland, (or "the land of chocolate"-Homer) is not known for their sunny climate but according to Reuters as of May 2012 they are making huge strides every year increasing solar output and using other renewables. Just think, originally Dr. Diesel's engine could run on pure peanut oil.

However it is easier and more lucrative for US-Multi-National corporations to "influence" a few politicians and have the tax/trade/banking codes lean in their favor, rather than do what is best for America. If every citizen had to endure a Valley Forge winter, maybe we could put things in perspective, get focused, disband the deleterious political parties (like President George Washington warned of), and wrest our country from the brink of utter failure.

Now I have to go harpoon a whale so I can get my lamps running again

[longhorn109]

Oil has been being drilled for centuries @ a rate of roughly 1,000'000 bbls./day .did ya ever wonder how big that void is in the centre of planet earth? If planet earth ever experienced an earthquake of huge proportions all the oceans water may disappear in this void ------------just thinking outloud

No need to worry about big man made voids underground. The oil/gas is trapped between 2 layers of impermeable rock and between these 2 layers is a layer of permeable rock e.g. sandstone that is saturated with oil. When the initial pressure that the oil is under drops it then becomes necessary to use hot water or similar fluid to get the pressure back up so oil can be extracted. The amount of oil still in a dead oil field is truly staggering and it is mainly increased extraction efficiencies that are boosting stated reserves.

If you want to worry about the ground opening up then I would be more concerned about coal mines. That stuff has been dug out of the ground for centuries and where I live in the UK is living on a Swiss cheese and houses do drop into massive holes caused by the mines!

[2receivers]

Howdy longhorn-----------yea that's what I was talking about- these gigantic voids in the earth's substrata??
Forgot about these coal mines etc. Maybe that's why planet earth has sink
holes cccurring.==================just a thought

[42rocker]

In Fla we get sink holes all of the time due to the amount of water that they take out.

Later 42rocker

[KABAR2]

Howdy longhorn-----------yea that's what I was talking about- these gigantic voids in the earth's substrata??
Forgot about these coal mines etc. Maybe that's why planet earth has sink
holes cccurring.==================just a thought

the voids are easy to fill and will create more oil.... dump tree huggers into them...... See even I believe in recycling.....