Will there be Life after Oil and Gas?

To start with, we cannot go on using oil and gas for ever. We can do so for a few
more decades - perhaps until 2070, then the oil will run out. There will be none left -
or at least, there will be hardly any left.
That in itself is a big problem; but there is another big problem too: climate
change. The world is getting hotter, and it is largely because humans are burning so
much oil and gas.... not to mention coal.

At present, there is still plenty of oil and gas under the ground. There is oil under
the North Sea and under the Atlantic Ocean. Engineers keep finding new sources of
oil. But there are some realities which cannot be avoided.
a) The quantity of oil under the ground and under the sea is not infinite. It will not
last for ever.
b) As oil becomes rarer, it will become harder to extract. It will also become more
and more expensive. It will therefore become more expensive than other sources of
energy.
c) Oil and gas will always cause pollution and contribute to global warming.
Of course, there are also other truths:
d) Scientists are making new forms of oil, using plants.
e) Most of the oil that we eat comes from plants; and it is sometimes possible to
make fuel from this oil. For instance, some types of fuel, called bio-fuels, already
contain sunflower oil.

Sunflowers produce oil too; we use a lot of it for cooking.

Sunflower oil is cleaner than mineral oil, so it causes less pollution. But
perhaps, in the long term, vegetable oils are not a good solution for the future; in
the future we may need all the land for producing food.
In reality, the future will have to be a future without oil - or with very little oil.
Scientists are already developing cars, houses and plastics that do not use oil.
Electricity will be the energy of the third millennium, but it will have to be clean
electricity.
Today, electricity is produced in Britain in several different ways; some of it is
produced using oil and gas; but already oil-burning power-stations are being
closed, and gas has become much more expensive. Nuclear power-stations will be
closed too, because they are very expensive and people do not want them.
Tomorrow's electricity will be made from "renewable sources".
 For the time being, gas will be an important source of energy. It is cleaner than
oil, and easier to extract. There is also a lot more gas than oil under the ground!
Gas can be used in cars and houses too. However a lot of the gas used in Britain
and Europe comes from Russia; until the war in Ukraine, that did not seem to be a
problem. Now Europeans have discovered that it is a big problem.
In the long term, all our energy will come from "renewable sources" - including
water! The sun, the wind, the rivers and the oceans will give us all the energy that
we need! It will be clean energy - with no pollution - and it will last for ever.
We are not there yet, however! The twenty-first century will have to be a century
of change. People who are over 50 today are not going to see a world without oil
and natural gas Those who are under twenty may perhaps do so...... if they live long
enough. .

WORDS A-Z
fuel: solid, gas or liquid that can be burned for energy - decade: period of 10 years -
coal: a black rock that can be burned - keep: continue to - avoid: pass, not
mention - infinite: endless - extract: take out of the ground - for instance: for
example - in the long term: in the long distant future - power-station: a place
where electricity is made - for the time being: for now, in the short term.
Modal verbs : will and others

Choose the most suitable modal verb in each of the following sentences: these
sentences are not necessarily related to the article

1. People who live in New York see the The Metropolitan Museum
of Art.
2. You pass your driving test before you drive .
3. In 2100, people be able to use oil as we do today.
4. In 15 years’ time, people use more electric cars than today.
5. I am 15 today, so I still be alive in the year 2050.
6. If I buy a lottery ticket, I win the jackpot. If I don’t,
I
Reusing information :

Complete this résumé of the article, putting appropriate words in the blanks

Oil is one of the most important of in today's world; but

unless we finding more and more, it will not for . In
less than a century, it will .
Most of the oil and gas we comes from the ground, but some comes
from . But plants cannot produce all the oil we . In tomorrow's
world, we will use oil and gas and more , but most of this will
have to come from .
In the we will use a lot of , but later we will have to
get our from natural forces.