An excellent article written by Jamais Cascio at Worldchanging.com makes a parallel between the Y2K problem and the peak oil issue. Do you still remember the problem year 2000, with all the fatalistic predictions? With the tension maintained by the media and the relief when everything finished in such a painless manner. Now, at the start of 2010 it seems like it was a ridiculous drama.
But let's be fair – the happy end of Y2K came not despite but due to the concerns of professionals, and their united efforts to resolve the crisis.
So if now the warnings about the end of oil seem to you like deja vu, you are right. The problem is discussed in not many specialized blogs and the voices of preachers of the post-petrol future are weak and isolated. The multinational corporations and the politicians are trying to convince the public that the only possible way for humanity to prosper is economic growth and business as usual – to ensure their profits, to ensure successful completion of humanities' goals, and to prevent social conflicts.
Estimates for the end of oil differ from each other – from "already happened", "is currently happening" or "will happen in the next 5, 10, 20 years" to "there will be no end of oil". This uncertainty contribute to the desire to displace reality. But the post-petrol future certainly knocks on our door. And the transition to it will be not uniform for everyone - in no case smooth and painless. It will affect every aspect of daily life of everyone of us.
The best scenario is to repeat what happened with the problem of the millennium, i.e. Y2K. Worst scenario? To do nothing and meet the end of oil absolutely unprepared.
"In Transition 1.0" is the first detailed film dedicated to the Transition movement. The film was created by those who know Transition movement best and participate in it. The Transition movement includes communities around the world trying to find solutions to modern problems and to address the end of oil and climate change. Many dedicated individuals put a lot of creativity, imagination and humor in the process of building local economies and communities on a new basis.