• Question: Is there any point in using less fossil fuels - we will use them all up eventually?

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      Asked by Clarkey to Megan, Mzamo, Ola, Olivia, Weiyi on 7 Nov 2016.
      • Photo: Ola Michalec

        Ola Michalec answered on 7 Nov 2016:

        Hello,

        The key message here is that we cannot afford to use up all the fossil fuels left in the ground – we need to leave the remaining in the ground and focus on developing other ways of energy production, e.g. wind, solar, energy from food waste etc.

        So really the politicians and businesses should not just try to use less – we need really strong actions and commitments to using dramatically less fossil fuels, and – if technology allows, completely replacing it with other sources in the next decades.

        If we use up all the fossil fuels left in the ground, it will lead to damaging consequences – both for animals, plants and humans.

      • Photo: Megan Seymour

        Megan Seymour answered on 7 Nov 2016:

        I agree with Ola’s answer.

        But there are other things to think about as well. For example, we need oil to make really important things like plastics and pharmaceutical drugs. So we really want to avoid using up all of our oil for energy so that we have enough left to keep using it as a chemical feedstock until we find other ways of doing these things.

      • Photo: Mzamo Shozi

        Mzamo Shozi answered on 7 Nov 2016:

        I agree with Ola and Megan. That is why in Science we are constantly looking for alternate ways of generating energy.

      • Photo: Olivia Ashton

        Olivia Ashton answered on 8 Nov 2016:

        Yes! As the others have said, we can’t afford to just use it up. If we dont start using less now, there will come a day where there is no more and we have no other resources to depend on, and what we use energy for wont be ready. For example, if we waited until we ran out of fossil fuels, how would we power our cars? View it as a long changeover period – using less and less fossil fuels and more and more renewables.

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