Like so many age-old, repeatedly incorrect narratives, this statement is finally starting to come true. Electric cars and the general lithium-ionification of the world are poised to cut out a huge portion of the gas market, while chemical and materials science are attacking the need for large amounts of petroleum in industry. It will still take several decades to happen in full, but the strategic usefulness of oil reserves is dwindling quickly — take it from someone who lives in Canada, which must exploit its oil sands within the next decade or risk missing their profitability entirely.
Nuclear tech continues to roll out in spite of the Fukushima disaster, mostly to cut carbon emissions. More and more homeowners and even communities are becoming energy-independent through solar technology, and an enormous number reside in places that now
could be, with just a little investment. The US has made incredible investments in natural gas extraction (fracking) which could soon give it the freedom to reject foreign oil entirely. Countries like Spain are looking seriously at geothermal to power whole cities, and Lockheed even thickened the plot by coyly claiming that fusion power is
just around the corner.
The fact is that oil no longer powers the most disruptive and defining technologies of our age — the smartphones and smart cars and other general smart-devices that now increasingly hinge on a different keystone resource:
rare earth elements (REEs). This group of 17 chemically similar substances is necessary for the medical, industrial, communications, and personal computing industries. Every Toyota Prius carries about 10 pounds of lanthanum in its advanced batteries, while everything from hard drives to headphones require a small amount of neodymium. Europium goes into many LEDs and touchscreen displays, while erbium is used in fiber-optic cables to help maintain signal strength. We even use the rare earth metal cerium to lower auto emissions.
for the rest visit:-
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/194010-rare-earth-elements-are-this-centurys-crude-oil
