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Not Like Y2K!

Thu, 2008-04-10 23:18 — elvirawhite

While talking to someone yesterday about peak oil and its possible effects on every aspect of life, I felt a bit like I did about Y2K. Do you all remember the hype and doomsday pictures that were predicted? Then nothing much happened(thank goodness!) and it all settled down. The person asked me if I REALLY thought it was all going to happen. I said, "Yes, but even if it wasn't as bad as all that we still needed to change a lot of things about our lives and communities to make them better." Has anyone assembled a good answer to the question as to whether Peak Oil changes to lifestyle will really happen that can be given briefly in a conversation without sounding fanatical? Any comments ?

Comments

Jules's picture
Jules
April 11th, 2008

Y2K vs Peak Oil

There are certainly comparisons that can be made.

- Some apocalyptic viewpoints
- Known consequences (although severity is debatable)
- Known time frame (precise for Y2K, less precise for peak oil)

It's important to remember that Y2K wasn't a big deal, not because the whole thing was exaggerated, but because thousands of professionals worked tens of thousands of hours to ensure that potential problems were minimised. So when Y2K rolled over and nothing happened, sceptics could say 'see, I told you nothing would happen'. The outcome was the same either way.

I used to talk about peak oil, but I don't any more. It makes me sound like a nut. I talk about 'rising petrol prices', and if I want to go further, an impending 'petrol drought'. Everyone understands those terms without further explanation (unlike 'peak oil').

Don't forget that Cuba survived a decline in oil supply in the early 90s - by 1994, they were down to 35% of their pre-1990 oil supply. They underwent massive changes, but survived. We can too.

petevanloon's picture
petevanloon
April 13th, 2008

What if Peak Oil is just another Y2K dud ?

Gday Elvira !

I actually bring up the comparison, and say I hope it is the same sort of dud threat, and then I ask what would we lose if it were ? By being prepared, by better being safe than sorry, we've bought a heap of food AT TODAYS PRICES, and so its a good investment, considering the inflation these days. All the food is non-perishable, so even if it does all blow over, we've just beaten inflation for the time it takes to eat it all !