Reflections On The Not So Distant Future
Possible Consequences of the Collapse of Civilisation Based On Oil
Author: Kris Zurek
Trainee of SEED – Sustainable Education Environmental Development
Funded by the Waterford Institute of Technology
& Independent Health Educator
Cover of the book
Copyright September 2005 – Paradigm Shift Publications
What follows is the most probable scenario. Before complete economic collapse occurs, which might be before 2012, humanity will go through a series of experiences. The focus of this article is on the probable dynamics and trends during the period preceeding the final economical implosion.
There will be a cascade of impacts on the economical market, national security, culture, social order, which will change people's lives forever. A cold shower will be a mere pleasure compared to this, what might soon unfold. We can choose to view these events in the negative or positive. This will depend upon the level of our consciousness. One thing is certain, it will be sobering.
Unemployment will most likely soar through the roof. Foreign investors who opened huge factories will withdraw suddenly leaving behind masses without jobs, empty buildings and sometimes even their toxic wastes.
Because of low spending power many businesses which are not based on the principles of sustainability or producing locally using local resources will come out of business or go bankrupt.
Inflation will also go through the roof; everything will become very expensive in relation to earning potential
Ultimately there will be the end of global economy. Recession will result. From these ashes some groups will try to revive local economy. This would not be easy, as many local small producers have already been eliminated by the chains of supermarkets and globalist movement.
As prices will go up, people will be spending money only on the basics e.g. food, oil and gas for heating and cooking, electricity, petrol. Everything else will become luxury, beyond the reach of the average person.
Only sustainable activities will have some future. Most of businesses solely dependent on oil or oil-derived chemicals will be sentenced for oblivion
The rich will stop getting richer. Our current system where the rich get richer will only work when there is growth in the system. Where the energy is scarce, the growth is impossible.
Corporate globalism and the old political hierarchy will be terminated by a massive shut down of petroleum supply brought about by market panic and serious economic upheaval. New leadership will gradually emerge. The leadership which will be based on the path of truth not a path of greed and shortsightedness.
Recovery from such an event, even if not from oil shortage, would appear impossible because supplies of oil would be among the commodities suddenly scarce, and this would have a terminal effect on much economic activity and people's lives.
TRANSPORTATION
Aeroplane fuel will go up, as taxes will be imposed on it. This will be the beginning of the end of cheap travels for fun and pleasure. Soon after, only the financial elite will be able to travel by air using their private charter planes and helicopters.
There is a very strong possibility that shortages of petrol will become very common faster then people think. Panic will result and people will rush to buy excessive amounts, hoping to store it for the future (that will be futile as oil will end anyway). All fuel will be rationed.
Lorry drivers will be protesting
All people who commute long distances to work will have to review their situation. It will become uneconomical for them to travel
Families that used three or even two cars will now be forced to use only one.
Soon after cars will become useless and it will not be uncommon to see empty and quiet streets once again as it was hundred years ago
Bicycles and horses will become popular again; prices of these will most likely match those of cars, as demand for them will rise; as the positive side effect, cellulite and obesity will decrease as people will have to move their bodies more often.
FOOD
Food will become more expensive then and gardeners and farmers will become new heroes
Access to the land will become very important because all people will have to produce their own food (at least part of it)
People will start to eat in season and local foods will become a necessity; transportation of massive amounts of foods from distant countries will become uneconomical and impossible
Oil derived artificial fertilisers and pesticides will cease to exist for a simple economical reason. That would be of great benefit, as more people will focus on organic farming.
More farmers will switch back to growing crops, instead of raising livestock, which will become too expensive to feed and maintain, especially on a bigger scale. Cows will be used mainly for milk and Chickens will be used mainly for eggs, rather then for meat. Small ventures will become more successful then huge ones.
"Seed saving" facilities will become future ARKS of NOAH, allowing people to propagate and continue food production. No doubt, seeds will become more valuable then gold and diamonds.
HEALTH
The most accessible foods will be the foods, which are grown locally. Meaning, there will be much less heavily processed, sugar laden foods and drinks on the market which will result in improvement of health of some people.
Petroleum-based pharmaceutical industry will collapse within itself like a house of cards. There will not be enough oil to continue a massive multibillion dollar production of oil-based pharmaceutical drugs. But before this will happen the price of drugs will go up and only rich people will be able to afford it. Poorer people will return to natural options, seeking help in living superfoods and homemade detox procedures. People will even try to grow their own herbs or do "urine fasts" which will be the cheapest option. In the meantime rich people will often die from side effects of drugs, which they entrusted. Ultimately, even the most stubborn ones, who previously discredited natural healing methods will realise their own blindness and will rediscover drug-free cures for cancer, plant based antibiotics, and much more.
ENTERTAINMENT
All "artificial" entertainment like watching TV, listening to CDs, playstations, cinema will become less popular and practical, as people will use spare time either to grow foods or help others to survive. The entertainment will change its function and will become more like a ceremony to uplift the spirit. People who play instruments or have a gift of voice will become a treasure to the community. Playing Music and singing will become a catalyst for people to come together in peace and support each other.
BEHAVIOUR
Initially there will be a lot of dissatisfaction, anger, frustration and unrest. Pockets of anarchy will start to explode in different parts of the world. This will be a beginning of the process of healing and realisation that A) people have been deceived by their authorities B) people themselves ignored early warnings an now they have to pay the price for their apathy.
In the times when there is major crisis, and not enough for everybody, some people's animalistic drive for survival will take over central control of the higher brain, and may start to become aggressive, lie, steal and even hurt others to get what they want. This may originate especially from already difficult individuals who came from dysfunctional families.
Some emotionally unstable people will exhibit vividly strange behaviors and many will get insane, not being able to adapt to a completely new world.
Some will fallow egoistic instincts of survival at all costs and suppress all humane responses, making them more like animals.
Some who will run into big financial problems and bankruptcy will commit suicides, being unable to face new reality. All what they focused on and thought for will fade away and with it their life
People that are attached to their careers and high comforts of living will have to learn to let go of their pride and the high expectations and humble themselves more then ever before. In order to survive they will need to come back to the basics and learn to replace competitiveness with genuine cooperation. Only this way they will be assimilated into the new form of society, which will have to be based on equality, sharing and compassion.
Those who will resist change and will think only about themselves in the time of a crisis will find themselves more and more isolated
People will need to revalue life, and the judgment of others by their wealth will be eventually replaced by recognition of true friendships.
Truth about of religious leaders will be tested, as some churches will have to be transformed into homes for the homeless.
HOUSING & HEATING
Housing boom will end and previously expensive properties will devalue. Freshly built suburban estates on the outskirts of towns will most likely become like empty deserts, without the ability to sustain themselves.
It is a strong possibility that banks will start to reposes houses from many people that will not be able to pay back their mortgages. Banks will become a new generation of Landlords, that dictate rules. (people who live in small communities will not face the weight of mortgage much, as they will live together and generate income together, lessening the stress of monthly payments)
Soon, many people that switched from solid fuel heating systems to more convenient gas and oil will regret their decision. Their heating systems will become useless in the midst of the oil and gas crisis. People will rush to switch back to solid fuel. But in many cases it will be too late.
Wood and biomass for heating houses and cooking will become not an option but rather a necessity.
Owners of forests will become very rich (but it will matter very little as money will loose its value)
Alternative energy generators (hydro, solar, wind, biomass and thermal) will become on the big demand. There will be long waiting list to get them; their prices will possibly go up, as more and more people will become interested in them. The demand will exceed production capability and most of people will not be able to get them anyway.
Small sustainable communities made of few families that live harmoniously together will become new centres of hope. Their burdens will be minimal compared to others, who preferred to live separate lives.
Communities that grow and store their own food, are learned in natural healing methods, that already use alternative energy and have well insulated houses will be on the winning side.
educational centres which promote ideas of sustainability will become " new universities" providing tools for survival.
Exchange of foods, services and practical goods will replace less valuable money. People will prize "LETS" movement.
More people will regain the strength through recognition of their spiritual higher self, which will help them to move through difficult times.
End Note
"Last" remaining oil reserves on this planet will not be given to people but will be secured only for the ruling elite, top government officials, and military, allowing them to control/police the world, and impose their dictatorship.
We as humanity sit in the car that is constantly speeding up, not realising that just behind the corner is the wall, or a series of walls of different sizes, starting from the first of the size of the pavement and finishing on the last of the size of a one-story house. This wall is made of solid concrete and yet we behave like there is nothing to worry about, although the tip of it is already visible from the distance. In fact, instead of slowing down we constantly speed up.
I am sorry but the crush is evident.
CCCC...CRASH!!!
Outlined consequences of the global oil depletion do not represent a prophecy written with the chisel in a stone. They are only one of the possibilities that might unfold if we will choose not to come together in unity and undo the damage that already has been done and create an alternative fate.
I understand that a possible scenario vividly painted by the author in the above article, can be perceived by some as harsh, heavy, pessimistic or negative picture. Well, maybe so, but since when the truth is negative. In truth, Ireland is not prepared so far to receive a blow of these proportions. Majority of Irish population has chosen not to focus on a prevention of this problem. Not too many people had the desire in the past, to invest in the sustainable future. They were rather busy with thousand of other things. They preferred to ride the ‘celtic tiger’ as much, and as fast as possible, while filling the pockets with ‘mamon’. Instead of using the time wisely, they spend their free time entertaining themselves with the things of little importance, like Lotto, celebrities, football games, soap-operas and local gossip.
One doesn’t need to be a genius to realise implications of a rapid collapse of our civilization based on oil. We may not like it, but the PARTY is already over, for those who have eyes to see. From now on, the production can not any longer meet the ever-growing demand. Economical growth and so-called ‘Celtic Tiger’, that we get used to, is not going to be there for much longer.
In order for the growth to continue, there has to be continually increasing oil and gas production. But that is an utopian dream of a wishful-thinking society that doesn’t really know the facts.
Please, do your homework properly, learn the facts and start to act appropriately according to your conscience. Time is ticking fast!
- Visit: www.peakoil.net
- www.fromthewilderness.com
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Watch documentaries:
- “Peak Oil Imposed By Nature”,
- “The End Of Suburbia”
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Read books:
- “Crossing The Rubicon” by Mike Rupert,
- “Party Is Over” by Richard Heinberg,
- “War And Globalisation -
- The Truth Behind September 11” by Michel Chossudovsky.
Oil is a past tense
Your faith, courage, compassionate action, inventiveness and sustainability will become
your “fuel of the future’
Hot News!
Information from 2005 Bilderberg secret conference
The oil industry at the 2005 Bilderberg conference was represented by John Browne, BP´s chief executive officer; John Kerr, director Royal Dutch Shell; Peter D. Sutherland, BP chairman and Jeroen van der Veer, chairman of the Committee of Managing Directors of Royal Dutch Shell.
Someone asked for an estimate of the world’s accessible conventional oil supply. The amount was quoted at approximately 1 trillion barrels (1,000,000,000,000). As a side note of interest, the planet consumes 1billion (1,000,000,000) barrels of oil every 11.5 days.
In 2003, IHS, the world’s most respected consulting firm cataloguing oil reserves and discoveries, announced that for the first time since the 1920s there was not a single discovery of an oil field in excess of 500 million barrels.
At Rottach-Egern, in May 2005, industry's top executives tried to figure out how to keep the truth about diminishing oil reserves from reaching the public. Public knowledge of the diminishing reserves directly translates into lower share prices, which could destroy financial markets, leading to a collapse of the world economy.”
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