Oil, The 4th Renewable Resource by Shawn Ali debunks the myth that oil is not a renewable resource. The book explains that although there is a sufficient supply of oil, prices go up because less oil is refined.
Ali believes that oil companies set prices under an oligarchic model of price competition. Under the Peak Oil assumption, production increases until the supply of oil is exhausted and production ceases.
Hydrocarbons come about at great depths and fill newer reservoirs at shallower depths. Any area with hydrocarbons has greater deposits with deeper drilling according to Ali. About 10 to 20 million bbl of oil were pumped out in the last three decades, yet oil reserves keep on increasing.
Coup oil was patented by Luther and Atwood in March, 1853. At this time, Atwood, Gessner and Merrill were making oils from coal. Their invention proves that the million year biogenic process was incorrect. In addition, Gold proved that hydrocarbons are abiotic. Oil is abiotic and found in igneus rocks. And so, the hydrocarbons are not running out. In fact, commercialization is just beginning.
Ali states that natural gas and coal are in great abundance. In fact, natural gas is the most abundant hydrocarbon on earth. Ali believes that deeper digging will yield much greater deposits of oil and natural gas. The transformation of coal or natural gas to crude oil is accomplished by the Fischer Tropsch process.
In addition, Ali indicates that Saturn's orange moon Titan has hundreds of times more liquid hydrocarbons than all the known oil and natural gas reserves on earth. This fact seems to contradict the basic assumption that Saturn has little or
no biologic material.
The logistical problem is that a technology like nuclear fusion may be required to travel to Saturn. Once on Saturn, new materials must be in place to acclimate to the environment where lightening bolts can be up to 10,000 times stronger than those on the earth. Harnessing the enormous power of Saturn's lightening would be a herculean scientific task with many complications like the huge vibrations generated and new materials strong enough to withstand the release of energy.
Oil, The 4th Renewable Resource by Shawn Ali is an excellent scientific resource for showing that earth's energy resources are not as finite as once believed. In addition, solar energy is the upcoming champion of all renewables.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Earthbound Misfit
Peak oil -- as Inigo Montoya said, "I do not think it means what you think it means." It does not mean that production increases until resources are exhausted; it means that production roughly follows a bell curve, the highest point of the curve representing the peak of production, i.e. Peak Oil.
It is the downslope on the other side that keeps thoughtful people awake at night...
2 - Pythor Sehn
I would hardly call this book a "scientific" resource when the author cannot even properly define the theory of peak oil he supposedly is able to debunk. His work appears to be filled with myths, misconceptions, and a sophomoric lack of understanding of anything to do with energy and physics.
3 - Mike Jayhill
The theory of peak oil is made in the 1960's by M. King Hubbert who worked for Royal Dutch Shell. Which means he has a stake in advocating shortages, the slow decline of oil production and the increase in profits. Try reading the book before you negate it with a lack of understanding and misconceptions. Another die hard peak oil theorist eh?
4 - Dr. Joseph S. Maresca
Shawn Ali is making reference to scientific art. For instance, Coup oil was patented by Luther and Atwood in March 1853. There is an important reference to the Fischer Tropsch Process, as well as Merrill's patent art. All of this art must demonstrate unobviousness in order to qualify for patent protection in this country. Unobviousness is an elusive concept. It means that a person who practices the art in question must not be able to recognize or assemble what has been created from what currently exists in the profession. In addition, the described or new art must be capableof being built by a person in the art of the matter being patented.
Examples of unobviousness are as follows:
o the invention successfully employs techniques or processes previously thought to be unworkable
o it solves a problem never before even recognized
o it omits an element in the prior art without losing functionality or capability
o it provides an operative result where before failure was prevalent
o it solves a long felt or unsolved need
o it is contrary to the teachings of prior inventions or art
5 - Realist
If this book is right, why bother to talk about going to Titan?
6 - Dr. Joseph S. Maresca
The potential energy on Titan boggles the imagination. Besides, Titan may fuel colonization
of planets throughout the solar system. In addition, the perfection of nuclear fusion will make
traveling there much easier. To reach Saturn and explore it, we will need vastly improved
materials capable of surviving such things as lightening 10,000 times more powerful than that
on the earth.
7 - voice of satan
lightening - making something weigh less
lightning - big sparks that come out of the sky
8 - Igor
Titan? Why go so far for so little? All the energy we need on earth falls every day on a square in the Nevada desert 90 miles on a side.
Titan?
9 - Dr Dreadful
If we mine hydrocarbons on Saturn, then it will weigh less... :-)
Mr Ali is technically correct that oil is a renewable resource. As we speak, fossils far beneath our feet are turning into the stuff.
Unfortunately, it's a pretty slow process. It can take anywhere from several thousand to a few million years for dead organisms to be converted into hydrocarbons, and that's assuming the conditions are right.
In contrast, filling a large tanker with a million barrels of oil takes about a day.
10 - Jeremy Sterik
The book is about oil being naturally produced in the earth, not pressured cooked biological material. So oil is not a fossil fuel that comes from decayed dinosaurs or vegetation. The book shows all of this is myth advocated by schools, gov't and oil corporations. I think there's a preview of the book on amazon.com
11 - Dr. Joseph S. Maresca
Also, see below.
"Coup oil was patented by Luther and Atwood in March, 1853. Then , Atwood, Gessner and Merrill were
making oils from coal. Their invention proves that the million year biogenic process was incorrect."
Much was made of the idea of getting energy solely from the earth. Why go to Titan? Over the next few
centuries, we will definitely have the capability to go to Titan cheaply. It's not really clear how many people
the earth can support beyond 8-9 billion. In addition, fusion energy should be cheaper by the year 2100
and maybe well before that time. All the ingredients will be in place to explore this solar system more thoroughly.
12 - Igor
@11-Dr. Joseph S. Maresca: what is your doctorate in?
"Coup oil was patented by Luther and Atwood in March, 1853. Then , Atwood, Gessner and Merrill were
making oils from coal. Their invention proves that the million year biogenic process was incorrect."
But coal itself is the product of "the million year biogenic process".
"...we will definitely have the capability to go to Titan cheaply." Says who? Or is that just the dreamy extrapolation of a hope?
"It's not really clear how many people
the earth can support beyond 8-9 billion. "
And 100 years ago it was estimated that the absolute maximum population was 1.7billion, and then nitrogen-bearing fertilizer was invented.
"In addition, fusion energy should be cheaper by the year 2100
and maybe well before that time."
Says who? And why bother with that mess and danger when all the power we need is already available from that big fusion reactor in the sky, and in a benevolent form, too?
"All the ingredients will be in place to explore this solar system more thoroughly."
We're already doing that with robots. There's no need to waste resources and effort to send meat puppets (like Neal Armstrong) to distant places.
It's pretty clear that "Dr. Joes" doctorate is not in science. What is your doctorate in, BTW?
13 - Zingzing
Igor, according to his bio, joe's phd is in accounting, from the apparently ungoogleable Ross college. There's a Ross college that offers associate's degrees, and Ross Pre-school, and a ross medical university in the caribbean...
14 - Dr. Joseph S. Maresca
And let me add to the previous comment:
BSBA Manhattan College Quantitative Analysis( allied area of Operations Research)
New York University Graduate School MBA- Accounting
New York University Graduate School APC- Computer Applications Information Systems
New York University Graduate School APC- Finance
New York University Graduate School APC Organizational Development and Behavior
Passed Certified Public Accountancy
Passed Engineering in Training Examination- Tests collegiate chemistry, physics, statics, dynamics, electronics, thermodynamics, materials
Licensed as Certified Information Systems Auditor
and lastly the PhD at Ross College which fully complies with the U.S. Department of Education laws
15 - Dr. Joseph S. Maresca
With regard to Igor's comment:
Read Ali's book, as well as the wealth of patent literature he cites.
16 - zingzing
nyu is no schlump college, so congrats on that. but where/what is ross college?
17 - Dr. Joseph S. Maresca
The information is on the Amazon site.
18 - Cindy
If the US had gone solar when I was a teen protesting nuclear, we'd have it on every sunny roof by now. Our homes would be running on almost free clean energy. Instead, "your representatives" elected to have the middle class subsidize nuclear power through taxes and pay for our energy besides. Solar would have eliminated a lot of corporate profit.
We have something called the sun. It can supply all our energy needs safely. But, no, let's not replace oil and nuclear with solar, let's instead spend trillions? of middleclass taxpayer dollars to go to Titan and get some more oil so corporations can continue to profit.
(The wealthy have always been subsidized by the middle class in this and similar ways.)
19 - Zingzing
The amazon site, joesph? Same info as in your bio here...
20 - Dr Dreadful
The problem with solar, wind, tidal and geothermal energy, Cindy, is that they aren't portable. Yes, you can run homes, businesses, factories, trains etc off them but putting that kind of power source into a portable client like a car, a truck, a plane or a ship is much more tricky.
I grant you that thanks to oil about 60 years of research into ultra-efficient batteries for transportation has been mostly lost, but still. A long-haul airliner that runs on batteries? Seems a heck of a way off.
21 - Dr. Joseph S. Maresca
Zing Zing- What are your qualifications? Where can I find them? Mine are in Amazon. (Left hand side)
22 - Dr. Joseph S. Maresca
Here is an example of a portability patent for solar energy. i.e. Folding Solar Reflector Panel and Assembly
United States Patent 4833571
23 - Dr. Joseph S. Maresca
This is an example of a comment that is appropriate for this article. Please refrain from clogging up
the site with comments that do not address this article specifically. I may give the actual author some
of these comments so that he can respond to them. Meanwhile, here is just one example of an
appropriate comment for Ali's book.
10 - Jeremy Sterik
Oct 25, 2012 at 2:33 pm
The book is about oil being naturally produced in the earth, not pressured cooked biological material.
So oil is not a fossil fuel that comes from decayed dinosaurs or vegetation. The book shows all of this
is myth advocated by schools, gov't and oil corporations. I think there's a preview of the book
on amazon.com
24 - zingzing
dr. joe, sorry, but you don't get to tell people what to talk about, but you know that. someone (igor) asked you what you were a doctor of, so i got curious. now you're being evasive. (and don't tell me that constantly pointing me to the same info that does NOT contain the answer i seek isn't being evasive.) so now i'm especially curious. where is this supposed college, and why can't i find any info on it other than a registrar's number? (and boy-howdy, are YOU all over the internet... yeesh.)
and i went to a well-known state university, but i'm not the one splashing my credentials around, doctor.
25 - Igor
I researched non-biogenic subsurface hydrocarbon generation more than 20 years ago and it simply doesn't hold up, even though it's an interesting theory. Without organic processes there is simply no way to find the requisite oxygen and hydrogen.
As for Joe, the utter bogosity of his scientific pose is revealed (aside from his extreme naivete about science) by using his bogus title, since in the USA scientists don't show their titles and honors when publishing. The work is expected to stand on it's own.