[Graeme]

Policymakers recognise peak oil threat, now they need to deal with it

Most officials in both Europe and the UK still believe peak oil is a problem the markets will solve. That's a dangerous game to play with our energy supplies, says Lionel Badal
Two years ago, the British government was still confident that oil reserves were abundant enough to meet rising demand until at least 2030.

In other words, we should not worry, and nor we did. This cheerful message relied on the contested assessments made by the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA).

Unluckily for them, and for us, ever since, numerous academic studies and industry reports have demonstrated that sometime within this decade global oil production will start to decline. In short, we are about to reach Peak Oil, and we are completely unprepared. Brace for impact.

Who to believe?

To its credit, the British government, through the voice of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), has recently changed its previous position. DECC now admits that, 'we don’t know what the future of supply and demand will be, but we do recognise the risks' Is Peak Oil happening next year or in 20 years, DECC just doesn’t know who to believe.

theecologist

[FairMaiden]

I'm quite certain our local gov'ts here know about it. In the past 5 years I've seen them pass laws to allow the keeping of chickens, creation of community gardens, huge tax breaks and assistance for farmer's markets (which have grown astronomically) and free seminars for citizens on pot gardening (that's pots on your balcony, not the pot you smoke) and worm composting...

I have seem community lectures on peak oil sponsored by my local gov't. So I'm quite sure they are trying to prepare as best they can...but what else could a local gov't be doing?

[efarmer]

Once people get the experience of visiting or living in a community that features all of the life enhancing elements you speak of, I believe they see it as a justification in and of itself. Without even being sold on peak oil, climate change, or a long term lowering in scale past that of what is obviously a very slow recovery in economic activity, it is graceful, easy to accept and something within reach of almost every place people currently hail from.

This gives me great hope, doing these things to enhance communities can be sold very legitimately as a life style increase for large masses of people when very few other methods are likely or affordable.
The adoption of community goals and adaptation of local rules to coincide with those new goals are something that is doable and can be crowed about by local politicians who are often saddled with broken budgets and becalmed on turning traditional tricks to acquire good PR around their town.

Starting to transition because you are conscious is nice, starting to transition because it offers a real increase in quality of life for a pittance, is priceless.

We are good at doing things that feel good almost right away.