What if oil lasts forever?

New technology and little-known energy source suggest fossil fuels may not be finite 

By Charles C. Mann, The Atlantic April 25, 2013. (National Journal) 

As the great research ship Chikyu left Shimizu in January to mine the explosive ice beneath the Philippine Sea, chances are good that not one of the scientists aboard realized they might be closing the door on Winston Churchill’s world. Their lack of knowledge is unsurprising; beyond the ranks of petroleum-industry historians, Churchill’s outsize role in the history of energy is insufficiently appreciated.

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty in 1911. With characteristic vigor and verve, he set about modernizing the Royal Navy, jewel of the empire. The revamped fleet, he proclaimed, should be fueled with oil, rather than coal—a decision that continues to reverberate in the present. Burning a pound of fuel oil produces about twice as much energy as burning a pound of coal. Because of this greater energy density, oil could push ships faster and farther than coal could.

Churchill’s proposal led to emphatic dispute. The United Kingdom had lots of coal but next to no oil. At the time, the United States produced almost two-thirds of the world’s petroleum; Russia produced another fifth. Both were allies of Great Britain. Nonetheless, Whitehall was uneasy about the prospect of the Navy’s falling under the thumb of foreign entities, even if friendly. The solution, Churchill told Parliament in 1913, was for Britons to become “the owners, or at any rate, the controllers at the source of at least a proportion of the supply of natural oil which we require.” ….To Read More……  

My Take - This article has interesting historical and economic points that are interesting and thought provoking. 

He clearly outlines what impact energy production, and all the wealth it generates, can have on the world's societies.  He is wrong on climate change and CO2, and he is worrisome regarding the potential collapse of small energy producing countries, like Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, if abundant energy sources are discovered all over the world. 

However, these countries are eventually doomed no matter what because they are so corrupt. They are all central planning systems that are either Islamic or socialist in nature. As a result their people are kept ignorant, and in the case of Islamic countries, their population is incapable of developing properly simply because they are Islamic. 

Socialism can be overcome - not as easily as most Americans believe - but it can happen.  Islam is so deeply embedded in the psyche of its adherents that even when exposed to western values they still want to blow up innocent people, even if it means killing themselves. It is the perfect religion for the disaffected failures of the world because it demands they hate everyone that isn’t part of their group, even other Islamic groups with a different theological view, therefore nothing is their fault. 

I have often said that Islam is not a religion but a criminal organization masquerading as a religion.  But it has the emotional appeal and impact that religion generates. At any rate, I thought this article was worth the time, although there are a number of points I find to be inaccurate. The history and economics are what I did value.