THE POST-PEAK NARRATIVE

"A consensus appears to have been reached that the world's production of conventional oil peaked in recent years. And to many observers, it means that from this time forward the supply of oil and natural gas, along with peaking coal and uranium, will decrease toward zero, leaving global Industrial Culture without the precious energy that made that culture possible. With such a precipitous future awaiting the Industrial Tribe, it is curious that one does not hear much about declining energy supplies in the mainstream media ... Technological Systems Shutdown ... Economic Crash ... Institutional Shutdown ... Ecosystems Collapse ... Violence and Conflict ... Population Die-off. When humans learned to use fossil fuels for energy, manufacturing, and agriculture, they inadvertently created an artificially inflated carrying capacity that supported unprecedented population growth. As the oil runs out, that carrying capacity would collapse and excess “petro people” will die off. Estimates of how many people would die during the crash vary, but it seems plausible to expect that, once the natural carrying capacity for humans is reestablished, about 2 billion people would survive out of the current 7.1 billion. Causes of death would be starvation, infectious disease, exposure to extreme temperatures, homicide, and combat. It also seems likely that many folks would choose voluntary die-off to avoid whatever horror is coming their way. Not even a lifetime of watching tv violence will have prepared Industrial Tribespeople for all of the suffering and death that may occur when the oil runs out."

Zum Artikel von Peter Crabb, erschienen auf Culture Change (6. Dezember 2013) »