a mostly theoretical exercise as we've yet to start dealing with a permanently declining oil production scenario.
Yet though....
A couple DJs on the radio were bemoaning a possible tequila shortage due to corn production for ethanol crowding out other crops. They thought this was funny as they love drinking I guess, not to sure why really. What I heard was an opening shot of a deadly food vs fuel debate.
The newspapers are getting lots of little stories about saving energy, why even my mother in law who lives to consume found a story about reducing her carbon footprint, no doubt she thought it was cute. The fact that she would even bother to read it is enough to tell me a truly mass awareness is rising, which tells me the peak's problems are close.
Manitoba Hydro is building a cutting edge new building with many energy saving features(including good passive solar and geothermal heat). They are putting out a low key PR campaign to tell people about it, along with their usual save energy so we can export it jazz. Why would they consider this to be a good PR move? Again that unnerving mass awareness thing. (they're also running ads about wind power, and considering a name change to Manitoba Clean Energy or something like that)
Our federal government is running a campaign about its ecoACTION campaign.
A story in the oil drum linked to a story by a Toronto paper floating the idea of strategic petroleum reserve for Eastern Canada.
Some bland newstory was trying to pin high gasoline prices on a whole raft of factors like environmentalists blocking refineries, terrorists in Nigeria, possible Hurricanes, anything except of course the fact that refineries are maxed out because oil companies are unwilling to invest more because they dont feel they can procure enough crude to them when they finish to be profitable.
I guess when I hear the mainstream media talking about things that are old hat here then I start thinking that future 10-20 years down the road talked about here are more likely to come as well.
I guess I'll hold onto the hope that a rising mass awareness can help to make future sacrifices less problematic(thats a euphemism for less rioting and revolutions). Misery loves company of course
.
Has anyone else been hearing these types of things more and more often?
