So I saw this film last wed and, needless to say despite having done a bit of research on peak oil, it still devestated the hell out of me. It is a powerful film and way too important to not let people know about.

It is definatly NOT for the light hearted and if you have done any reading on the issue of peak oil you will know why. Anyway I recomend it highly if you can stomach the implications of the issues covered in the film and want to know what could very well dominate the rest of our lives.

Heres to hoping the dates are out by a little bit and there is still some time to soften the imapact, although the eternal pesimist inside me has trouble swallowing even my own attempts at optimisim.

If your interested in the coming energy crisis there is tons of info on the web.

I'm gunna go stick my head back in the sand for a bit now....

Was the film a documentary or a disaster drama movie based on the coming crisis? I can easily imagine a movie where the oil supply runs out, and the chaos that would come about.

Scary stuff to be sure. I wouldn't mind seeing the film if you care to name it

We try a lot harder than we used to, but probably not as hard as others... but there are so many people that just don't care. I remember looking into this a while back and the US was one of the worst in the world... although China and India were catching up. I only wish Hybrid cars were not so darn expensive. We really wanted to get one, but couldn't afford the high cost. Still, the auto industry is making more of an effort now (too little too late perhaps?) and there are even hybrid SUVs appearing.

Arabin

Went to the site and read up a little.

Basically to sum it up, we are F***ed. No real alternatives to energy as of yet. Most of the semi-viable alternatives can not be used for plastics and many other products we use. And no alternatives can take up the slack of a complete petroleum outtage with out costing even more petroleum to get those systems in place.

Yay!

I'm with Denny. I have tremendous faith in sicence and man's ability to pull together in a crisis. While peak oil is probably coming - and that alarm bell has been rung many a time over the last decade - there's growing awareness of the need for the world to realign many of its energy and manufacturing plans.

While I'm sure it's possible that rapid oil depletion could lead to some upset - like a worldwide depression of some kind - I don't think it'll be nearly as bad as the worst scenarios. More likely the progression will be what we're already seeing; oil prices rising steadily faster than inflation, creating a market for alternatives, meaning a pretty solid frame work will already be in place once oil becomes entirely unviable.

Heh, whereas I lack faith in the ability of any free country to deal with the problem beforehand. They will need to have a present crisis to focus on it, all the time yelling at the people who didn't stop the problem beforehand. (Ah, trouping primates... so much fun. )

There are alternatives, though mostly not the ones being shouted out - Corn oil, hydrogen, and most (not all) ethanols will consume more energy in production than will be gained by its consumption. Alternative ground fuels (coal, shale oil, peat, etc.) are incredibly polluting, by comparison petroleum is clean burning. And we already have enough of a problem with that.

Methanol, methane, and other fuels produced as a byproduct of industrial processes are much more promising, but the amount produced is insufficient. This is however the current best solution. Some are not fully renewable, but are at least replenishable.

The Auld Grump, who got into an argument with someone over the concept of bio-diesel. They thought it was a new idea, while I was aware that Diesel had it in mind when he developed the engine named after him. Diesel is one of my heroes.

I imagine the countries that deteriote the fastest will produce an even greater number of refugees flooding to those that are not yet beyond saving, and more people in the new country will mean that one deteriotes faster.

It's strange how we love to watch disaster movies so much... but maybe it's because we, as a species, have always evolved and overcome difficulties. The downside is that there are usually a large number of deaths before things get back on track.

At least these days people in general seem to be taking more notice of the problem, and making a little effort. Not enough, but it's a start.

Arabin

I agree with most of your points there CCotD. Sorry to hear about you co-worker, but if that was the full story, he certainly has a case for wrongful dismissal... of course, that depends on company policies and whether he signed anything beforehand... but on the facts presented, he has a case.

Talking about the sea level rising... do you know of any good way to find how high above sea level a particular address is? When I was buying my home I wanted to know, and noone could tell me.

Arabin

I'm not making light, but imme
diately thought of the South Park episode where the Mayor said "Who would think that men dressed in brown shirts could cause trouble" and the Simpsons when at Sideshow Bob 's role hearing he had the "Die Bart, Die" tatoo, and the judge said, "well, anybody that speaks German can't be bad!"!!!