Peak Oil and Politics

Grist Magazine – Last week the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ran part one of a two-part series on how Cuba survived without oil after the fall of the Soviet Union. (Not technically true — there was oil, just far too little of it.) The next part runs this Sunday and has to do with the redefinition of Cuban medicine in the post-oil world. It’s all very fascinating, and it’s produced by one of our national treasures, David Suzuki.

But it’s had me thinking once more about the likely responses to peak oil. Put simply, Cuba went through a transition far more wrenching than even the worst peak oil scenarios predict. After oil production peaks, we are going to see a decline, not a sudden disappearance of oil. Cuba went through an experience that, put simply, should have destroyed the country. At least, that’s what you’d think if you read about Die-Off or Olduvai theory.

Nevertheless, Cuba is still a functioning society, with one of the higher standards of living in the Caribbean and a still-functioning government.
Grist Magazine