Peak Oil, Peak Coal, and Beyond

This is an interview with award-winning vegetarian author, educator, lecturer and Peak Oil expert Richard Heinberg, posted to YouTube by the folks at Peak Moment Television.

Their half-hour long episodes -- Conversations -- focus on local food production, renewable energy, transportation alternatives, what businesses or government can and should be doing, as well as what individuals can do to prepare for life after the oil age. They're hosted by Global Public Media and YouTube and where available, can be seen on community access television.

The description provided on YouTube for this particular episode:

Peak Moment 63: Hot topics from Richard Heinberg: record-high U.S. fuel prices; the ethanol big-business boondoggle; coal projected to peak about a hundred years early (around 2020); what the climate change discussion is missing; and the benefits of "going local".

I love his musical intro!

Cinema Politica Presents "The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil

As part of it's weekly Friday Night Docs series, Cinema Politica Fredericton is presenting The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil this Friday, February 8, at 7 pm. From the documentary's official site:

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 by 80 percent – people were desperate. This film tells of the hardships and struggles as well as the community and creativity of the Cuban people during this difficult time. Cubans share how they transitioned from a highly mechanized, industrial agricultural system to one using organic methods of farming and local, urban gardens. It is an unusual look into the Cuban culture during this economic crisis, which they call "The Special Period." The film opens with a short history of Peak Oil, a term for the time in our history when world oil production will reach its all-time peak and begin to decline forever. Cuba, the only country that has faced such a crisis – the massive reduction of fossil fuels – is an example of options and hope.

Global Public Media has an excellent article on the documentary and the changes in Cuba that are examined in it.

Want some context? Here's a short article by Colin J. Campbell, founder of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas, that provides an overview of the peak oil issue, and of its significance.

For even more information about peak oil, check out this two part interview with Richard Heinberg:

The Richard Heinberg Interview Part - 1

The Richard Heinberg Interview Part - 2