Wow — I’m officially scared.
I never realized how close we were to the end of the world. It sounds a bit ridiculous, but it’s due to something called “Peak Oil“, which, simply put, is the peak of the bell curve of oil production. Sometime in the near future — or, perhaps, the recent past — oil production will hit it’s peak. After that, it will require more and more work to get at it and the era of cheap oil will be over. In it’s wake:
Within a few years of Peak Oil occurring, the price of food will skyrocket because of the cost of fertilizer will soar. The cost of storing (electricity) and transporting (gasoline) the food that is produced will also soar.
Oil is required for a lot more than just food, medicine, and transportation. It is also required for nearly every consumer item, water supply pumping, sewage disposal, garbage disposal, street/park maintenance, hospitals & health systems, police, fire services, and national defense.
Additionally, as you are probably already aware, wars are often fought over oil.
Thus, the aftermath of Peak Oil will extend far beyond how much you will pay for gas. Simply stated, you can expect: war, starvation, economic collapse, possibly even the extinction of Homo sapiens.
Read the whole essay and prepare to be scared.
I’m not entirely sure what, if anything, I can do about the situation for myself or my family. Such little band-aids as driving a hybrid car do nothing — hell, it may be somewhat more thrifty with gas than a regular car, but it’s still made of plastic and other oil derivatives, and a moped gets much better mileage.
Think for a moment of the impact of oil on your life. Look around your house. How many things there are made of oil (plastic)? How were they manufactured and shipped? It all took oil.
Scary.
