Okay and okay. One day very very soon, preferably before the planet gets too hot for our survival and we can still reverse man made climate change, we will discover far better options than OPEC controlled/manipulated energy.

All that prevents it and the universal prosperity it could engender, are mealy mouthed politicians patently serving OPEC's agenda?

If only an oil war was the only war in prospect for our warming world!

Where do we go if it gets too hot? Deep underground where the temperature never ever falls below 54C!

Or, maybe in underwater cities, under vast acrylic geodesic domes, while the resident sharks enjoy the view and the possible dinner menu? (Look Mum, canned kiddies)

I've got an other idea, why don't we use exceptionally cheap safe, clean thorium power to vacuum Co2 directly from our acidifying oceans, then thanks to ultracheap and walk away safe, molten salt thorium power, make Co2 based hydrocarbons that OPEC can't, even in its wildest dreams, compete with!

$50-60.00 for a 160 litre barrel of oil? How about that barrel price for ready to use jet fuel or diesel substitutes? And somewhere south of a 50 cents a litre, indefinitely?

And very very doable with the proposed molten salt thorium, nuclear technology! And if we ever run out of sea water or Co2? We'll be long past caring!
Alan B.

Apart from the proven fact that CO2 can have only a very minor effect on our temperature, this garbage about reducing fossil fuel usage is pipe dream stuff, in the foreseeable future.

Even in our cities, small by world standards, can you imagine how many millions would die within a few weeks, if the trucks stopped bringing food, & the refrigerators, home & supermarket, stopped working.

Even if a concerted effort was applied, it would take 30 years simply to replace our power generation to nuclear of some type, the only thing that would do the job. To develop a replacement for transport fuel would be even longer, if we could actually afford either or both.

Ultimately I believe we will use steam powered transport, fuelled by a very small nuclear source installed in production for the life of the vehicle, but only of course, after the green blob has been eliminated

Hi there HASBEEN...

From everything I've read and seen the only viable commonsense fuel of the future would undoubtedly be nuclear. In you last paragraph you alluded to transports being driven by means of steam created by a small nuclear power source fitted to the vehicle during it's build phase. That sounds both practical and appropriate, but would it be safe given the number of ratbags hovering about wondering whether of not they can 'nick off' with the power source from one of those vehicles, for some other iniquitous deed ? I understand these devices are not of weapons grade, and relatively innocuous, but in the wrong hands...?

Australia's one and only Reactor, Lucas Heights near Sydney, is heavily protected by armed Commonwealth Protective Service Officers. Therefore would any nuclear apparatus of sufficient size to generate enough steam to power a large transport vehicle, be safe enough in the hands of the general public ? Please pardon my ignorance HASBEEN (I am ex Army!) and I know precisely nought, about 'nuclear anything'

What if Peak Oil = liquid fuels was last year 2016? We're about 98 mbpd according to some websites and we may or may not crack the ton. According to BP, Shell, IEA and the author's sources we'll keep producing and consuming more for at least another decade. Maybe not. I'll bet that instead of oil alternatives like EVs since politicians think that any downturn will be temporary that we can cut fuel excise. The Trump admin seems so convinced of fresh oil supplies they will sell down emergency reserves
http://www.oilandgas360.com/doe-announces-sales-strategic-petroleum-reserve/

If continued it may turn out to be their biggest mistake. Sudden fuel shortages real or staged will have a devastating economic impact since we haven't prepared. Commuting costs up, tourism down and the production and distribution of food will be greatly affected. Your historic plagues and wars affected millions this will affect billions.

Hi there o sung wu.

I don't expect the nuclear option in our lifetime, & not before oil becomes actually scarce. I guess it is naïve of me to believe/hope we will become realistic & tough enough to one day ELIMINATE terrorists threats, even by then. If we have not then this will be a Muslim country, & they will have eliminated most things.

I suppose if forced by the green blob we will see transport vehicles with very limited range, using half their payload to carry batteries. I certainly hope that more sensible minds stop that sort of stupidity, but am not too confident it will be in our lifetime old mate.

O Sung Wu, the refueled once in 100 years, still on the drawing board? Steam powered car of the future Hasbeen was referring to, is powered by a laser actuated thorium pellet or marble; and that 8 grams of thorium is less radioactive than a banana.

Nonetheless extremely dense and murder on magpies at ten paces, with a shanghai! One supposes terrorists would prefer semtex or anso, with which they could do considerably more (Oh my eye!) damage!

I favour the catalytically assisted method of heat assisted decomposition to make copious ultra cheap hydrogen from always abundant sea water. And use that liquified as an endless source of endlessly sustainable fuel, with a similar range of petrol in conventional engines, or more in fuel cell powered versions that take no more time to top up than LPG.

Small thorium reactors can be squeezed into shipping containers and with 40 MW currently available, run rapid rail, very fast ferries and subs as inboard power?

Large roll on roll off train carrying subs loaded in a single shunt should be doable. As would fifty+ knots, regardless of surface conditions, meaning the rail sub combination, challenging far more expensive air freight?

Currently scientists are working on the loop, a very fast FL train that operates in a vacuum inside an airlock tunnel, where a rail gun can potentially drive them near the speed of light.

Not that we'd ever want to go that fast on the surface of planet earth; but maybe the moon to sling shot alternating direction, interstellar space missions?

Down here, just mind blowing acceleration followed by equally mind blowing deceleration! And Paris to new york in less time than a plane needs to get off of the runway?

Rigorously rigidly resisted, affordable energy the key to all of the above and the reason none of us will ever see any of it in our life times, along with the massive economic benefits they'll ensure, all over the joint!
Alan B.

Thank you HASBEEN...

When you think of it, the world's evolved into a very odious and menacing place, with the advent of global terrorism, and our various governments of the so called developed world, closing their collective eyes and hoping for the best ? I guess at our age HASBEEN we really shouldn't worry too much, nor should we vocalize our concerns to anyone who might care to listen, as we'd only be dismissed as out of touch, borderline dementia candidates, soon to be consigned to our respective retirement homes. What many of the younger generation don't realize, or if they do, take no particular notice of that realization, with age comes a momentous amount of experience, and as it's often said, experience is a great teacher.

Thank you very much ALAN B...

I was with you, right up to and including; refueling your nuclear fueled vehicle ever hundred or so years, but as yet the technology is still very much on the drawing board ? I thank for your in-depth explanation of nuclear fueled motor vehicles - a question if I may; how well does a nuclear powered M/V perform ? Will the coppers need a similarly powered vehicle to 'drag down' an errant driver of such a vehicle, with nuclear energy as it's primary power source ? I reckon I was pretty cool 'dragging back' some white-haired retired hoon driving at some break-neck speed in his 4cyl 1956 Morris Oxford, with my Departmental 5.8 Falcon V8. And without being 'big headed' I was known as the terror of the Hume Hwy. back in the day ! I really am an ol' goat - memories and fantasy sure get mixed up ? Perhaps it was me pursuing the Falcon 5.8 V8 in my Morris Oxford ? Who'd know eh ?

Yes the memories o sung wu.

Technology is allowing me to relive my glory days, with modern batteries, even if they are not much use for transport fuels.

I am the proud owner of both a Vampire & a Sea Fury Lipo battery powered remote control planes. I will shortly add a Venom to the fleet, so I can fly almost as I did in my youth. They do make Tiger moths, but no one has yet brought a model of the Winjeel to market, so I can't fly the models of all the aircraft I've flown.

I might have to build one of them myself to complete the range.

I am finding it harder to learn to fly these things well, than it was the real thing. Perhaps I'm not quite as quick a learner as I was at 19.

Nevertheless, if you are ever in South East Queensland, come & have a go. I've a few trainer aircraft to use with the grand kids you could try. I'm becoming quite good at gluing these foam aircraft back together, so a little damage is no problem.

G'day there HASBEEN...

The old twin boom Vampire fighter A/C. When I was at school you'd hear them occasionally flying over us and their engines emitted a veritable 'scream' as it passed overhead, quite different to any other fighter, before or since from memory.

Obviously the Sea Fury was Navy, but was the Vampire a Navy Carrier launched A/C or RAAF ? I guess in the next fifty years or so, much of our merchandised transport systems (even rail perhaps?) will be modified to accept nuclear engineering as the primary fuel source. Thus making oil and coal almost redundant I guess. I would think in a very short space in time, nuclear and safety issues will become almost a non-event, as we become more adroit at handling, storing and safe-guarding nuclear material.

I mentioned Lucas Heights in an earlier Email, I was most fortunate to be allowed to visit the Reactor (c. 1981), the only one in Australia. The astounding beauty of these 'shimmering' blue coloured fuel rods, or whatever they're called deep in the 'heavy' water, makes you feel utterly insignificant when compared to the immense power of nuclear energy. The visit was probably one of the most memorable, however shortest, events ever in my lifetime !

About ten or twelve minutes suiting up and being told what you do and don't do, preparatory to entering the Reactor itself (under escort); about six or eight minutes inside, looking down in absolute 'AWE', into this brilliant 'shimmering blue'; and seven or eight minutes once outside, discarding your protective outerwear, and having your ionizing radiation dosimeter reading checked for you.

HASBEEN my friend, if you were kind enough to permit me to handle the controls of one of your intricate A/C, that would surely be the end of that A/C for all time ? Is it possible to fly a 'radio controlled' Helicopter, or only fixed wing ?

In Oz mate the Vampire was RAAF, & became a trainer. We did our jet conversion & training on them in Pearce. The navy went from Furies straight to Venoms, which came with HMAS Melbourne. They & Melbourne didn't work too well together at first. We lost 8 aircrew before things were sorted out.

Yes Mate, mini helicopters & drones ranging from 3 to about 8 motors are all available. Some of these things are getting pretty high tech. There is a drone that will follow you automatically filming you.

Most drones are gyro stabilised, & pretty easy to fly simply, with not too much skill required until you start getting serious.

I even have a couple of planes with gyro controlled automatic take off landing, & return to starting point. You can still stuff up if you try hard enough. I lost orientation in the sun with one of them, & flew it into a huge fig tree, which I'm sure reached out & grabbed my plane when I couldn't see it.

I've given that tree a severe talking to, mentioning things like chain saws, so I expect no further trouble from it.

With that problem solved, I'm sure you could fly a few of them quite OK, & you aren't using much oil to do it, just a bit of coal power to charge the batteries.

Hmmm, but back to the thread;
The writer seems a bit out of touch. She mentioned an increase in the
number of drilling rigs. It did increase recently, from about 400 to 600.
What she did not mention that the count in January 2015 was 1600.
So not a very impressive number.
There will not be a big increase unless the price reaches approx $100.
However that price cannot be supported by the economy.
Goldilocks is Dead !

The major oil companies are making very small profits which explains
why they have almost stopped search and development work.
Shell has stated that they will be getting, slowly, out of the oil business.
They intend to concentrate on natural gas and biofuels.

Hi HASBEEN...

Your last sentence say's it all I reckon, subtly at it's best. Though we've been defeating gravity for a bit over a century, we're nevertheless still in our infancy with what's still available for us to master and conquer in Aerospace development and design.

Particularly in matters of speed, noise abatement, and varying fuel options. All though the Anglo-French Concord gave things a bit of a nudge, but because of a single fatality, and the enormous costs to keep the A/C in the air, Concord was more or less shelved. And we've gone back, seemingly to content ourselves with just ordinary subsonic air travel once more, and without any further signs of exploring and developing supersonic air travel where Concord left off all those years ago. What a waste.

Your model (powered) A/C both in fixed wing and rotor wing configuration, sound positively engrossing, and I'd reckon the Helicopter would be, by far the most difficult to master, from watching the pilots flying us around in South Vietnam nearly fifty years ago now ? Thanks HASBEEN, and more power to you my friend.