The Real Price of Gas...

Krsnanatha · January 12, 2004

I came across a bizarre bit of trivia yesterday. While at a Doctors office catching up on my reading of six month old magazines a factoid in the US News and World report shocked me. It stated that for one gallon of gas to be produced 100 tons of plant matter had to decompose under the weight and heat of the planet's crust for the millions of years that it takes to transform into what we call crude oil. A full 200,000 lbs. of rotted vegetation to make one gallon of gas. The article went no to say that at current rates of consumption of petroleum the world consumes the equivalent of our entire planet’s plant population decomposing into crude oil every year.

Such a strange reality, the basis entire basis of the world’s economy is primed by countless billions of tons of rotted plant bodies compressed over millions and millions of years into a sticky flammable tar-like substance. And even more human society has sucked literally a small ocean of this stuff out of the ground and then scratches it’s collective scientific head when statistics prove a distinct increase in earthquake activity worldwide. Scientists are smart enough to manipulate the material elements and phenomenon of this planet to the most miniscule degrees but miss out on something so common sense as “I wonder what will result from our vacuuming billions and billions of gallons of this liquid out from below the surface of the Earth?”

Kulapavana · January 12, 2004

this is just one theory regarding oil formation. another (a relatively recent one) claims oil is produced by microorganisms that chemically break down rock and form hydrocarbons as part of their metabolism (there is a vast and complex world of microbial life within the Earth).

as to the consequences of extracting so much liquid (not just oil but groundwater as well) from the Earth: the ground is subsiding in some places by several feet per year, and possibly (with large enough instability) the hard crust of the Earth can slip over the molten core leading to catastrophic climate changes (imagine Europe ending up at North Pole)

January 12, 2004

I think I heard somewhere that oil is said to be the earth's "blood." I guess in Kali Yuga, depleting the earth's crude oil is bound to happen, after all, this is the iron age, and many of these iron machines require petroleum based products in order to function.

However, as far as destroying the planet, I'm guessing that this type of activity happens in every single Kali Yuga, which means that Mother Bhumi finds a way to rejuvenate Herself. Just a thought, but maybe when the Kalki Avatar arrives and spills the blood of millions of demons, maybe this blood serves in some capacity to restore the planet's oil resources. Pure speculation, I know. But there has to be some way to account for the rejuvenation of the planet from Kali Yuga to Satya Yuga, and what to speak of the subsequent Kali Yuga where the Iron Age begins anew, with all of its hellish machines which require crude oil.

Bhakta Dan

January 17, 2004

“I wonder what will result from our vacuuming billions and billions of gallons of this liquid out from below the surface of the Earth?"

Yes the karma accrued for this abuse of Mother Earth is cataclsmic to say the least

no wonder there are Bam's everry few years.

krsnadas

Krsnanatha · January 17, 2004

So far 45,000 souls bashed from their bodies and counting. Roughly the same number of traffic fatalities in the the U.S. every year. Roughly the same as 15 Twin World Trade centers crumbling, in one fell swoop.

Yamaraja and his assistants must have had to put in some overtime that day.