How Much Coal Remains?

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/323/5920/1420

Science 13 March 2009:
Vol. 323. no. 5920, pp. 1420 - 1421
DOI: 10.1126/science.323.5920.1420

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News Focus
GEOLOGY:

How Much Coal Remains?

Richard A. Kerr

The planet's vast store of coal could fuel the world economy for centuries--and fiercely stoke global warming--but a few analysts are raising the prospect of an imminent shortfall.

…

(Podcast available at link.)

[doc03]

1. A bunch n/t

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. And you know this… how?

Have you listened to the podcast?

[doc03]

4. I could go out in my yard and dig some up with a backhoe

[OKIsItJustMe]

5. OK then! Crisis averted!

I love backyard science!

BTW:
I can go into my back yard, and get water from the stream. (No water problems!)
I can go into my back yard, and cut down trees! (No problem with deforestation!)
My backyard is on a hill, so flooding is not a problem anywhere! (Yeah!)

[doc03]

6. You're right I can cut down a tree, I can drill a well or

go down the road a piece and get spring water, I can shoot me a deer for food and I do live on hill so as long as the Ohio river doesn't go up 600 feet I won't get flooded. :hi:

[rurallib]

2. I heard ananalogy of coal/oil being like a savings account

that should be drawn on very sparingly. Well we've burnt most of the oil in a couple hundred years.

[Massacure]

7. Oil can be created with current technology.

In World War II, Germany created more than 100,000 barrels a day using Fischer-Tropsch processes. Of course they used coal as a carbon feedstock. If we wanted to repeat what Germany did, we would want to use biomass.

[GliderGuider]

9. 100,000 barrels per day

Enough to keep the USA running for 7 minutes a day...

[hughee99]

10. I have a hunch with no one trying to destroy the plants,

the US could probably do better than WWII era Germany.

[Terry in Austin]

8. Not all that much n/t

[abqmufc]

11. DOE website with data

I've been looking up U.S. resources for my work (tribal environmental organization).

I found info on coal reserves, not on a scientific website, but rather a DOE "kid's page".

According to this site we are looking at 225 years of coal....at current use. We are already using coal by 1.5% each year. Plug in cars will send that number up.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/non-renewable/coal.html

http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/infosheets/coalreserves.html


The concern is how much of our transportation needs that are currently oil based will be switched to coal? Currently 70% of the U.S. oil consumption is for transportation. Even a slight change in this number for coal will mean coal will be used up faster.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/basics/quickoil.html


Of course nuclear is cleaner burning, but the overall impacts don't make it viable either to me (mining, transport, storage).