Ah, this would be a wonderful dream, were it not for two major problems. The first one is linked to the substitute fuel. Hydrogen based you say? Now, let us see how much energy is spent separating hydrogen from water and how much do we gain by burning it. Even in the even of using massive solar energy in the desert for example (DESERTEC for fuel production), it would still be a question of secured supply to other parts of the world. We already have hydrogen cars, it's hydrogen production which is problematic.
Secondly, linked to the question of oil, it is used practically in every single item that we use every single day. From ensuring that our food grows rich and abundant, to the tyres we use to drive to work. While ensuring that the limited oil supply could last longer by giving us an alternative to fuel use, we would still need to find alternatives to existing oil-based products. Now considering the law of accelerating returns, this is increasingly possible even in our lifetimes, but still doesn't solve the question of pollution or CO2 emissions. Transport is an important part, but can you use this new fuel to power our homes and industry? Again, I return to the question of returned energy value.
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