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Energy Shock, the latest micro documentary (available for
viewing below) from producer Daniel Ameduri of Future Money Trends highlights a topic that has been discussed and
debated for decades – with a slightly different twist. It is often
argued the the Earth has a limited amount of oil in
the ground, and as modern industrialized society continues to increase
consumption, we are slowly but surely using up the one precious resource that
makes it all function. Proponents of the peak oil theory suggest that we have
already reached the production tipping point, and that in a matter of a
decade or two there will be not be enough oil left to support the needs of a
growing global population. Opponents of the theory says
that there is plenty of oil in the ground (and under our oceans), and that
it’s just a matter of finding new and innovative ways to get it out.
Energy Shock details the challenges facing the world as more
nations transition from emerging to growth economies, like China, which has
increased its oil consumption by some 400% over just the last several years.
Yes, there is still oil in the ground and under our oceans. It’s all
over the place actually. The problem is that we are rapidly losing the
ability to easily access and produce cheap oil, and we’re having to
depend more and more on costly drilling methods that will significantly affect
the price of oil, gas and liquid fuels over the long-term.
Considering that oil is used in just about
everything we can imagine, from the obvious gas-in-your car requirements, to
the less obvious production and distribution of things like plastics (cell
phones, tires, and tupperware) and food
(fertilizing, harvesting, transportation, etc.), a negative impact on cheap
oil accessibility will significantly alter how we live our lives. Cheap oil
is the only thing making it possible for things like food from farmers in China
to be imported into the United States at cheaper prices than local farmers
can offer. It makes the economy as we know it, with hour-long one way
commutes by laborers, possible. Without cheap oil, everything changes.
The US Department of Energy admits that a chance
exists that we may experience a decline in world liquid fuel production
between 2011 and 2015. Crude oil is too intertwined into our lives to expect
anything less than a total life style change if we have truly peaked in cheap
oil production.
The average price of gas in the United State is
around $3.25 a gallon. Our economy, which should be clear to most by now, is
in total
shambles. Even if
everything else were to financially and economically stabilize at current
levels right now, if the price of oil were to jump to $6 or $15 per gallon,
as some estimates have suggested could be the case in the near future, the
entire system as we know it would come to a crashing halt. We’re
already under enough pressure as it is.
Now, consider the many factors that may contribute
to the rising price of oil, including production and accessibility, price
inflation and government regulation, and you’ll see why this is very
likely one of the most serious threats we face. High oil prices may not be
all that bad, as Mr. Ameduri points out, because it
would lead to a restoration of local economies:
Future Money Trends is projecting an oil crisis this
decade that will not only change our lifestyles radically, it will change our
world, ending globalization and restoring local economies.
But the transition from our current paradigm to the
new one – where oil costs perhaps three or four times more per barrel
than it does today – is going to be cataclysmic to say the least.
Already we are seeing a massive exodus from suburbs
that are far from cities and work. What may have been a beautiful home in
2005 is now vacant, vandalized and foreclosed. The drive-until-you-qualify
housing boom has left many areas devastated.
What do you think will happen when gas is over $15
per gallon?
Many Americans not only live miles away from grocery
stores, but the grocery stores themselves receive food that may have been
transported from across the globe. Not to mention that the logistics of
harvesting the food also requires liquid energy. Soon, we believe, not only
gardens will be rising up in the U.S., but front yard vegetable gardens will
replace grass and flowers. Remember, no one can deny peak discoveries, and
soon no one will deny peak production.
European gas prices are already in the $10 per
gallon range, three times more than what we pay in the U.S. Imagine for a
moment what happens to an already economically strained U.S populace if
similar prices happen here.
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