Peak Oil

Climate Change and Peak Oil are sometimes referred to as the 'Hydrocarbon Twins'.  Whilst climate change is becoming a familiar concept, peak oil is less well known.  It is the term given to describe the peaking of production of cheap, easily available oil, not its complete absence.  For further information on peak oil go to www.powerswitch.org.uk.

Peak oil is an acknowledged problem, not just by environmentalists but by the oil industry itself.  If you combine falls in production of easily available oil with increased demand from a growing population and developing economies as well as our own, the price is forecast to rise enormously with consequent social and economic effects.  The time scale for feeling the fall out from these effects is being put at a few years, less than 5 for significant change.

Just thinking back on the last petrol strike will remind us of what a drop in supply can do.

For a view of effects – the film most often shown to communities considering becoming transition towns is ‘The End of Suburbia’.    www.endofsuburbia.com

Another film, interesting even though it deals with a community with a different climate and political system, looks at what happened when Cuba had to deal with a long term oil embargo, emulating the post peak oil period  ‘The power of community’ www.powerofcommunity.org

For information about Transition Town Rhayader & District please click here