heartofmotion wrote:
But do you realize how a soaring oil price will affect every aspect of your life? Everything you buy will go skyhigh in price. Crops use oil-derived fertilizer, fuel-driven tractors, fuel-guzzling transport systems. Imported fruit, vegetables and fish that come by boat, simply won't, or will cost too much to buy. All food will go up in price and there will be shortages. Heating costs will be through the roof (for some reason natural gas, which is not scarce, is rising along with oil). All manufactured products will increase in price. Public transit still uses energy, so fares will go up. There is nothing that won't be touched by a high oil cost.
Finding substitutes for oil is all well and good but it takes time. Organic gardening is great on a small scale, but doesn't produce comparable yields to convential farming. Sure, there's things we can do that we've been too lazy or complacent to bother with, but I've got no desire to live like a pioneer, or a hunter-gatherer. If the earth suffers some from humans wanting comfort and convenience in their lives, not to mention just having a life at all (eg. the green revolution in farming, higher standards of living, improved medicine) then I would say to the earth, "TOUGH!". It'll still be here long after we're gone and it will recover in no time, so what's the great harm?