The End of Suburbia

I, along with many others, have determined that the real motivation for the war in Iraq was the supply of oil. Unlike Afghanistan, which harbored and encouraged the formation and growth of Al Qaeda and therefore was partly responsible for the attacks of 9/11, Iraq had no discernible ties to the terrorist threat. But, armed with false intelligence and neo-conservative logic, the Bush administration pushed forward with it's own agenda of securing the Iraqi oil fields and putting in place a government that would comply with the long term strategic plans of the United States.

The supply of oil is paramount to the long term interests of the USA. President Bush, like many of his cabinet colleagues, comes from a oil business background. All of these people are very much aware that the oil supply is not only essential to economic growth, it is essential to the way of life that most people in the West take for granted. But it is a way of life that is fast going to become history no matter what they do. The supply of oil will soon not be able to meet the demands that our way of life calls for. Securing the Iraqi oil fields, or all the worlds oil fields, will amount to nothing more than a temporary fix to an insurmountable problem.

At the moment I am reading a book by James Howard Kunstler called The Long Emergency. The following video is from another of his books called The End Of Suburbia. It is quite long, about 52 minutes, but it is well worth taking the time to watch. The way of life that we have all become accustomed to will soon be facing crisis. In fact, it is already there. How we face that crisis, the inevitible shortage of oil with all it's ramifications, will determine our future.

I have a friend, in the American midwest, who has an old house with a woodburning stove, 20 acres of farmland, geese, ducks, turkeys, fish, and more than a few firearms. I believe that he, without really thinking about it, will be among those who will survive the coming changes with little trouble.

This cultural change, and the crisis that stimulates it, is already upon us. My advice: Start planting vegetable gardens and buy a horse and wagon....soon.

The End of Suburbia: 52 Minute Documentary on Oil