The scary thing about an oil/fuel crunch is the impact it would have on *all* aspects of our culture and civilization. I've heard people talk about it only in terms of transportation or industry, but it has consequences on every aspect of our daily lives.
Food? Requires fuel for planting and harvesting. When crude oil prices go up, or supplies go down, so do the associated nitrogen fertilizers. Without adequate fertilizer, we cannot produce the yields that the world has come to rely on.
Clean water? Requires fuel for pumping, cleaning, transporting.
Health care? Needs energy to sustain standards of care.
We can't cook, clean, bathe, or travel without energy. Our society has become totally dependent on it. And although alternative fuels may help alleviate some of the burden, they are not a perfect solution. Look at corn prices this year. Even with record yields in many places, the price remains near record highs because consumption is higher than it's ever been. Ethanol eats grain stores that may be needed to feed the world, especially if the current areas of drought expand. And ethanol plants require vast quantities of water for production - water that is also becoming a resource in short supply.
I agree - our world is in for a nasty wake-up call.
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Date: 12 Oct 2007 16:24 (UTC)The scary thing about an oil/fuel crunch is the impact it would have on *all* aspects of our culture and civilization. I've heard people talk about it only in terms of transportation or industry, but it has consequences on every aspect of our daily lives.
Food? Requires fuel for planting and harvesting. When crude oil prices go up, or supplies go down, so do the associated nitrogen fertilizers. Without adequate fertilizer, we cannot produce the yields that the world has come to rely on.
Clean water? Requires fuel for pumping, cleaning, transporting.
Health care? Needs energy to sustain standards of care.
We can't cook, clean, bathe, or travel without energy. Our society has become totally dependent on it. And although alternative fuels may help alleviate some of the burden, they are not a perfect solution. Look at corn prices this year. Even with record yields in many places, the price remains near record highs because consumption is higher than it's ever been. Ethanol eats grain stores that may be needed to feed the world, especially if the current areas of drought expand. And ethanol plants require vast quantities of water for production - water that is also becoming a resource in short supply.
I agree - our world is in for a nasty wake-up call.