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Ask HN: What happens to society if we run out of oil?

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Re: Ask HN: What happens to society if we run out of oil?

#21

Post by twobyfour »

muzani wrote: post #16
_8j50 wrote: post #11

One thing people often forget when talking about petroleum is plastics and many other uses that have nothing to do with converting petrol into energy. Is there a raw material that can be used to substitute for petrol to make plastics or is there an alternate to plastics for mass production and other uses?

I think we've developed many plastics alternatives, but they aren't in use because of high prices. I hear a lot about things like sugar for plastic bags and jellyfish for tampons and diapers. When we do start running out of oil, the prices for this should rise quite a bit, making research into the alternative much more likely.

Tampons are made from cotton, not plastic. Maybe you're talking about the applicators (which are also sometimes made of cardboard instead of plastic)? Or maybe you're talking about menstrual pads, which - like diapers - have a plastic lining to protect against leaks.

Re: Ask HN: What happens to society if we run out of oil?

#22

Post by twobyfour »

graycat wrote: post #20

Oil? Can make essentially oil from coal, water, and electric power. We can get electric power from nukes, water from the oceans, and here in the US we've got lots of coal. E.g., last I heard, a major fraction of the state of Utah has a layer of coal about 30 feet thick.

Pretty sure you need fresh water rather than salt water for that. And desalination is an energy-expensive process.

Re: Ask HN: What happens to society if we run out of oil?

#23

Post by PaulHoule »

muzani wrote: post #16
_8j50 wrote: post #11

One thing people often forget when talking about petroleum is plastics and many other uses that have nothing to do with converting petrol into energy. Is there a raw material that can be used to substitute for petrol to make plastics or is there an alternate to plastics for mass production and other uses?

I think we've developed many plastics alternatives, but they aren't in use because of high prices. I hear a lot about things like sugar for plastic bags and jellyfish for tampons and diapers. When we do start running out of oil, the prices for this should rise quite a bit, making research into the alternative much more likely.

Many older plastics were (and are) made from materials other than oil. For instance, Polyvinyl Chloride can be made from coal via acetylene chemistry.

Re: Ask HN: What happens to society if we run out of oil?

#24

Post by rurban »

muzani wrote: post #17

Elon Musk's group of companies are look for complete solutions to running society without oil, mainly because they can't take oil to other planets. Everything from transportation to power generation and storage. So if we do run out of oil, Musk would probably achieve world domination.

Him or Bezos. Looks more like Bezos currently.

Re: Ask HN: What happens to society if we run out of oil?

#25

Post by [deleted] »

rurban wrote: post #24
muzani wrote: post #17

Elon Musk's group of companies are look for complete solutions to running society without oil, mainly because they can't take oil to other planets. Everything from transportation to power generation and storage. So if we do run out of oil, Musk would probably achieve world domination.

Him or Bezos. Looks more like Bezos currently.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: What happens to society if we run out of oil?

#26

Post by graycat »

twobyfour wrote: post #22
graycat wrote: post #20

Oil? Can make essentially oil from coal, water, and electric power. We can get electric power from nukes, water from the oceans, and here in the US we've got lots of coal. E.g., last I heard, a major fraction of the state of Utah has a layer of coal about 30 feet thick.

Pretty sure you need fresh water rather than salt water for that. And desalination is an energy-expensive process.

Agree.

Re: Ask HN: What happens to society if we run out of oil?

#27

Post by [deleted] »

diafygi wrote: post #3

We won't. Over 80% of oil we pull out of the ground is burned for energy, and we are switching to alternatives at a rate that should have us fully transitioned before we run out. And thank god, too. We can only pull up a quarter of our proven reserves before hitting 2 degrees warming (the Paris agreement). We hit 3 degrees warming (where the Pentagon says wars start over food) when we pull up a third of proven reserv…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: What happens to society if we run out of oil?

#28

Post by zhte415 »

twobyfour wrote: post #21
muzani wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think we've developed many plastics alternatives, but they aren't in use because of high prices. I hear a lot about things like sugar for plastic bags and jellyfish for tampons and diapers. When we do start running out of oil, the prices for this should rise quite a bit, making research into the alternative much more likely.

Tampons are made from cotton, not plastic. Maybe you're talking about the applicators (which are also sometimes made of cardboard instead of plastic)? Or maybe you're talking about menstrual pads, which - like diapers - have a plastic lining to protect against leaks.

To clarify, muzani mentioned jellyfish for tampons and sugar for plastics.

Not plastic for tampons.

Re: Ask HN: What happens to society if we run out of oil?

#29

Post by twobyfour »

zhte415 wrote: post #28
twobyfour wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tampons are made from cotton, not plastic. Maybe you're talking about the applicators (which are also sometimes made of cardboard instead of plastic)? Or maybe you're talking about menstrual pads, which - like diapers - have a plastic lining to protect against leaks.

To clarify, muzani mentioned jellyfish for tampons and sugar for plastics. Not plastic for tampons.

Ah, I see.

Is cotton production significantly affected by oil shortages? I thought cotton was an issue mostly because farming it is water-intensive and too much of it is produced in dry regions.

Re: Ask HN: What happens to society if we run out of oil?

#30

Post by zhte415 »

twobyfour wrote: post #29
zhte415 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To clarify, muzani mentioned jellyfish for tampons and sugar for plastics. Not plastic for tampons.

Ah, I see. Is cotton production significantly affected by oil shortages? I thought cotton was an issue mostly because farming it is water-intensive and too much of it is produced in dry regions.

>Is cotton production significantly affected by oil shortages?

I have no idea. I was just correcting your incorrect comprehension of the message you replied to.

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