JBowyer, we were actually being told that it was the late 70s and 80s when we would run out of ... just about everything.

With only about 400 years worth of gas available to Australia from proven reserves plus an unknown amount from coal seams it is certainly time to start stocking up on canned food!(Nigel from --)

Maybe 400 years for a population of 21 million but as another comment states when other nations are running short they may come and take what is here. All fossil fuel are finite and are too valuable as chemical feedstock and as reducing agents for the production of "essential" metals to be wasted.
If anyone doubts that fuels are becoming in short supply they should look at the USA, UK and Norwegian oil and gas fields. USA fields passed peak crude production about 1972, the UK and Norway in the late nineties.
Where is fossil fuels being accumulated by nature at anywhere near the rate the human race is consuming known reserves?

Taswegian, I couldn't find the Energy Users Association estimates but the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association used 250+ years (using a very conservative analysis) earlier in 2009 and the results were included in a televised address to the National Press Club. The slides used to support that presentation are at the link below.

http://www.appea.com.au/content/pdfs_docs_xls/NewsMedia/Speeches/npc_chart_presentation.pdf

NSW doesn't even rate a mention and yet the coal reserves, many of which harbour methane, are huge. The technology for releasing gas from underground coal deposits is proven and operates in Australia and the US and many other countries right now.

The gas is used not for its calorific value, but for its hydrogen content. Most of the energy is wasted and vast quantities of CO2 are emitted.

There are many other sources of hydrogen, but they are more expensive.

As the price of gas increases with climate change legislation, other means of nitrogen fixing need to be explored.

I find it funny that the forces behind this latest concern about selling gas to China, are infact iron ore producers selling iron ore to China. They have a fear that they will make less profit if they have to pay more for gas.

A few points to allay panic:

Crop rotation
Is an almost outdated farming method of naturally fixing nitrogen in the soil.

Economise beef production.
The modern feed lot method of beef production is hugely wasteful. By-pass animal feed lots to feed humans directly with grain. Eat less beef generally.

Improve the use of natural fertilisers.
Encourage more local intensive farming methods mixed with alternative lifestyle aspirations.

Develop engineering systems to produce more economical extraction of nitrogen from the air.

Abandon cropping for ethanol production immediately.