Imagine a world without gasoline and oil

[mopaul]

it's easy if you try, no carcinogens in our lungs, no latex particulates in the sky. imagine a vehicle that does not emit poison and give you cancer, a car that does not melt the glaciers and warm the earth. it IS extremely possible, and the technology already exists.

if we do it voluntarily or out of necessity, it will happen soon anyway. the gasoline and oil will all run out and we will seek alternative fuels and we will drive less and cars will be made to run on something other than poison gasoline. and someday soon, we will no longer buy oil from evil kings and princes. and someday the Arab world will not hate America, but embrace us as all nations and people's should embrace one another.

and someday soon, we will no longer have to sacrifice our young, as the mayans did, to appease our god and our nation and bring about a time of no wars.

imagine

[warrior1]

1. It would be

much quieter.

[ellie]

2. I think about this often.

It will probably happen within my lifetime. A lot of people won't be able to handle it.

[Yogi]

3. maybe someday, we can only hope. n/t

[CaTeacher]

5. it is a goal and I

think you stated it very eloquently!

[Baltimoreboy]

21. Yeah, pity a couple billion people might die

[Ripley]

4. That's like asking the Horse and Buggy types to imagine Cars!

Human beings are for the most part very slow to change. Very suspicious of something new. And they are mostly selfish. They can't see the carcinogens and particulates that are damaging (except smog...but then look where that is and how many people continue to live in it and not run fleeing to the hills)...all they know is they like their Giant SUV's and they have Exxon in their porfolio, so Fuck you! You Commie God-hating girlie man!

:hi:

[terrya]

6. You know that big ball of fire in the sky? The Sun??

Breaking news...there's this thing called "solar power" that can be harnessed into our use. And, hey...the technology is here right now! Just a memo to the people who think we have to go to war just so that some damn asshole with a tiny penis can put gas in his Hummer.

[Warpy]

9. Hard to harness solar for heavy industry

like steel, so I think we'll be using coal for some time to come, even after the oil runs out. It's also going to be a rough transition from chemical farming to organic, although growers even now are demonstrating it can be done efficiently with no real sacrifice in crop yield (and even increases in some cases).

The real problem is the oil being wasted now that is essential to produce things like medical devices. I'm old enough to remember healthcare before some of the plastic items, and it wasn't pretty. When you think of your life without oil, think of your life without plastic, too.

We can complain now about the lack of planning for this future, but that's how the human race as a whole has always been. Sometimes I think people just aren't smart.

[BiggJawn]

7. Better yet, rent it on DVD!

"Mad Max"
"The Road Warrior"
"Beyond Thunderdome"

No Vinyl, no Naughahyde, so everyone has to wear leather and studs....:wtf:

[mopaul]

8. i'll kill ya for a tank o' gas mate

two go in, one comes out

[BiggJawn]

13. The Juice! The precious JUICE!!!

It may come to that, won't it?

[Dems Will Win]

10. Air Car invented see this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2159409

[Dissenting_Prole]

14. Where do you get the energy to compress the air?

From a compressed-air well in the ground?

You make compressed air using electricity produced by other energy sources like oil, coal and natural gas. All the solar panels you could fit in your driveway wouldn't be enough to charge it up.

The future will not be about driving. Get used to it. Buy a bike.



http://www.endofsuburbia.com/

[tabasco]

11. Americans will be in a lot better shape.

No more one-block drives to the 7-11. Buy stock in Schwinn, Canondale, Giant, etc.

[mopaul]

15. some people can't ride bikes

of course. so busses and cars will always be around. trains too. i'd prefer the stanley steamer/solar car

[Bowline]

12. We lived for thousands of years without internal combustion vehicles.

And we'll live for thousands more after they're gone. It'll be a major lifestyle adjustment but it'll happen, and we'll carry on.

[Dissenting_Prole]

16. You tell 200 million entitled North Americans....

they can just "carry on".

It is going to be a shitstorm.

http://www.endofsuburbia.com/

[Bowline]

17. They'll get over it.

They won't necessarily like it, but they'll get over it. Besides, once it becomes too expensive to burn oil some enterprising person will come up with a cheap, reliable way to power cars using hydrogen, electricity, or horse manure. Someone will always come up with the next big thing. It's human nature.

[Dissenting_Prole]

18. ok, but...

Where do you get the energy to make hydrogen? It doesn't just come bubbling up out of the ground or grow on a vine.

What good are electric cars if the electricity is made from natural gas that is being depleted or nuclear power plants that haven't been built?

There isn't enough horseshit in North America to run things the way we're running things right now.

It's issue is not how we're going to be living in 20 years. The problem is how we're going to deal with the problem in the meantime. We are 20 years too late in developing alternatives. Sadly, in the end most Americans would rather see somebody bombed rather than change their lifestyles, whether they will actually admit it or not.

[Baltimoreboy]

22. We weren't all living in cities

Now we are dependent on transportation to feed us, bring us clothes, medicine, etc.

[AngryAmish]

19. Very dirty

Imagine all the manure. Tons of horseflies, too. I hate those things.

[Karenina]

20. They BITE!

;-)