New book called life after the oil crisis..

[Technoid]

Originally posted by Brian Ellis
Yes, Technoid, there is some crackpot theory of oil not being a fossil fuel, but it is not possible, according to our knowledge of geochemistry.
It depends on a combination of pressure and heat acting on methane in the presence of water and some minerals. Unfortunately for these guys, the action of heat on organic matter is exactly the opposite of pressure. The theory was developed because an oil well on the Mexican coast appeared to be "magically" replenished after it had been exploited to exhaustion. However, it fell down when seepage through porous rock explained the phenomenon.

I believe this is the "crackpot" you where refering to http://people.cornell.edu/pages/tg21/

[Chrono_Wanderer]

Originally posted by Brian Ellis
Hydrogen for cars is simply not a practical proposition. To produce enough means doubling or tripling the electricity production and there is quite simply not enough platinum in the world for the fuel cells. The only technology we have available just now is a massive reduction of consumption by using small hybrid vehicles (e.g., Toyota Prius), while scrapping all SUVs, Hummers etc. This will come about as the gallon of gas reaches $5 to 10, and that scenario is not too distant.

*points* Lexus RX400h and the Toyota Highlander hybrid. I think Toyota is taking hybrid to a positive direction...