When the world is free of oil, the resolve and adaptability of a people will rise to the top. ‘Free of Oil’ is a more conclusive analogy than run out of oil, as it is a measure of our need to alter dependencies. This great ball of soil, rock and water has given us a tremendous wealth from her bosom, and now its time to relax our needs, and heal our sickened planet. The world has the technology and wherewithal to accomplish the inevitable. We have seen and explored the far reaches of the universe, while our immediate needs are right here amongst us.
We will certainly have to analyse our situation thoroughly, then take a few steps back to realize the enormity of being “Free of Oil?’ Could we be taking those long, giant steps where the utilization of the horse and buggy returns to some extent? In this economy, with so much uncertainty, it may not be such a far fetched idea. Our Amish brethren have been surviving for generations, and thriving uncharacteristically well amoungst our fast paced society where speed and technology is slowly bringing us to our own modern day version of a crawl. Like it or not we are in maelstrom that is global in nature. Politically, socially, and economically we have put, and/or been put into a cycle that will have certain generational consequences. Unforeseen consequences that we hope can be rectified globally and peacefully.
Could we be thrown so far back through our efforts to emerge from a collapsing society, that we may one day see horse traders selling from their herds at prices comparable to that of a typical automobile. Oil to a great extent fuels our capacity to have electricity. Just imagine life without electricity, if we can all remember the blackouts in east USA and Canada in August 2003. Oil is huge in our society. Trucks, trains, planes for moving food and other household necessities. Speaking of household items, lets not forget of all the plastics we see and use daily. Plastics are products of oil in amounts you would not believe.
Unless we can over come our dependencies on petroleum products, a Stone Age or similar could be our destiny. Are we up to the task of a Pioneer way of life? Can we hunt, cut fire wood, and provide a life outside of our norms? The Cell Phone; the PC; the automobile; and all the other goodies bestowed upon us by way of ‘Mother Technology’ may just become a memory as we may very well struggle to survive the real terms of ‘Mother Nature’.
