The end of automobiles

The end of automobiles

When I first got hooked on reading about Peak Oil, it was the mid-aughts, there was apocalypse on one side, and on the other a technological solution that would allow us to live exactly as we were ad infinitum. Now, nearly 20 years later, the two sides have moved closer together. On one hand, we didn't run out of oil, nor did it get prohibitively expensive. On the other, we have more research into hydrogen and batteries that may in fact pose a partial solution to the end of petroleum. That does not mean that we're not heading for a deep correction and a reconfiguring of our planned landscape.

We are still going to run out of petroleum. A host of solutions will come to the fore. But ultimately they will be more expensive. Our commuting and individual-use automobile lifestyle will end. People will have to live closer together and public transit will increase. Our capitalist economy is based upon the smooth and cheap transport of goods and people and when that ends, the economy will also suffer. The poorest nations will be hit the hardest. We don't have enough electricity or critical minerals to create a long-term battery-powered or hydrogen car infrastructure. Perhaps it will be golf cart cities at best.