slick
the t.s.o.a. math corner is gonna work a couple things out here based on what we read in this article in today's NYTimes about Saudi oil production.
Saudi Arabia currently produces about 8 million barrels of oil a day, which is described as "roughly one-tenth of the world's needs". They also have a proven reserve of 250 billion barrels, which is "one-fourth of the world's total". OK, so that means that the world goes through about 80 million barrels a day, and that there are 1 trillion barrels out there to be harvested (this total is borne out in this Department of Energy chart).
if we go with these numbers on their face, we can see that 80 million x 365 = 29.2 billion barrels of oil used worldwide each year. 1 trillion barrels in reserves/ 29.2 billion barrels per year = 34.25 years before all that oil is gone.
this of course assumes two things: 1. that oil consumption does not rise - which it is projected to do; 2. that no new reserves are found - very unlikely given the motivation of oil companies and governements. but the kicker is that many billions of dollars need to be spent to locate and extricate those theoretical untapped reserves. but those dollars could just as easily go to developing technology that will allow us to stop using oil almost altogether, which seems pretty smart given that the oil is going to run out eventually anyway. even if we find more can we really expect to depend on it for more than the next 50 years? since we know this now, wouldn't this be the best time to prepare for an oil-free future?
the US Geological Survey estimates about 8 billion barrels of economically recoverable oil in the Arctic National Wildllife Refuge. that would extend the world's supply by 100 days at current consumption rates. insert righteous indignation here.
while researching this entry we came across this disturbing piece of knowledge: the group running the ANWR website is unabashedly pro oil development. what little information about the refuge exists on the site simply talks about very few people visit and how it is "unbearable cold and dark" for most of the year. it's not a refuge for people, you jackasses.