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There are two reasons for finding alternatives to petroleum (oil): Availability and the environment.

AVAILABILITY:
There are two theories for how oil is naturally created: Biogenic and abiogenic.

In the biogenic theory, organic matter is converted into petroleum by natural processes. This is probably the theory you know; you're powering your car with the remains dinosaurs that died millions of years ago. Biogenic theory means that a finite amount of oil exists and, when we run out, it will take millions of years for the Earth to create more.

In the abiogenic theory, petroleum creation is inorganic. It happens deep in the Earth's crust (or farther down, in the mantle) and the oil gradually rises to the surface. Abiogenic theory means that the creation of oil has always been going on and will continue. If we leave an oil well alone long enough, it will fill back up.

There are arguments for both schools of thought. From a real-world perspective, however, which theory is correct is irrelevant. In either case, the time involved makes availability a concern. It either takes too long to create (biogenic), or it takes too long to refill the existing wells.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration produced an "International Energy Annual" (http://www.eia.doe.gov/iea/) that contained information on the world petroleum consumption between 1980 and 2005. A chart of that information shows a continuous growth between 1983 (58.8 million barrels per day) and 2005 (83.6 million barrels per day). With more nations becoming industrialized, this growth will only accelerate.

That makes the availability of petroleum a concern. We are using it faster than the Earth can create it (biogenic theory) or faster than we can get to it (abiogenic theory). Even in the best-case scenario, we are using it faster than we can get to it. To coin a phrase: Something's got to give.

ENVIRONMENT:
Another chart, also based on information from the Energy Information Administration, shows the world carbon dioxide emissions. That chart shows emissions starting in 1983 at 660 million metric tons and steadily rising to over a billion in 2005. The Mauna Loa Observatory's chart of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations shows a similar rise over the same period[1].

So the $64 question is this: Did we cause global warming or is it just a natural cycle?

The answer is: It doesn't matter. Even if global warming is a natural cycle, are we making things better by pouring billions of tons of carbon

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