Oil? Keep it

Won't it be nice someday to actually say...oil? No thanks, we don't need it. You'll see it, assuming you're going to live the next 20-30 years.

Oil is about to be marginalized...not discarded entirely...but greatly marginalized.

The main reason oil is so necessary is it's the most efficient way of running ICE's (internal combustion engines). It's easily made into a pumpable fluid, and packs a lot of btu's per weight.

Coal hasn't cut it for ICE's. It can be made to run through a liquification process, but it's not efficient. Coal worked fine for ECE (external combustion engines) like in coal powered railroad engines...but there's a limit to how small you can make ECE's and still provide some power. It doesn't work for cars.

Enter ethanol? Nah
Enter hydrogen fuel cell? Nah

Enter Energizer.

Batteries about about to solve a lot of problems with oil. If you could plug in your car at night, and run it for 10% of the cost of gasoline, wouldn't you? If you could run your car without thinking about the gas station, wouldn't you?

It's going to be possible. Electric cars haven't worked in the past because they haven't been able to store enough energy. They either had no power, and were slightly heavier than a golf cart, or had no capacity to run for long distances.

That has changed

http://www.teslamotors.com/

Tesla has made a car, albeit extremely expensive, that gives you power comparable to a sports car. Check it out.

We have just begun to see the potential for electic motors, because we have just begun to see the potential in new and improved batteries. Nanotechnology is starting to give us lithium ion batteries with 10 times the storage capacity as today's. That means that laptop you're using will have 40 hours of battery life, with a battery as heavy as the one you're using now.

The Tesla is using old technology...imagine what they'll be able to power when the get new technolgy to the market.

Oil will be just another resource just like coal or bananas in our lifetime. It's going to happen. It will lose its value as indispensible.

I personally won't miss oil, will you?