Comment: 17:36 - 18:40 (01:04)
Source: Annenberg/CPB Resources - Earth Revealed 26. Living With Earth, Part II
Keywords: "James Sadd", "reflection seismology", "horizontal drilling", "satellite remote sensing", satellite, oil, gas, reserve, geologist, exploration, technology, energy, "fossil fuel", environment, "public health", "sedimentary rock", "geologic time", power, "nonrenewable resource"
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Our transcription: Creative techniques, like reflection seismology, horizontal drilling, and satellite remote sensing not only make the development of existing oil and gas reserves more efficient, they also allow geologists to search for new oil fields more effectively.
But as powerful as these technologies are, they represent only a short-term solution to our energy problems.
And regardless of how efficient our oil extraction capabilities become, the widespread use of petroleum and other fossil fuels will continue to aggravate a number of serious environmental and public health problems.
The simple inescapable fact is that the world's supply of petroleum is finite and nonrenewable.
The best estimate of global oil reserves indicates that we've already used about half of the world's commercially available oil.
And oil that's now forming in sedimentary rocks won't be available for millions of years.
It's safe to say that many of us living today will see an end to the widespread use of petroleum as a fuel for transportation and for generating electricity.
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Geology School Keywords
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