The Oil Drum

This is a guest post from kiashu.

People looking at changing to a low fossil fuel use society, whether the change comes about due to necessity (peak oil) or by choice (reducing greenhouse gas emissions), often look about for historical and current examples of countries which had large fossil fuel use and then dropped it somewhat or completely. I touched on this issue with Freezing Point, noting the experiences of the former Soviet bloc countries. However, those countries ran short and then had the tap turned back on for them by the West. But there are only two countries who had the tap kept off, or at least turned down - North Korea, and Cuba.

North Korea is not often brought up as an example of a post-peak oil country because violent tyranny, labour camps and famine killing millions are not a good example if you want to say we can get along without fossil fuels, or really a good example of anything much else pleasant - though their military looks like it might be fun, what with all the hot chicks, which perhaps explains the [North] Korean Friendship Association and their webpage, korea-dpr.com, especially the FAQ, "can I join the Korean People's Army?" Mind you, Communist midgets charging at you with bayonets fixed could be disturbing (due to two decades of malnutrition, the KPA has reduced the height requirement to 1.3m, or 4'3").

For your perusal this evening, (because I have the flu from hell so I need something low maintenance yet interesting), I give you a video of someone I think a lot of.

Megan Quinn of The Community Solution discusses her visit to Cuba, and the movie "The Power of Community". This young woman sees Peak Oil as an opportunity to create the communities we want, but notes that we must reduce our consumption despite environmentalists' assurances that biofuels will save us.