Fossil fuel 101

Ultimate Roller Coaster Ride

This short animated film made by the Post Carbon Institute gives a quick and entertaining history of our use of fossil fuels to power most of our lives, and what the post-carbon world might look like. I don't quite agree with all the macro-economic statements they make (but this is something about which reasonable people can disagree), but the film is good food for thoughts and should definitely be seen. The most striking thing to me was the mention that from the beginning of the industrial revolution to now is only an amount of time equivalent to about 3 human lifetimes. So much has changed in such a short period, and it's a reminder that we can change again. Not as fast as many of us would like, but we can do it. The important thing is to steer towards a better world.

Planning? In our lifetime? I think that bleak future (near-future) is the reality we will be facing.