[jotm]

While also figuring out how to make fossil fuel safer for the environment.

Don't get me wrong, solar/wind and especially nuclear are great, but it's gonna be a loooong time before we're completely rid of gas, coal and oil.

There's so much of it and they're all so energy-dense and/or cheap that humans are gonna use them either until our planet turns into Venus or we figure out ways to reduce/eliminate those emissions. I'd prefer the latter.

By the way, oil is only part of the problem - http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/sources.html (not that we shouldn't try to reduce the amount of oil imported from Saudi Arabia and friends).

[Igglyboo]

Another thing people seem to forget is that plastic requires oil. It's relatively easy to move from gas to electric cars, I don't know of an alternative for plastic production however.

[maxerickson]

For at least "important" uses of plastic you can make it from plants. I haven't looked to see how the volume of plastic consumed compares to, say, the corn crop though.

[iwwr]

The chemical industry requires oil and gas as both a raw material and a source of industrial heat. The fossil-derived industrial heat may be replaced by electricity produced from various sources, including nuclear. Secondly, if electricity becomes relatively abundant, that could create an economy completely independent on fossil fuel, since you can convert just about any generic organic matter (and ultimately from CO2 and water) into chemical products.

[pjc50]

It's not a large fraction of the oil market. It's also less bad from a CO2 perspective as it ends up ""sequestered"" in landfills and oceans.

[BrainInAJar]

silicone plastics, like modern bakeware.