So, I just finished a trip back home to Sprawleigh, NC and while I was there, a friend of mine, had a get-together to take a look at a new documentary entitled "The End of Suburbia"
I was impressed by the film, and most of it makes sense (apart from the apocalyptic visions of Kunstler near the end.)
It was strange, because this documentary encapsultated a lot of the feelings that I have about the suburban way of life in the USA. After living outside of the US for almost 4 years, every time I return it feels a bit strange to see what has happened in my absence...more and more developments farther form the city-centre, more and more people moving to the fringes of their cities and spending more fuel to do it, another mega-mall where once there were fields...
The theory behind the film is the Hubbert "peak-oil" theory that was put forward in the 1956 and proven to be correct after predicting the time frame in which the US would hit Peak Oil produciton itself in the early 1970's. Since then, the theories and calculations of the late Geologist have been extrapolated to the present and currently predict that the world will reach peak oil sometime in the next 1-15 years. Most experts believe that we are currently very near the peak, however, it is the type of thing that you cannot say when you have gone over the peak until you see the effects on the other side.
My concern (and that of many experts in the field) is that the American way of life is so dependent on oil consumption that when the oil peak occurs, a period of shock and unrest will hit the US. People are simply not informed that this is an issue
at all. I personally had never even heard of the problem until last week...
What we are talking about here is a life-changing event for all of us. After the peak of oil production is reached and passed, the remaining oil in the ground becomes harder to refine and retrieve as well as the fact that it becomes exponentially more expensive and demand outstrips supply....I, personally would not be surprised if we are paying 7-10 dollars per gallon in the US within 4 years...
How will people be able to afford to get to and from work?
How will our interstate-based food distribution systems function at such a high cost?
What other options will we have?
If you have some time, and are interested in the subject, take a look at a couple of webpages, or just pop "Peak-Oil" into your google...prepare to be amazed
Just to get the discussion started, here are a couple of links:
If you want to read a little about Hubbert, here is a link to his theories.
This is a link to a BBC news story on Peak Oil
This is a link to the movie's webpage
And this is a google-search for Peak Oil.
What do you guys think? (and PLEASE none of this leftist conspiracy stuff...)