2008 Woodie Awards
The peak oil crisis: Not if, but when
Jacqueline Poulette
Issue date: 4/11/07 Section: Opinion
The Maya were an advanced civilization that prospered from 1000 BC to 800 AD. The Maya people had developed a formal written language, extravagant art, and immense architecture. Eventually residential urban cities were created and the civilization grew. Soon thereafter, astronomy, mathematics and religion became a cultural exploration and advanced the society even further. It has been estimated that there were around 50 million Maya people at the peak of their existence.
So where is the Maya civilization today? At around 800-910 AD the Maya collapse occurred. An estimated 90% of the Maya culture died or disbursed during the collapse, which was presumably caused by the over consumption of the resources that had produced their society. Though the Maya collapse may appear as a gloomy historical occurrence, the fact of the matter is that history inevitably repeats itself.
The peak oil crisis that we are facing today is not a joke, it is not a scare tactic, and it will eventually manifest into chaos and anarchy when our civilization predictably collapses. In the short film Yu Koyo Peya, Tyler Kimble, of the Anthropik Network, paints a grim portrait of the future and our civilization's demise. The term "yu koyo peya" comes from the Ipili Tribe of Papa New Guinea and means the land is ending.
The film includes a clip from the movie The Matrix where it is stated that humanity is much like a disease or a cancer in that it consumes to the point where relocation is needed for survival. Since Americans are the largest consuming population on the planet, it is remarkable that a majority of the nation can still go about their daily lives as sheep controlled by fraudulent shepherds.
In the 1950's the late geophysicist Dr. Marion King Hubbert made scientific and mathematical discoveries that slapped our self-absorbed reality in the face. Hubbert calculated that oil production could be represented as a bell curve. Hubbert estimated the peak of U.S. oil production would transpire in the early 1970's and that world oil production would occur in the late 1990's or early 2000's. Hubbert was vindicated in his estimation of U.S. oil production because by 1975 it was clear that all major oil fields in the U.S. were declining.
So where is the Maya civilization today? At around 800-910 AD the Maya collapse occurred. An estimated 90% of the Maya culture died or disbursed during the collapse, which was presumably caused by the over consumption of the resources that had produced their society. Though the Maya collapse may appear as a gloomy historical occurrence, the fact of the matter is that history inevitably repeats itself.
The peak oil crisis that we are facing today is not a joke, it is not a scare tactic, and it will eventually manifest into chaos and anarchy when our civilization predictably collapses. In the short film Yu Koyo Peya, Tyler Kimble, of the Anthropik Network, paints a grim portrait of the future and our civilization's demise. The term "yu koyo peya" comes from the Ipili Tribe of Papa New Guinea and means the land is ending.
The film includes a clip from the movie The Matrix where it is stated that humanity is much like a disease or a cancer in that it consumes to the point where relocation is needed for survival. Since Americans are the largest consuming population on the planet, it is remarkable that a majority of the nation can still go about their daily lives as sheep controlled by fraudulent shepherds.
In the 1950's the late geophysicist Dr. Marion King Hubbert made scientific and mathematical discoveries that slapped our self-absorbed reality in the face. Hubbert calculated that oil production could be represented as a bell curve. Hubbert estimated the peak of U.S. oil production would transpire in the early 1970's and that world oil production would occur in the late 1990's or early 2000's. Hubbert was vindicated in his estimation of U.S. oil production because by 1975 it was clear that all major oil fields in the U.S. were declining.
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jacqueline
posted 6/24/07 @ 2:38 PM EST
in the first paragraph its supposed to be 5 mill not 50...
but hope you enjoy ;)
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