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The documentary that has been hailed as another Inconvenient Truth is launching in UK cinemas this Friday. A Crude Awakening is interesting in that it focuses more on the impact of peak oil on society, rather than the effect oil is having on the environment.
The film is the work of two journalists and filmmakers, Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack, who together wrote, filmed and produced the entire film. It's been doing the rounds at various film festivals since it was finished in 2006, winning Best Documentary at the Zurich Film Prize that year and Best Documentary Feature at the Palm Beach festival in 2007, but has only now landed a nationwide cinema release here.
Although peak oil is a controversial topic, it's one which is bound to attract a lot of mainstream attention now that petrol has nudged over £1 in many areas.
According to the official film website, the documentary reaches a "startling, but logical conclusion -- our industrial society, built on cheap and readily available oil, must be completely re-imagined and overhauled".
Although at first glance the end of available oil may seem like a good thing as it will force the widespread -- total, in fact -- adoption of sustainable transport and manufacture, there are some extremely large social and economic problems that arise in a world without oil. Unfortunately, having no oil is just as harmful as having plentiful and cheap oil, at least in the short term. We need to be gradually weaned off oil -- going cold turkey is too traumatic.
As the cost of oil rises, then so do almost all goods and services, including food, as the cost of agriculture and transport also rise. This could mean universal food shortages. Avoiding this would involve implementing a widespread sustainable transport and food production infrastructure -- something that isn't on the horizon in the foreseeable future.
PICTURE: www.oilcrashmovie.com
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Discover the brilliant experienced people who are helping SmartPlanet through the green and ethical minefield.
