The Impact of Peak Oil on Rural Communities: Cornwall (PDF)
Elizabeth Baines, a report produced for Groundswell Group, Cornwall, July 2007

Over the next few years, as the price of oil increases and its availability declines dramatically on a global scale, there will be profound and far-reaching effects across society. This report collates information on what has been termed ‘Peak Oil’ both globally and for rural communities and centers on a discussion of the principal areas that will be affected by escalating oil prices.

Although Cornwall has been taken as the focal point, the recommended responses can, and should, be applied to any rural community. Indeed, many of the recommendations have been influenced by the case of Cuba where the country experienced a Peak Oil situation for political rather than geological reasons. A study of the Cuban example can be found at the end of this report.

This report reveals the far-reaching and dramatic impact of Peak Oil on the life and economies of rural settlements. The government will find it increasingly difficult to alleviate the numerous and worsening stresses within local communities from Whitehall. By necessity local communities will have to take greater responsibility themselves for their own future, designing and implementing solutions fashioned by local conditions. This is the time for us to prepare for a uncertain future.

Click on the attachment below to read the full 27-page report.