The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
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DVD details
Author: The Community SolutionDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Color
Running Time: 53 unknown-units
Published: 2006-04
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: The Community Solution
DVD Reviews of The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
DVD Review: Very interesting info in here, helpful but not an entire solution for USA
Summary: 4 Stars
I've watched this video after attending the Peak Oil conference in 2008 at Oakland Community College. There is some tendency to make this appear to be the best solution, as if small communities and organic farming can save America from Peak Oil problems. This is somewhat inspiring as people adapt to change. No doubt there is going to be pro-cuba elements in the story. But these people really did adapt and deal with the issues. Cuba was already communistic when this happened and it caused an adaptation to happen, the drop of fuel. So really it's not about adapting to Communism, but changing the way you live and look at things in the face of energy scarcity. People think that high powered BTU careers are going to last, but if a massive collapse in energy inputs occurs it can turn the tables a bit, and those who waste less energy and adapt, via gardening close to where the food is consumed, eating more of what you consume and other changes in transportation, will fare better.
However the collapse is not likely to be as easy or elegant as the creators of this video think. I know I've been studying peak oil and working on preps a little (not enough) for 5 years now. But there are a multitude of realities and different strong players in competition, oil companies, governments, large businesses and people who have high cost investments in the future of an expanding economy. All these will want to keep the status quo. Communists have an easier time sharing things and living in community because they are forced to in a system that forces that and is more authoritarian. In some ways the poor efficiencies of Communism benefit a society in resource depletion, because they are geared toward producing less, using less, and living in more poverty. In a situation where people are in a system that "competes", creates new markets, and feel they can do anything and companies and multi-nationals compete as well, the solution isn't as easy as the creators of this video would have you believe. I think this is mostly because vectored forces of all kinds of players will tear apart and cause compromises on any solution offered. There will be many "partial solutions" like "community living" being pushed form different camps. The USA has a large and ever growing budget deficit. Energy must be used for production. We cannot pay off or grow GNP with declining energy. This is a fact, and the economic drain and bust on a declining economic GNP for all the world will cause tremendous forces of chaos and probable fighting to occur. The older forces of "consumption" which is the natural tendency to just want to drive a car, and take a girl down a road on a road trip, get a hamburger and travel across the country. Those "natural" forces and desires, that we have drive consumption, we don't dream of being poorer and settling, but being richer. The sad news about peak oil trends is limited resources and more expensive ones, (all mined items, and energy) cause massive loss in GNP growth and economic recovery. This is why I say to some, this is not the next Great Depression, but the LAST Great Depression that we are heading for. I say it with some disclaimers, if peak oil has happened, there is nothing that can easily replace the energy. We don't have any real answers, even sustainable ones. But those who lead us toward dirt poor farmer like existence akin to India in the early part of the 1900's. Using Induri farming methods. This is the "future" for an overpopulated world unless some whiz bang miracle invention comes into being, and I mean something that is 100 times better than most of the dreams most dreamers come up with. Like solar cells being 20 times more efficient, but they are already 14% efficient, so that's not going to happen. Or a way to have "cheap", "easy to produce" and "easy to build" nuclear fusion reactors, which won't happen.
The closest solution to peak oil is a massive buildup of 750 Breeder reactors for the USA and 3 times that for the rest of the world. Reusing nuclear spent fuel over and over again for energy for thousands of years. But we for the most part don't have breeders, we have fission reactors and throw away the spent fuel. Breeders take 20 to 30 years to build and there are only 300 nuclear reactors in the entire world. Breeders produce Plutonium, so ironically the USA is against breeder development in the third world because of the bomb, yet that's the only fuel source design that will be sustainable and replace oil for a long term (meaning thousands of years.)
Some say there is a conspiracy to keep fuel, even large fuel untapped in Alaska for long term WWII like wars. This might be true, but it doesn't mean anything because oil that is not developed for political reasons still causes a peak effect. So whether by conspiracy, lack of infrastructure or real geographical limits we have a peak condition happening. The results will be astounding. This is one approach. I think it's part of an approach and if you can live in a small community more power to you, go organic. However, I think a more likely path for the USA will be depletion and overpricing of energy in such a way that could cause massive costs in home heating and cutbacks in driving. In short we will live in much smaller or colder and warmer houses without much fuel to heat them, and we'll take a buss. This will be stop gap compromise, as farming exports, nitrogen fertilized crops and industry to some extent will try to continue on. This will cause Depression like austerity measures, which will be like communism. Some will rant about this being a plot to take down the Middle Class and bring one up in China and India, which may cause anger and a drive toward war and unrest. I think ultimately however people will have to adapt and learn to deal with the cards that the earth and limited resource deals them. They will find a way to rethink, but it will be very difficult. It could cause massive resource wars and WWIII easily. As nations still compete and resource saving nations have smaller armies and can be easily over-run. So the resource hogs, have greater industry and hence greater mechanized armies. Peak oil and Power of Community planners, never really address those realities, which is the reality of inertia with the "power structures" that exist.
In history rich men often kill off the poor with wars, to deal with lack of food or money. How can we think this could change. (Perhaps the world looks for "anti-christ" to give a promise to it, of peace, then all hell breaks loose.)
Description of The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba?s economy went into a tailspin. With imports of oil cut by more than half and food imports cut by 80 percent, people were desperate. This fascinating and empowering film shows how communities pulled together, created solutions, and ultimately thrived in spite of their decreased dependence on imported energy.
In the context of global Peak Oil worries, Cuba is an inspiring vision of hope.
The Community Solution is a nonprofit organization that designs and teaches low-energy solutions to the current unsustainable, fossil fuel?based, industrialized, and centralized way of living.
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