This is a review of the documentary movie – A Crude Awakening – which is about peak oil, and the implications on the western way of life as oil becomes scarcer and more expensive.

Peak oil is the observation that oil production peaks and then declines as existing sources become depleted. There have been no major new oil sources found for some time, and existing supplies are now around 50% depleted.

Whilst this doesn’t mean that we will immediately run out of oil, it does mean that oil will become more expensive since demand is increasing in the developing world as it begins to industrialise (such as China) while supply is decreasing.

The movie begins by highlighting the importance of oil to our way of life. Everything from plastics to fertilisers to petrol to jet fuel are all derived from crude oil. One barrel of oil contains a huge amount of conveniently available energy.

It then highlights the plight of some oilfields which are already depleted. Humans always have the belief that any temporary resource will last forever, and act accordingly.

Oil is then shown as the prize of conflict throughout the world. The focus of this movie is on the Middle East, where the invasion of Iraq is shown to be a pretext for securing energy supplies. In fact, the oil fields were secured almost immediately, while civil unrest and lack of rule of law continue to plague the rest of the country. However, it also highlights that the ongoing conflict in Sudan is also a result of a struggle to control oil supplies. The conclusion is that oil will increasingly be something that nations go to war to control.

One very interesting statement is made: that human ingenuity will devise solutions once oil becomes too expensive. However, these may not have the convenience of oil, and may require painful adjustments in our way of life. In particular, famine may result from loss of oil derived fertilisers. The very structure of cities may change, particular in the US, where suburbia is a result of inexpensive private transportation.

This movie does highlight some alternatives, but is pessimistic about the value of these. This is a point that I don’t necessarily agree with. Whilst I agree that the vaunted “hydrogen economy” has not been thought through, and is not currently feasible due to difficulties in producing, transporting and storing hydrogen, I believe that biomass, nuclear, solar and wind energy can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. These are mentioned in the movie, but they presented as not being viable.

With nuclear energy, the movie states that current uranium supplies provide only two decades of energy. This is true using a traditional fuel cycle, but there are new technologies that are more efficient. Also, thorium can be used and this is more abundant than uranium.

In addition, the movie does not discuss more abundant, though still limited substitute fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal, although these fuels can buy time while more sustainable solutions are developed. Instead the movie focuses on tar sands, which are a complex, cost and potentially environmentally destructive means of producing oil.

Overall, this movie makes the point that oil depletion will change the way of life on the earth and I think this point is well made. It is indisputable that nothing else can provide the convenience and usefulness of crude oil. However, the movie did tend to gloss over some substitutes that are technically feasible, and the viewer would tend to take away the idea that a doomsday scenario is inevitable.

What are the implications of this movie for the free person? Well, firstly it is important to face the facts – oil is limited. Denial will not change this fact. Someone who has freed their mind from conventional groupthink will be able to face truth without fear, trusting in the conclusions of their own mind.

Secondly, there will be economic consequences. The impact on the individual can be minimised by planning ahead. If you’ve got a SUV that gets 10 mpg, you’ll be more affected that someone who can walk to work. Similarly, the person who is not financially free will be vulnerable to economic downturns.

The free person is open to evaluating alternatives, and thinking laterally. They will evaluate the ideas in this movie in the light of other facts and plan ahead accordingly.

Tags: a crude awakening, alternative energy, peak oil

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 23rd, 2007 at 5:53 pm and is filed under Book / film reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.