Making Peak Oil Understandable

I finally received my copy of “The End of Suburbia” from the Post-Carbon Institute and watched it earlier this week. I realize now why this is a good tool for educating the average person about peak oil. While the cheesy 1950’s films on suburbia are perhaps not the best way to open the film, within about 20 minutes the film makes clear, concise and understandable the issue of how the current American suburban lifestyle is unsustainable because of the coming energy crunch. The revolving cast of Simmons, Campbell, Kunstler, Heinberg and company paint a rather compelling picture of how peak oil will affect the world, and indeed how it has already affected our foreign policy toward the Middle East. By the end of the 78 minutes, the film goes beyond simple reasoning and taps into a range of emotional doomsday scenarios – economic and monetary collapse, social order breaking down, war, population decline, etc.

While I have had some success in convincing some of my close friends about the serious nature of peak oil, I have met more denial than acceptance. One reason I think that people are hesitant to accept peak oil is because they simply have not heard experts like Matt Simmons speak on the issue because the Main Stream media has shunned him. I think this documentary can be used as good tool to raise awareness of peak oil with credible sources that are authoritative on the subject.

You can buy the movie from the Post-Carbon Institute. And it’s available on Netflix! Rent it today and recommend it to your friends.

Peak Oil NYC