Is it possible for alternative energy sources to replace refined sources of oil such as gasoline, kerosene, and diesel fuel? These commonly used fuels have many useful and beneficial characteristics. They are currently available and abundant, they have a high net energy recovery and a high energy density. They are also easy to store and transport all over the world.

These oil-based fuels are also very versatile and other products can be manufactured using them. These fuels form the foundation of the petrochemical industry. Plastics, medicines, paints, and several other products that form part of our daily lives are based on oil. So why choose alternative energy sources instead?

For starters the world’s oil reserves are not going to last forever. It will eventually become too expensive to obtain oil from the earth when weighed up against its benefits. In time it will become more expensive to obtain oil than the oil itself. But can alternative energy resources replace the many applications of oil?

Each year the world makes use of billion of barrels of oil but this is a finite resource. Most people alive today will live to see the peak rates of oil delivery reached. This means that it is becoming more and more important to find alternative energy sources that will help sustain our world when oil is no longer a viable commodity.

So the move is towards finding sustainable alternative energy sources. This does not mean, of course, that current energy sources and its alternatives are interchangeable. It will not be easy to change to alternative energy sources. They will also not be as easy to use as oil-based fuels. Making the change to sustainable sources of energy is also going to be very expensive.

Sources of energy can be divided into renewable and non-renewable sources. Renewable sources of energy include oil sands, heavy oil, natural gas, coal, shale oil, gas hydrates, nuclear fisson and geothermal energy in some forms. Renewable sources of energy include wood or biomass, hydro-electric power, solar energy, wind energy, wave, energy, tidal power, fusion and ocean thermal energy conversion. The latter are alternative energy sources.

While it is inevitable that we will need to embrace alternative energy in the future it will also mean changing our lifestyles significantly. This means that the world population has some significant challenges ahead. Today oil and gas make up in excess of 50% of our energy supplies. In future we are likely to see our fuels coming from a greater variety of sources. It is also likely to be far more costly.

At present we remain very dependant on oil for our daily survival. There is currently no usable alternative energy source that can act as a substitute.

To convert from non-renewable to renewable energy sources is going to present its own set of problems. Overpopulation and economic concerns are going to have to adjust in the same way as lifestyles. However it is a change that must come if we are to survive.