Oil and Gas Will Eventually be Exhausted (1909)
Sunday, June 14, 2009 at 9:00AM ;)
The July 19, 1909 Titusville Herald (Titusville, PA) ran an article containing predictions by the United States Geological Survey of a coming energy crisis. The report predicted that all petroleum and iron would be exhausted by 1939, all natural gas by 1934 and all coal by the middle of the 21st century.
Interestingly, the report notes that both conservation and technological advancements might be able to head off this energy collapse. In the case of iron, the report notes that the best ores were being rapidly exhausted and that unless a new process is invented it would mean much higher prices. We see that this is precisely what happened in mines such as the one my grandfather worked in on the Iron Range of northern Minnesota, with new technologies that made use of cheap taconite, once considered a waste product.
You can read the entire newspaper article below.
The photo above is of the Fayal mining pit, circa 1940. The man on the right looks like my grandfather, though I'm not completely sure.
1909 July 19 Titusville Herald - Titusville PA Article
Previously on Paleo-Future:
- Syd Mead Art for U.S. Steel (1960s)
- Rhapsody of Steel Film (1959)
- Rhapsody of Steel (1959)
- The Future World of Energy (1984)
- Future World of Transportation
- Future Buses (1939)
alternative energy, conservation, energy, gasoline, oil, petroleum, titusville herald, transportation in 1900s Tweet
Reader Comments (5)
This is a good information should be known. How ever oil and gas industry always the most existing energy which needed. In addition the oil and gas technology always develop a good feature.
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admin
www.indogas.us
Forget about oil. . Only a fool would think that oil is regenerating itself as fast than it is being consumed
Not only is it becoming increasing more difficult to find oil, forcing us to spend more to drill further and deeper, it is an economically unreliable energy source ..subject to price manipulation by oil cartels, commodities speculators and energy companies.
Currently the world's energy is derived from either oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear, solar, hydroelectric, wind or geothermal.
Here are, what I think, the qualities we should require of the ideal energy source for the next 1000 years.
Whatever it is should be....
1. unlimited-one that will NEVER "run out"
2. universal-so abundant that all countries will have access to it and not just a few lucky countries who can hold the rest of the world "hostage"
3. cheap-an energy source that even the poorest of people will have easy access to.
4. clean-any future energy source should not contribute to a worsening of our environment
5.consumer empowered-an energy source that will free people from dependence on third parties like utility companies to set the price and method of delivery.
Oil doesn't make it on any one of the five points.
This is the 21st century. The internal combustion engine is over 100 years old. Time to move into the future
BUEN COMIENZO
I'm amazed that over 100 years later we're still so dependent upon a limited, dwindling resource. Time for change is upon us. Norris' 5 points above are spot on.
Electrician
Norris what you are describing is an ideal haven and in this world of economics simply cant exist. Even if energy countries bring out a cheap fuel they will charge us a fortune for it saying they need the money for technology and if they don't governments will slap it with a high tax as they wont be making all the money they do from it as they do now.