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by micw 60 days ago
No, coal and oil is not. Since we have micro organisms that can consume wood, coal and oil will never be produced again.

> During the Carboniferous period, massive amounts of plant matter accumulated to form coal because microorganisms and fungi had not yet evolved the ability to break down lignin, a tough, aromatic polymer in woody plants.
1 comments
oblio 59 days ago
We can make synthetic oil and I think we can also make synthetic coal, too.

Though it's close to useless because at that point they're too expensive to be worth it for anything else than very niche uses that absolutely require them.

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ben_w 59 days ago
> We can make synthetic oil and I think we can also make synthetic coal, too.

IIRC, that's basically what charcoal is. Except charcoal is cleaner once made, because most of the nasty stuff happens while being made from the source plant material.

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sehansen 59 days ago
Sure, but the problem with coal and oil is not their chemical composition, per se. The problem with specifically fossil coal and oil is that the carbon atoms used to be buried deep underground and end up as part of CO2 molecules in the atmosphere. Making synthetic kerosene for jet engines is one of the top contenders for long-distance air travel in a post-fossil fuel world, IMO.
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