• betz24@lemmynsfw.com
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    1 year ago

    What happens when we run out of fossil fuels? I understand fossil fuels are causing climate change/carbon issues. So why not just good riddance? Maybe I’m having a ‘shower moment’, but I think the change would force us to move to cleaner energy. Is there any intrinsic value to having pockets of sludge in the earth?

    • jarfil@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      What will happen, is 1000 more years of already changed climate, so that one’s not going back all that easily.

      Shutting down all fossil fuel use right now, would leave the world with a deficit of energy, meaning daily blackouts for starters, and a fleet of non-functioning cars, trucks, trains, ships, and planes, with some industries getting severely crippled (cement, steel, aluminum production, or anything using electroplating processes).

      We’re already being forced to move to cleaner energy sources, because the high quality carbon and oil deposits are already gone; what’s left, is low quality stuff that’s more expensive to extract and less energy efficient. So a switch to renewables and nuclear it is for the foreseeable future.

      Is there any intrinsic value to having pockets of sludge in the earth?

      Other than not having it floating all around… not really. It’s likely going to get extracted until it stops being profitable, which is for a long time.