The demise of the oil eaters

I’ve just read a report by Caroline Lucas, our excellent Green MEP for the South East, called Fuelling a Food Crisis: the impact of Peak Oil on Food Security. Peak Oil means that we are reaching the peak of production of oil and gas, globally. The timing is not clear; most estimates are between now and 2020. What this means is anything based on oil and gas will become dramatically more expensive afterwards. Which is almost everything, including, worryingly, food.

Basically, most of us Westerners are ‘oil eaters’: Huge amounts of oil are involved in the growing, fertilising, processing, packaging, transporting, selling and preparation of food.When I came across this information last autumn I had a crisis that went like this:
1. Not another global problem.
2. Things are going to change in my lifetime.
3. But actually it could work out for the better.
4. I’m sure the government has a plan to get us through this.
5. But why would any government or corporation knowingly precipitate an economic decline?
6. Why didn’t anyone tell me?
7. What about alternative fuels/technologies? Not on any scale.
8. Biofuels? They will compete with food and step up climate change problems.
9.What the hell are our world leaders doing?
10. Hope this is not just another conspiracy theory
11. Where do I get more information?
12. What can I do?

If you’re still interested, can I suggest the Energy Bulletin, and Powerswitch as a starting point? Let me know how you get on.