Yes, there is life after oil

To say that this week’s international auto show in Detroit marked a new beginning might be going too far, given the history of the industry. But at the very least it was a sign. A new direction taken. A light at the end of the tunnel. The carmakers’ fresh lineup of electric and hybrid vehicles, and plenty of shiny promises of more to come, offered a glimmer of hope to a world stuck on oil. The message was simple. The future of clean energy is now. Viable alternatives to the combustion engine exist. We have liftoff.

Two questions: Why did it take so long? And if this is so, do we really have an energy crisis or is the problem elsewhere? With concerns over global warming and pending oil shortages growing, not to mention intense air, ground and water pollution on a local and international level, events such as the auto show have put a lie to the doomsday scenario that nothing can replace oil.


In other words, we have the technology to move toward a life without oil. What we don’t appear to have is the political will.

Which is odd given that petroleum experts are warning of coming oil shortages – some say they are already here – as the world’s reserves are fast depleted by increased consumption particularly from China and India. At the same time, there is increasing urgency to reduce as soon as possible by at least 80 per cent our greenhouse gas emissions.

Montreal Gazette