What will happen to the middle east once there's no more oil?
How is it expected that the middle east (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, etc) will sustain themselves once the oil runs out? No doubt the royalty will have pilled up enough money to sustain themselves and have enough off-shore investments to maintain that. And cities such as Dubai are making the investments to ensure a long term tourism dollars. But most individuals and governments lack both, and are taxed constantly by the cost of war. With no additional revenues, what happens?
Politics - 11 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
They would eventually run out of money. The Saudis know they have less than 100 years to make as much money as they can. Worldwide there is a lot of oil still underground ( Canada has more oil than Saudi Arabia) . Also, natural gas fields are still constantly being found. Natural gas can be converted into hydrogen which can be used in converted car engines and in fuel cells.
2 :
http://theoutloudblog.files.wordpress.com/2006/11/ghost-town.jpg
3 :
The worry isn't running out of oil. The worry is how much time before someone figures some form of transportation that is cheap and doesn't use oil. That's the main concern. McCain '08
4 :
The whole world will collapse.
5 :
things in the middle east will revert to the way it was before the oil boom. Have you ever seen a former boom town in the U.S. that lost it's draw? The wealthy there will of course do just fine because of all the things you mentioned, but the average person will probably revert to nomadic herding.
6 :
There will be no Mid East by the time it runs out of oil. There is plenty there, it won't run out. By the time those resources are gone there will probably be no life on planet earth anyway.
7 :
The Sultans of Oil will finally discover peace and begin the process of integration into the world community. Their dependence on the world community for their survival will lessen the fanatical elements of their culture, and they will adapt to modern life and liberties. America the Breadbasket of the World, will naturally feed their people, invest in their economies, and assist their government. Being the most generous nation on earth and the most forgiving, peace will reign in the Middle East and Israel will live in peace.
8 :
That's one reason why ALL oil-rich nations should support energy conservation to the fullest. If the world continues to squander remaining oil reserves, those countries dry up and go away. They will be around much longer if they are instrumental in persuading consumers to conserve oil; adopt alternative energy sources; REuse, REduce and REcycle and minimize dependence on oil. -RKO- 05/26/08
9 :
They will diversify their economies following the Malaysian model. But they have a long time to worry about doing that, so there's no huge rush.
10 :
America will probably turn its back on the middle east because it wont have anything we want anymore so they will be able to fight amongst themselves as they wish without interference and will destroy each other. Basically our only real interest there is for oil. The Presidents say its not just oil but also moral obligation. I call bull shit on that one. We are using them for oil and oil alone because our government is ran by greedy bastards.
11 :
What will happen then there is no need for Israel any more. Israel receive more than 20 billions $ each year from American taxpayers to protect the oil.
