I happened to stumble across the final hour of Douglas Copeland’s five hour Massey Lecture on CBC Radio 1 a couple of nights ago. Copeland’s presentation marks the first time ever that a Massey Lecture has been presented through a work of fiction. I only caught maybe fifteen minutes of it but what I did hear struck a chord with me, especially while we’re embroiled in another national election. I plan on downloading the lecture off of iTunes so that I can hear the entire presentation.
Part of Copeland’s lecture touched on what would happen if the price of oil jumped to $900 a barrel. We’re talking about an event of apocalyptic proportions in that the world as we know it will cease to exist. Whether directly or indirectly, we’re all dependent upon affordable oil to make a living.
People continue to deny mankind’s contribution to global warming. No matter what scientific data we accumulate, there will always be the “natural cycle” argument that will never be possible to disprove. One thing that everyone agrees upon is that oil is not an endless resource. It will run out. Yet even with this indisputable knowledge, we continue to consume oil conspicuously.
A lot of money is being made off our current, oil dependent, economic model. Corporations answer to their shareholders and Governments answer to the corporations. We hold the power. If we want things to change, we must make sure our political choices and our purchase choices, or better yet our non purchase choices, reflect our values and our priorities.
"I believe that oil production will peak in a few short years, and it will have very serious ramifications for society. ..... The fact that this threat is not being taking serious enough frightens me, and that is why I take this debate very seriously." - Robert Rapier
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