Fuentes De Energia

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World energy resources
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Fossil fuel
These are the proven energy reserves; real reserves may be up to a factor 4 larger. Significant uncertainty exists for these numbers. The estimation of the remaining fossil fuels on the planet depends on a detailed understanding of the Earth's crust. Thisunderstanding is still less than perfect. While modern drilling technology makes it possible to drill wells in up to 3 km of water to verify the exact composition of the geology, one half of the ocean is deeper than 3 km, leaving about a third of the planet beyond the reach of detailed analysis.
However one should keep in mind that these quantitative measures of the amount of proven reserves of thefossil fuels do not take into account several factors critical to the cost of extracting them from the ground and critical to the price of the energy extracted from the fossil fuels. These factors include the accessibility of fossil deposits, the level of sulfur and other pollutants in the oil and the coal, transportation costs, risky locations, etc. As said before easy fossils have been extractedlong ago. The ones left in the ground are dirty and expensive to extract.
Coal
Coal is the most abundant and burned fossil fuel. This was the fuel that launched the industrial revolution and has continued to grow in use; China, which already has many of the world's most polluted cities,[5] was in 2007 building about two coal-fired power plants every week.[6][7] Coal is the fastest growing fossilfuel and its large reserves would make it a popular candidate to meet the energy demand of the global community, short of global warming concerns and other pollutants.[8] According to the International Energy Agency the proven reserves of coal are around 909 billion tonnes, which could sustain the current production rate for 155 years,[9] although at a 5% growth per annum this would be reduced to45 years, or until 2051. With the Fischer-Tropsch process it is possible to make liquid fuels such as diesel and jet fuel from coal. In the United States, 49% of electricity generation comes from burning coal.[10]
Oil
It is estimated that there may be 57 ZJ of oil reserves on Earth (although estimates vary from a low of 8 ZJ,[11] consisting of currently proven and recoverable reserves, to amaximum of 110 ZJ[12]) consisting of available, but not necessarily recoverable reserves, and including optimistic estimates for unconventional sources such as tar sands andoil shale. Current consensus among the 18 recognized estimates of supply profiles is that the peak of extraction will occur in 2020 at the rate of 93-million barrels per day (mbd). Current oil consumption is at the rate of 0.18 ZJper year (31.1 billion barrels) or 85-mbd.
There is growing concern that peak oil production may be reached in the near future, resulting in severe oil price increases.[13] A 2005 French Economics, Industry and Finance Ministry report suggested a worst-case scenario that could occur as early as 2013.[14] There are also theories that peak of the global oil production may occur in as little as 2–3years. The ASPO predicts peak year to be in 2010. Some other theories present the view that it has already taken place in 2005. World crude oil production (including lease condensates) according to US EIA data decreased from a peak of 73.720 mbd in 2005 to 73.437 in 2006, 72.981 in 2007, and 73.697 in 2008. According to peak oil theory, increasing production will lead to a more rapid collapse ofproduction in the future, while decreasing production will lead to a slower decrease, as the bell-shaped curve will be spread out over more years.
In a stated goal of increasing oil prices to $75/barrel, which had fallen from a high of $147 to a low of $40, OPEC announced decreasing production by 2.2 mbd beginning 1 January 2009.
Sustainability
Political considerations over the security of...