So lets look at it a little different. Credit for this idea goes to Hew Crane.
Turns out the World uses (as of 2008) about 30 Billion Barrels of Oil per year. That is 1.2 Trillion US Gallons. Which works out to just about 1 Cubic Mile of Oil.
Think about a cubic mile for a minute. From where you are now go 1 mile north, 1 mile east and 1 mile straight up. Now fill that container up with oil.
Allowing fifty years to develop each replacement, one cubic mile of oil could be replaced by any one of these developments:
· 4 Three Gorges Dam 22,500 MW developed each year for 50 years, or
· 40 Niagara Falls developed each year for 50 years, or
· 52 Nuclear Power Plants, developed each year for 50 years, or
· 104 Coal Fired Plants developed each year for 50 years, or
· 35,000 Large Wind Turbines developed each year for 50 years, or
92,000,000 rooftop Solar Photovoltaic Panels developed each year for 50 years
See why there is no simple solution for replacing fossil fuel as our main source of energy?
