Life After the Oil Crash

Really I was all set for a rally in Olympia, Washington, when I passed a newsboy proclaiming: “read all about it- WORLD OIL CRASH EFFECTS THE NATIONS!”  Astounded to hear such a thing, my mind tried to comprehend what it could mean.  That is of course until my friend and I noticed cars being abandoned all along the streets.  Reality began to set in fast.  People acted desperate, inconsiderate to those around them; some like a chicken without a head or purpose.  And as you might guess, the Olympia rally was postponed indefinitely. 1

Weeks later I noticed more bicycles on the road and hundreds lined up at shops to buy things that they wouldn’t be able to get after “such an oil crash.”  “Crude politics for crude oil,” I thought humorously (to myself).  Of course there are the haves and the have-nots, and the crude dude (as a country) who fights for oil, in the name of war, and the strongest of the richest will win.2

Anyway, the world's demand for oil and the limit of its production is finally apparent.  “Would to God” that higher oil prices had pushed the US in the direction of discovering better sources of energy before it came to this, I mused.  Didn’t anyone ever ask, “What alternative resources of technology do we have?"  Silly of me to ponder such things “in the face of spilt milk” though.3

Yet questions just kept running through the bewildering fog. People were panic stricken, the many levels of greed were now quite apparent and ugly.  Many talked of taking to the hills- in hopes for a greater chance to survive.  4

All of a sudden home was so very far away, but airports flights were closed for business; and only a few boats for transport remained, at an enormous expense. Life, as we all knew it, has somehow changed.  But how could such a commodity transform and direct the entire course of history?  These and may such questions would never seem to end. Now I was beginning to realize why the scientists, investment bankers, and conservative individuals were terrified by the phenomenon better known as global “Peak Oil.”  Worldwide demand for oil has outpaced worldwide production of oil.  Yet we were passed the phase of outlandish prices, of skyrocket marketeers.  5

No Petrol-consultant can help us now. Oil is so crucial to man, similar to the ramifications of dehydration for the human body. The human body is 70 percent water. The body of a 200-pound man thus holds 140 pounds of water. Because water is so crucial to everything the human body does, the man doesn't need to lose all 140 pounds of water weight before collapsing due to dehydration. A loss of as little as 10-15 pounds of water may be enough to kill him.6

So an oil-based economy didn’t need to deplete its entire reserve of oil before it began to collapse. A shortfall between demand and supply was as little as 10-15 percent is enough to wholly shatter my world.7

There’s talk of a town meeting tonight, to discuss other alternatives I guess.  8

And perhaps reverting back in time when men trusted handmade gadgets and natural horsepower would be a benefit.  But even with my many survival manuals, I’d rather put my trust in God than man.  For though it’s true when things get tough then the tough get going; it is also true, that the strongest survive through faith in the Almighty! 9

It seems like only yesterday that Vice President Dick Cheney spoke of "a seemingly unbridgeable supply-demand gap.” Now we’re feeling the ramifications beyond Peak Oil, and it’s nothing short of mind blowing.  10

Sorry mom and dad, for not being able to take the next flight home. It might be awhile before I can secure the funds to get home.  As many of the transport systems have been blocked from any traffic.  Knowing how much you’d worry, I thought it best for you to hear “what’s happening” from your daughter’s point of view.  Please don’t let things get you down, God will make a way where there seems to be none.  11

Yours truly,12

Alexandra Petra13