So are we running out of Fossil Fuels or Not?

[Crazy Dazz]

This is something I just can't understand...

For most of my life we have been warned that we are running out of fossil fuels. It makes sense, and I thought evidence backed this up.

So naturally pursuing better fuel efficiency, and looking for alternatives is a good thing.
I am also generally strongly anti-polution, so cleaning up our exhausts is also a good thing.

But WHAT is all the carry on about carbon???
My understanding of greenhouse gas theory, is that we're talking about a slow (but perceptible) increase in CO2 levels, which over time will give rise to an increased greenhouse effect, global warming, and various consequences.

Now I am all for leaving the world a better place for our grandchildren. I certainly don't want them living in some apocalyptic depression because we failed to allow for the impending demise of fossil fuelled energy.

BUT surely we are going to run out of carbon-based fuel, or at the very least face severe rationing, long before CO2 becomes a real problem? Plus, thereafter agriculture and plant life should start to reduce CO2 levels.

Now either way, pursuing greater fuel efficiency and increasing reliance on non-fossil energy is a good thing.
But what annoys me is that apparent constant need to beat consumers over the head, with carbon taxes and various other penalties.

Nor do I understand why motorists are always the target?
At the end of the day, private motor vehicles are the least critical consumer. If there was no fuel "tomorrow," whether I drive a Leaf, or ride a pushbike, or simply use public transport is neither here nor there. However Public Transport, road & rail freight, shipping, power generation, flight, and metal smelters ARE critical.

[Raptor]

There's plenty of coal left.

It's the exponentially rising population all striving for first world living standards that will send us past the tipping point if things don't change soon.

Finding something that's as good as good old petrol/diesel is the problem for transport related emissions only. The big emissions come from industry (some of which are unavoidable) and energy generation.

[mik]

There was an article a while ago claiming that the 16 largest ocean liner/bulk carriers, put out more pollution than all the cars on the planet due to the dirty (cheaper)diesel they use, and cars are much cleaner emissions these days they it would not surprise me if it had some truth in it.
as for fossil fuels , humans are are very adaptive animal, when mineral x gets a bit more expensive and scarce to harvest we will just adapt to something else as a matter of course , it wont happen over night , it will gradually get pricier and we will ween of it to something more suitable and cheaper.

[superyob]

We are out going to run out any time soon as is my understanding. There is probably centuries worth of energy in the ground...

[XG_Falcon]

Read up on peak oil. Basically some people have been saying there will still be some dead dinosaurs left down there but we will reach a point in time when it is no longer economically feasible to pull them out the ground.

[xr8territory]

What single organisation is one of the largest users of fossil fuels in the world?

When you find the answer you will understand why there is also so much conflict in the world.

[cheap]

Many many years, estimates range from 200-400 years supply of oil left. Coal is even more plentiful.

You have opened up a hornets nest with CO2. The campaign against CO2 has turned into a religion, anyone who disagrees is call names. Just remember like most green schemes it is not about the cost or outcome, it is always about being seen to be "good".

[Spurious]

Either way, I AM NOT buying a Prius !!!

[superyob]

Originally Posted by superyob

We are out going to run out any time soon as is my understanding. There is probably centuries worth of energy in the ground...

Doh!! That should be not going to run out...

[chamb0]

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

BUT surely we are going to run out of carbon-based fuel, or at the very least face severe rationing, long before CO2 becomes a real problem? Plus, thereafter agriculture and plant life should start to reduce CO2 levels.

The effects are already becoming a measurable problem, but climate change also has a lag time of around 40 years. Our emissions today will be causing continual problems down the track. We are now experiencing the results of past emissions. This is partly why it's difficult for us to grapple with this problem - we're good at facing here & now type issues but the lag - and the seemingly amorphous nature of climate change - causes a disconnect.

As far as agriculture and plants go, the negative effects outweigh the positive. Climate change is a disruption rather than an advantage.

[superyob]

Originally Posted by chamb0

The effects are already becoming a measurable problem, but climate change also has a lag time of around 40 years. Our emissions today will be causing continual problems down the track. We are now experiencing the results of past emissions. This is partly why it's difficult for us to grapple with this problem - we're good at facing here & now type issues but the lag - and the seemingly amorphous nature of climate change - causes a disconnect.

As far as agriculture and plants go, the negative effects outweigh the positive. Climate change is a disruption rather than an advantage.

Off topic, but man made 'climate change' would be slightly more believable if the sky had fallen in by now as predicted by 'experts' and a certain side of the political spectrum...

As for running out of oil? Not going to happen anytime soon if some of these huge recent discoveries are to be believed...

[tranquilized]

Shale oil, tar sands, all that kinda stuff - means we have plenty of oil left available to us if we choose to go that way. And of course coal, there's loads of that left.

If we do decide to keep burning fossil fuels to the degree we do now global warming will become an unmitigated disaster for the human race. But what people don't seem to realise, when using terms like "helping the planet" or "saving the planet" is - the planet will be just fine, always was, always will be. It's typical human narcissism to suggest we could actually have a lasting effect on the universe. But the way things are going, this planet will not be fit to host humans for much longer. At least not in anywhere near the numbers it currently does. (much longer being several centuries, give or take) If it comes to that point the planet will be a lot better off without us!

Whoops I must have had one wine too many...

[mik]

Originally Posted by chamb0

The effects are already becoming a measurable problem, but climate change also has a lag time of around 40 years. Our emissions today will be causing continual problems down the track. We are now experiencing the results of past emissions. This is partly why it's difficult for us to grapple with this problem - we're good at facing here & now type issues but the lag - and the seemingly amorphous nature of climate change - causes a disconnect.

As far as agriculture and plants go, the negative effects outweigh the positive. Climate change is a disruption rather than an advantage.

yeah but people say it is all doom, and that is apparently just not the case, there are good things to come out of it too ..... but you will never ever, ever hear one word about that .

[cheap]

Originally Posted by chamb0

The effects are already becoming a measurable problem, but climate change also has a lag time of around 40 years. Our emissions today will be causing continual problems down the track. We are now experiencing the results of past emissions. This is partly why it's difficult for us to grapple with this problem - we're good at facing here & now type issues but the lag - and the seemingly amorphous nature of climate change - causes a disconnect.

As far as agriculture and plants go, the negative effects outweigh the positive. Climate change is a disruption rather than an advantage.

http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHART...lwarming2.html

A (Not Quite) Complete List Of Things Supposedly Caused By Global Warming

Acne , agricultural land increase , Afghan poppies destroyed , Africa devastated, Africa in conflict, , African aid threatened , African summer frost , aggressive weeds , More Toxic Poison Ivy , air pressure changes , airport malaria , Agulhas current , Alaska reshaped , moves , allergy season longer , alligators in the Thames , Alps melting , Amazon a desert , American dream end , amphibians breeding earlier (or not) , anaphylactic reactions to bee stings , ancient forests dramatically changed , animals head for the hills , animals shrink , Antarctic grass flourishes , Antarctic ice grows , Antarctic ice shrinks , Antarctic sea life at risk , anxiety treatment , algal blooms , archaeological sites threatened , Arab Spring , Arctic bogs melt , Arctic in bloom , Arctic ice free , Arctic ice melt faster , Arctic lakes disappear , Arctic tundra to burn , Arctic warming (not), Atlantic less salty , Atlantic more salty , atmospheric circulation modified , attack of the killer jellyfish , avalanches reduced , avalanches increased , Baghdad snow , Bahrain under water , bananas grow , barbarisation , beer shortage , beetle infestation , bet for $10,000 , better beer , big melt faster , billion dollar research projects , billion homeless , billions face risk , billions of deaths , bird distributions change , bird loss accelerating , birds shrinking , bird strikes , bird visitors drop , birds confused , birds decline (Wales) , birds driven north , birds return early , bittern boom ends , blackbirds stop singing , blackbirds threatened , Black Hawk down , blood contaminated , blue mussels return , bluetongue , brain eating amoebae , brains shrink , bridge collapse (Minneapolis) , Britain one big city , Smaller loaves of Bread , Britain Siberian , brothels struggle , brown Ireland , bubonic plague , budget increases , Buddhist temple threatened , building collapse , building season extension , bushfires , business opportunities , business risks , butterflies move north, camel deaths , cancer deaths in England , cannibalism , cannibalism again , caterpillar biomass shift , cave paintings threatened , childhood insomnia, Cholera , circumcision in decline , cirrus disappearance , civil unrest , cloud increase , coast beauty spots lost , cockroach migration, , coffee threatened , cold climate creatures survive , cold spells (Australia) , cold wave (India) , computer models , conferences , conflict , conflict with Russia , consumers foot the bill , coral bleaching , coral fish suffer , coral reefs dying , coral reefs grow, coral reefs shrink , coral reefs twilight, Cabbage Shortage , cost of trillions , cougar attacks, crabgrass menace, cradle of civilisation threatened , creatures move uphill, crime increase , crocodile sex, crops devastated , crumbling roads, buildings and sewage systems , curriculum change , cyclones (Australia), danger to kid's health , Darfur , Dartford Warbler plague , death rate increase (US) , deaths to reach 6 million, Dengue hemorrhagic fever , depression , desert advance , desert retreat , destruction of the environment , disappearance of coastal cities, disasters , diseases move from animals to humans , diseases move north , dog disease , Dolomites collapse , dozen deadly diseases , drought, ducks and geese decline , dust bowl in the corn belt , early marriages , early spring , earlier pollen season , Earth biodiversity crisis , Earth dying , Earth even hotter , Earth light dimming , Earth lopsided, Earth melting , Earth morbid fever , Earth on fast track , Earth past point of no return , Earth slowing down , Earth spins faster, Earth to explode , Earth's poles shift , earth upside down , earthquakes , Specifically the 2015 Nepal earthquake , earthquakes redux , earthquakes redux 2 , Egypt revolt , El Niño intensification , end of the world as we know it , erosion , emerging infections, encephalitis, English villages lost , equality threatened , Europe simultaneously baking and freezing, eutrophication , evolution accelerating , expansion of university climate groups,

extinctions (human , civilisation, logic , Inuit , smallest butterfly , cod, ladybirds , pikas , polar bears, possums , walrus, toads , plants , salmon , trout , wild flowers , woodlice , a million species , half of all animal and plant species, mountain species , not polar bears , barrier reef , leaches , salamanders , tropical insects)

experts muzzled , extreme changes to California , fading fall foliage , fainting , famine , farmers benefit , farmers go under , farm output boost , fashion disaster , fever , figurehead sacked , fir cone bonanza , fish bigger , fish catches drop , fish downsize, fish catches rise , fish deaf, fish get lost , fish head north , fish stocks at risk , fish stocks decline , five million illnesses , flames stoked , flesh eating disease , flood patterns change , floods, floods of beaches and cities , flood of migrants, flood preparation for crisis , Florida economic decline , flowers in peril , fog (more) in San Francisco , fog (less) in San Francisco , food poisoning, food prices rise , food prices soar , food security threat (SA), football team migration , footpath erosion, forest decline , forest expansion , frog with extra heads , frostbite , frost damage increased , frosts , fungi fruitful , fungi invasion , games change , Garden of Eden wilts , geese decline in Hampshire , genetic diversity decline, gene pools slashed , giant oysters invade, giant pythons invade , giant squid migrate , gingerbread houses collapse , glacial earthquakes , glacial retreat, glacial growth , glacier grows (California) , glacier wrapped , global cooling , global dimming, glowing clouds , golf course to drown , golf Masters wrecked , grandstanding , grasslands wetter , Great Barrier Reef 95% dead , Great Lakes drop , great tits cope , greening of the North , Grey whales lose weight , Gulf Stream failure , habitat loss , haggis threatened , Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, harmful algae , harvest increase , harvest shrinkage , hay fever epidemic , health affected , health of children harmed, health risks, heart disease, heart attacks and strokes (Australia), heat waves, hibernation affected, hibernation ends too soon , hibernation ends too late , high court debates , *** epidemic , homeless 50 million , hornets , horses shrink , human development faces unprecedented reversal , human fertility reduced, human health risk , human race oblivion , hurricanes , hurricane reduction , hurricanes fewer , hurricanes not , hydropower problems , hyperthermia deaths , ice age , ice sheet growth , ice sheet shrinkage , icebergs , illegal immigration , illness and death , inclement weather , India drowning , infrastructure failure (Canada) , industry threatened , infectious diseases, inflation in China , insect explosion, insurance premium rises , Inuit displacement , Inuit poisoned , Inuit suing , invasion of cats , invasion of crabgrass , invasion of herons , invasion of jellyfish , invasion of king crabs , invasion of midges, island disappears , islands sinking , Creation of ISIS , itchier poison ivy , jellyfish explosion , jets fall from sky , jet stream drifts north , Kew Gardens taxed , kidney stones , kidney stones again , killer cornflakes , killing us , kitten boom , koalas under threat , krill decline , lake and stream productivity decline , lake empties , lake shrinking and growing , landslides , landslides of ice at 140 mph , lawsuits increase, lawsuit successful, lawyers' income increased (surprise surprise!) , lawyers want more , legionnaires' surge , lives saved , lizards change sex , Loch Ness monster dead , Locust plagues suppressed , Longer wprk breaks , Lopsided Earth , lush growth in rain forests, Malaria, mammoth dung melt , mango harvest fails , Maple production advanced , Maple syrup shortage , marine diseases, marine food chain decimated, Meaching (end of the world) , Mediterranean rises , megacryometeors , Melanoma , Melanoma decline , meteors from space , methane emissions from plants , methane burps , methane runaway , melting permafrost , Middle Kingdom convulses , migration , migration difficult (birds) , migratory birds huge losses , microbes to decompose soil carbon more rapidly , minorities hit, monkeys on the move , Mont Blanc grows, monuments imperiled, moose dying, more bad air days, more research needed, mortality increased, mountain (Everest) shrinking, mountaineers fears, mountains break up , mountains green and flowering, mountains taller , mortality lower , murder higher , Myanmar cyclone , narwhals at risk , National security implications , native wildlife overwhelmed , natural disasters quadruple , new islands , next ice age , NFL threatened, Nile delta damaged , noctilucent clouds , no effect in India, Northwest Passage opened, nuclear plants bloom, oaks dying , oaks move north, ocean acidification , ocean acidification faster , ocean dead zones unleashed , ocean deserts expand , ocean waves speed up , oceans noisier , opera house to be destroyed , outdoor hockey threatened, ozone repair slowed, ozone rise , Pacific dead zone , penguin chicks frozen, personal carbon rationing, pest outbreaks , pests increase, phenology shifts , plankton blooms , plankton destabilised , plants lose protein , plants march north, plants move uphill, polar bears aggressive , polar bears cannibalistic, polar bears deaf, polar bears drowning, polar bears eating themselves, polar tours scrapped , popcorn rise , porpoise astray , profits collapse, prostitution, prostitution (again), psychiatric illness, puffin decline, radars taken out , railroad tracks deformed , rainfall increase , rape wave , refugees , reindeer endangered , release of ancient frozen viruses , resorts disappear , rice threatened, rice yields crash, rift on Capitol Hill , rioting and nuclear war, Rise and Fall of Rome, river flow impacted , rivers raised , roads wear out , robins rampant, rocky peaks crack apart , roof of the world a desert, rooftop bars , Ross river disease , ruins ruined, Russia under pressure , salinity reduction , salinity increase , Salmonella, Salmon Decline, satellites accelerate , school closures , sea level rise , sea level rise faster , seals mating more , sewer bills rise , severe thunderstorms , sex change , sexual promiscuity , shark attacks , sharks booming , sharks moving north , sheep shrink , shop closures , short-nosed dogs endangered , shrinking ponds , shrinking shrine , ski resorts threatened , skin cancer , slow death , smaller brains , smog , snowfall increase , snowfall heavy, soaring food prices, societal collapse , soil change , songbirds change eating habits , sour grapes , space problem , spectacular orchids , spiders invade Scotland , squid aggressive giants , squid population explosion , squid tamed , squirrels reproduce earlier , stingray invasion , storms wetter , stormwater drains stressed , street crime to increase, subsidence , suicide , swordfish in the Baltic , Tabasco tragedy , taxes , tectonic plate movement , teenage drinking , terrorism , terrorism again , threat to peace , ticks move northward (Sweden) , tides rise , tigers eat people , tomatoes rot , tornado outbreak , tourism increase , trade barriers, trade winds weakened , traffic jams , transportation threatened , tree foliage increase (UK), tree growth slowed , trees in trouble , trees less colourful , trees more colourful , trees lush , tropics expansion , tropopause raised , truffle shortage, truffles down , turtles crash , Turbulence in air travel , turtle feminised , turtles lay earlier , UFO sightings , UK coastal impact , UK Katrina , uprooted - 6 million , Vampire bats , Vampire moths , Venice flooded , violin decline , volcanic eruptions , volcanic eruptions redux , Iceland volcano eruption, walrus pups orphaned , walrus stampede , war , war between US and Canada , wars over water , wars sparked , wars threaten billions , wasps , water bills double , water scarcity (20% of increase), water stress , weather out of its mind , weather patterns awry , Western aid cancelled out, West Nile fever , whales lose weight , whales move north , whales wiped out , wheat yields crushed in Australia , wildfires, wind shift , wind reduced, wine - harm to Australian industry , wine industry damage (California), wine industry disaster (France), wine - more English wine industry disaster (US), wine - more English , wine - England too hot , wine -German boon , wine - no more French , wine passé (Napa) , wine stronger , winters in Britain colder , winter in Britain dead , witchcraft executions , wolves eat more moose , wolves eat less, workers laid off , World at war , World War 4 , World bankruptcy , World in crisis , World in flames , Yellow fever.

and all on 0.006 deg C per year!

[chamb0]

Originally Posted by superyob

Off topic, but man made 'climate change' would be slightly more believable if the sky had fallen in by now as predicted by 'experts' and a certain side of the political spectrum...

It's a mistake to take advice on science from politicians. It's bat **** boring the way our political tribalism plays out. Often our position on climate change (and other things) are our badge of identity showing others who we belong to and who our enemies are. A strong predictor of someone's stance on climate change is their political affiliation. That alone shows there's been a profound failure in science communication. Very few come to an impartial position independent of their ideology, we hear information which has been filtered down to a 3rd hand source, and hardly anyone will change their mind because someone shows them some facts and figures. Quibbles are endless, predictably reactive and mind numbing, and rarely do you see someone take time to find common ground with someone they disagree with. Links to weird websites reign supreme. Tribalism is both humanity's great strength and great weakness...

[tranquilized]

Originally Posted by chamb0

It's a mistake to take advice on science from politicians. It's bat **** boring the way our political tribalism plays out. Often our position on climate change (and other things) are our badge of identity showing others who we belong to and who our enemies are. A strong predictor of someone's stance on climate change is their political affiliation. That alone shows there's been a profound failure in science communication. Very few come to an impartial position independent of their ideology, we hear information which has been filtered down to a 3rd hand source, and hardly anyone will change their mind because someone shows them some facts and figures. Quibbles are endless, predictably reactive and mind numbing, and rarely do you see someone take time to find common ground with someone they disagree with. Links to weird websites reign supreme. Tribalism is both humanity's great strength and great weakness...

Excellent post, absolutely spot on.

[CoupeKing]

We will continue to do what we have always done - Adapt.

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by chamb0

The effects are already becoming a measurable problem, but climate change also has a lag time of around 40 years.

Haha, no, the only people claiming current climate change is due to man-made levels of CO2 are the alfoil-hat brigade.
Currently CO2 levels are around 400ppm, but increasing at around 2ppm pa, and accelerating. That's the problem.
At various prehistoric times, levels have been estimated to be several thousands. Opinions vary as to when it becomes a huge problem, although many suggest a "tipping point" around 600ppm. Which unfortunately we could easily reach in a 100 years or sooner if we don't slow down.

BUT, to give something to compare to, at levels below 200ppm the majority of plantlife would die.

Originally Posted by chamb0

As far as agriculture and plants go, the negative effects outweigh the positive. .

Currently the biosphere IS a net carbon sink. So if at some point in the future we can nolonger burn fossil fuels, hopefully nature would start to win.

[mik]

Originally Posted by chamb0

It's a mistake to take advice on science from politicians. It's bat **** boring the way our political tribalism plays out. Often our position on climate change (and other things) are our badge of identity showing others who we belong to and who our enemies are. A strong predictor of someone's stance on climate change is their political affiliation. That alone shows there's been a profound failure in science communication. Very few come to an impartial position independent of their ideology, we hear information which has been filtered down to a 3rd hand source, and hardly anyone will change their mind because someone shows them some facts and figures. Quibbles are endless, predictably reactive and mind numbing, and rarely do you see someone take time to find common ground with someone they disagree with. Links to weird websites reign supreme. Tribalism is both humanity's great strength and great weakness...

yes and no, the thing is we are pretty arrogant, we think we know all the science , when really we dont know much, yet 90 % of the population of the earth probably still worships mythical dudes and whats worse 90 % of the planet is probably run by the very same dudes !
Add to that every year the huge war machine that continually gets bigger from various countries and sucks up more resources is building itself up for a big oil/realestate/ (r word), war party .... byo nukes and spending billions doing it while millions around the world in poverty starve.
if i had to worry about running out of resources or pollution or climate change or ww3 and having seen the history of humans and watching the daily news ...... i think i would be far more worried about everything else on the list of human induced problems long before climate change which will happen regardless.

[chamb0]

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

BUT surely we are going to run out of carbon-based fuel, or at the very least face severe rationing, long before CO2 becomes a real problem? Plus, thereafter agriculture and plant life should start to reduce CO2 levels.

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

Currently the biosphere IS a net carbon sink. So if at some point in the future we can nolonger burn fossil fuels, hopefully nature would start to win.

Have a read of this, I think it looks directly at the crux of your question?

http://theconversation.com/what-woul...es-today-35011

What would happen to the climate if we were to stop emitting carbon dioxide today, right now? Would we return to the climate of our elders? The simple answer is no. Once we release the carbon dioxide stored in the fossil fuels we burn, it accumulates in and moves amongst the atmosphere, the oceans, the land, and the plants and animals of the biosphere. The released carbon dioxide will remain in the atmosphere for thousands of years. Only after many millennia will it return to rocks, for example, through the formation of calcium carbonate – limestone – as marine organisms' shells settle to the bottom of the ocean. But on time spans relevant to humans, once released the carbon dioxide is in our environment essentially forever. It does not go away, unless we, ourselves, remove it.

If we stop emitting today, it’s not the end of the story for global warming. There’s a delay in temperature increase as the climate catches up with all the carbon that’s in the atmosphere. After maybe 40 more years, the climate will stabilize at a temperature higher than what was normal for previous generations.

[chamb0]

Originally Posted by mik

yes and no, the thing is we are pretty arrogant, we think we know all the science , when really we dont know much, yet 90 % of the population of the earth probably still worships mythical dudes and whats worse 90 % of the planet is probably run by the very same dudes !
Add to that every year the huge war machine that continually gets bigger from various countries and sucks up more resources is building itself up for a big oil/realestate/ (r word), war party .... byo nukes and spending billions doing it while millions around the world in poverty starve.
if i had to worry about running out of resources or pollution or climate change or ww3 and having seen the history of humans and watching the daily news ...... i think i would be far more worried about everything else on the list of human induced problems long before climate change which will happen regardless.

We can and should deal with more than one problem at once, especially with a major one which will be aggravating some of our other intractable issues like poverty, disease, resource scarcity and resulting conflict, growing enough food etc.

[Express]

Fossil fuels are for fossils.

Regardless if there are abundant reserves or not Australia should be looking at starting a whole new industry with a focus towards future employment opportunities by investing in renewable energy.

We have some smart people in the CSIRO and we should use them to find solutions to make clean energy a viable proposition and sell it to the world.

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by chamb0

Have a read of this, I think it looks directly at the crux of your question?

http://theconversation.com/what-woul...es-today-35011

What would happen to the climate if we were to stop emitting carbon dioxide today, right now? Would we return to the climate of our elders? The simple answer is no. Once we release the carbon dioxide stored in the fossil fuels we burn, it accumulates in and moves amongst the atmosphere, the oceans, the land, and the plants and animals of the biosphere. The released carbon dioxide will remain in the atmosphere for thousands of years. Only after many millennia will it return to rocks, for example, through the formation of calcium carbonate – limestone – as marine organisms' shells settle to the bottom of the ocean. But on time spans relevant to humans, once released the carbon dioxide is in our environment essentially forever. It does not go away, unless we, ourselves, remove it.

If we stop emitting today, it’s not the end of the story for global warming. There’s a delay in temperature increase as the climate catches up with all the carbon that’s in the atmosphere. After maybe 40 more years, the climate will stabilize at a temperature higher than what was normal for previous generations.

CO2 cycles through our atmosphere and environment, at the rate of over 400 megatonnes per annum. Currently it is estimated that the natural environment is a net sink (albeit not by much) one source I read said its about 3%. So the environment would recover, albeit very slowly. In reality CO2 levels would drop much more slowly than they are currently increasing.
And that's assuming we could actually get to zero human emissions. It's not just fossil fuels. Cement & Lime production is a big contributor, as is deforestation.

I guess I've in part answered my own question...

[Franco Cozzo]

The problem is to tackle the issue very much requires global cooperation, we can't even agree with each other on this forum, those controversial topics you can see a line form down the middle and everyone picks a side rather quickly.

Let alone trying to get multiple nations to agree to do something, the argument has already been lost before we even started.

Everyone wants to leave the world in a better condition for the next generation but unfortunately no one wants to pay for it though.

I have faith that when oil reserves start getting short the smart people in lab coats and safety glasses will have a solution assuming the petrolium industry hasn't had them assasinated

[jmack]

it was the so called smart people in lab coats which design all this stuff in the first place

[StealthAu]

Places highly populated with a high consumption of fossil fuels per capita are all you need to look at to realise a cleaner way of doing things isn't a bad idea.
Yet everyone still wants to argue otherwise.

[Stefan]

Weird, if climate change is 40 years in delay I guess its a non issue. WE were much dirtier in terms of pollution 40 years ago and today we have zero affect on the climate.

Then we have these idiots making BS predictions like above or like Tim Flanery saying it will never rain again in 2015 and we spend billions on a desalination plant. Who knows how much carbon we emitted building the thing or how much energy is used to have it sitting there idling away.

[Charliewool]

Don't know which I love the most... A Hulk thread or a climate change thread??

[CyberWasp]

We are not running out of Fossil Fuels.
Places like Alaska are loaded and haven't been mined yet.
Many more large reserves will be found with better technology in the future, in places unknown to us at the present time.

[NAK302]