According to Dr. Jason Bradford, Ph.D., oil prices at over $50 a barrel reflect the “peak” in oil extraction predicted to occur in this decade. In short, he says, demand will soon exceed supply.
That’s the topic of a documentary film and workshop at the Willits Environmental Center, beginning at 7 p.m., Monday, December. 18.
The film, The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream, gives an historical account of the oil and natural gas industries, describing how fossil fuels transformed the American landscape by enabling the car culture to flourish, but questions the sustainability of this lifestyle given its dependence upon non-renewable resources.
The discussion and workshop, beginning at 8:30, will focus on “economic localization,” a vision of how Willits residents can sustainably produce such necessities as food and energy within Little Lake Valley and the surrounding hills.
Dr. Bradford, visiting scholar with the UC Davis Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, stresses the positive implications of localizing the economy: “If oil were very expensive, we’d be forced to walk and bike, and eat locally grown organic foods. Because many people want to do these things anyway, there’s little downside to making them happen as soon as possible. We’d have a healthier community.”
Bradford stresses, however, that this workshop is intended for the entire community, not just for those with alternate lifestyles. Those who need a car, for example, may want to consider vehicle cooperatives for out-of-area trips.
“The oil industry has no spare production capacity,” Dr. Bradford points out, “so the loss in one region can’t be compensated using excess in another.
“This situation has arisen because oil companies are now losing money in exploration as most test wells are coming up dry,” he noted. “But this should not be a surprise since worldwide we’ve used more oil than we’ve discovered for 25 years.”
