Hello from the Newest Member of the Peak Oil Premonitions Blog

Hello from the newest member of the Peak Oil Premonitions blog.

For almost a year I have studied the issue of depletion of "cheap oil" ( a.k.a. "big" oil). I believe it was used as part of a strategy developed during the Cold War of the 1950's. This involved dispersing the population of the densely populated areas of (the eastern half of) the USA towards the less populated regions. This necessitated the availability of an interstate highway network, the building of filling stations (some of which went on to develop a critical mass of people worthy of a town) and the creation of an automobile and trucking industry (to the detriment of trains and other mass transit methods).

The commensurate "development" model of business and commerce has, in my opinion, introduced a significant "distortion field" into the economic history of North America. The dependency on (ever increasing amounts of) imported oil grows larger. Both the political and economic impact of a disruption in oil (or other energy) supplies has already been felt, most recently in the aftermath of the Katrina and Rita hurricanes.

As a Christian, I believe we already have the spiritual foundation necessary to avoid the temptations of "modernity". Any alternatives to "modernity" should include a sense of optimism, community and self-fulfillment. The principles and methods of Permaculture go a long way in describing such alternatives in practical terms. Try browsing through http://www.technorati.com/search/permaculture and see if you don't agree.

Thank you for reading. Any constructive criticism is appreciated.