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Re:Palm Oil Was Supposed to Help Save the Planet by AngryData on Saturday November 24, 2018 @12:56AM (#18520698)
This is assuming oil is still valuable in the future in the face of increasing pollution standards, potential carbon taxes, and the rise of cheaper renewable energy production.
Re:Palm Oil Was Supposed to Help Save the Planet by FlyMoreRockets on Saturday November 24, 2018 @01:11AM (#18520746)
Oil will be a valuable feedstock for the forseeable future. Look at all the plastic in your house, in your clothes, in your car, wrapping your food, coating your circuit boards, the list goes on. Yeah, that's oil. Shame we can't harvest the plastic from the oceans and reformulate it into something useful.
Re:Palm Oil Was Supposed to Help Save the Planet by acct1771 on Saturday November 24, 2018 @10:16AM (#18522342)
Why not?
Re:Palm Oil Was Supposed to Help Save the Planet by FlyMoreRockets on Saturday November 24, 2018 @06:15PM (#18524448)
I haven't run the numbers, but seriously doubt it is economically viable. Most of the ocean plastic is small particles and it'd have to be collected, filtered and dried first.
Re:Palm Oil Was Supposed to Help Save the Planet by acct1771 on Sunday November 25, 2018 @03:33AM (#18525993)
Those first two can be done passively, or on the go with solar power.
Re:Palm Oil Was Supposed to Help Save the Planet by slfnflctd on Saturday November 24, 2018 @10:22AM (#18522377)
Diesel and jet fuel by themselves account for over 30% of global oil consumption. Even if we get all other vehicles running on something else (ha), big trucks, freight planes and air travel will be guzzling oil for probably as long as we still have some left.
Re:Palm Oil Was Supposed to Help Save the Planet by AngryData on Saturday November 24, 2018 @05:28PM (#18524276)
But oil products can be produced from biomass and energy too. And is carbon neutral, and doesn't have the potential side effects of extraction leaks and fracking concerns.

Oil isn't magic, it is straight up organic buildup put under heat and/or pressure. You can make 'fossil fuels' out of trees, grass, frogs, people, ect. It is just limited by our ability to produce energy which is currently our biggest restriction on pretty much every industry in the world and is what we are most concerned about solving.