‘Peak oil’ crisis, and drastic change, coming our way

In the 1990s the Vancouver Board of Trade’s debt clock travelled the nation, delivering a doom and gloom message about Canada’s $583-billion debtload.

The public’s consciousness was raised, allowing politicians to impose change through hardship. Today, the debt is under control and attention has shifted to climate change.


In the U.S., Al Gore just launched a $300-million ad blitz to increase awareness about climate change, aiming to have his fellow citizens cut their greenhouse-gas emissions by 90 per cent by 2050.

Something similar needs to happen on the so-called “peak oil” front because the world is running out of cheap oil.

So far, that something is not happening. Not here. Not in the U.S., which consumes 25 per cent of the world’s oil. In the presidential campaign, none of the candidates is discussing policies to wean Americans off oil. But then, as one-time PM Kim Campbell said in 1993, elections are no time for serious issues.

Vancouver Sun