Are high fuel prices necessary? – Yes
100 Years from the Model T to Peak Oil, What Now?
This year marks the 100th birthday of the Model T and Henry Ford's bold proposition that the workers on the line should be able to afford the cars they assemble. Ironically, he succeeded, and we set off on our 100-year journey from the Model T to Peak Oil. In the current national debate over the culprit in high gas prices, people point to greedy oil companies, speculators, or to increased demand from developing nations, but we avoid the elephant in the room- Peak Oil.
Peak Oil is the point in time when the global peak in petroleum production is reached. The Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO) predicted in their January 2008 newsletter that the peak in all oil (including non-conventional sources), would occur in 2010. ASPO Ireland in its May 2008 newsletter, number 89, advanced the date of the peak of overall liquids from 2010 to 2007. Furthermore, we have seen declining growth in global oil production since 2005, our clearest indicator yet that we are at or nearing the point where global oil production begins to decline, with results ranging from higher prices to possible global economic collapse. If a rapid decline in production hits a world unprepared, the economic impact could be catastrophic. We must consciously curb demand before there is a rapid drop off in supply, before we feel the full brunt of Peak Oil. There is no time to lose. The consequences of Peak Oil entirely depend on how quickly we wean from oil to alternative energy sources.
The upside is that higher oil prices actually make alternative energy production economically viable for the first time. This places the solution to the Climate Crisis within our reach. We have enough solar and wind energy in the West and Midwest to power our entire nation, not to mention the untapped power of ocean energy. We know what needs to be done, and we possess the resources to do it. All that is missing is the political will to get the job done. We should not imagine this as a burden. We are the generation that is called to rise to this monumental challenge, to ensure the survival of our children and grandchildren. We are the generation, that people 1000 years from now will write symphonies about.
As individuals we need to commit to becoming carbon neutral as soon as possible- google carbon calculator to get started. As a nation we need to urgently invest in a massive program to harness our untapped renewable energy, a program akin to JFK's investment in space that put man on the moon, a program that will also create thousands of new "green collar" jobs so that workers can afford the cars of the future. Finally, we need dramatic grassroots political mobilization to break through government inertia and red tape in order to rapidly accelerate from alternative energy baby steps to the next "giant leap" of humankind.
