Two Words, One Answer.
Crude oil
 A Crude Awakening - The Oil Crash $26.95 Like some people (George W. Bush comes to mind) describe their life in terms of "before 9/11 and after 9/11", in a sense I describe my life as "before A Crude Awakening, and after A Crude Awakening". I've watched a lot of fine movies and DVD's in my life, but I think I have to rate this as the most important one I've watched. It is not that the message is so novel. Before I watched the movie, if someone had asked me, "Will the supply of oil dwindle in the future?" I would have answered, "yes". It's just that this movie is so well-done, it puts into perspective--and not over-dramatically, either--so well what that ACTUALLY MEANS for the future of humanity, that it very much impacted the way I think about everything--about our past, our present and our future. I think that everyone who is capable of understanding the contents should watch this movie. There are plenty of things to "worry about", and plenty of "disaster movies" to watch, for those who are inclined to worry. Probably the chief contender for future problems is climate change. But "A Crude Awakening" has topped anything I've watched about climate change, in terms of how I think about where the world is headed. That's because while climate change is, I believe, already happening and will continue to accelerate, mankind as a whole is likely to feel a major impact from oil shortage, before we feel major impact from climate change. And the two topics are interrelated of course; the more we burn fossil fuels, the more CO2 we add to the environment. Anyhow--this movie affected my thinking so much, I personally have gotten more than 20 other people to watch the film. By comparison I didn't promote "An Inconvenient Truth" to anybody, although it was a well-done film. WATCH THIS MOVIE. It does not matter what your politics are, you should hear what the speakers have to say about oil. The dot-com crash, the housing-market crash, the financial institutions crash--all of these things were completely obvious AFTER THE FACT--yet almost nobody seemed to see them coming BEFOREHAND. There will be an oil-supply crash too. Understand the implications of this for your future. Watch this movie. I cannot overrate the film.  1965 Celanese Crude Oil Gasoline & Fiber Print Ad $12.99 An original vintage magazine ad print from the year published. Print ads make unique gift items that can be framed as artwork. Shipped flat un-framed in plastic sleeve with backing board.  Crude World: The Violent Twilight of Oil $27.00 A very readable book on the "curse of oil". Its not for the specialist, but its an interesting read on what happens when oil is discovered and the riches only go to a very few priviliged citizens (and the oil companies). I think the author's comparisons of the developing countries that found oil and Norway and Canada are a bit unfair--oil in those countries was discovered after they were already industrialized, so oil was not the only source of wealth for them. And they had the institutions already in place to handle the windfall. |
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