a crude awakening

if oil is indeed our god, this movie documents the apocalypse.

crude awakening is a fascinating look at the history and future history of oil. have you heard of baku, azerbaijan, or maracaibo, venezuela? these two cities were on the front end of oil production but have since seen their supplies depleted. as the oil dried up, the cities have dried up to varying degrees.

it is interesting to think about that black, tarry substance, so valuable, beneath the surface of the earth, and the fact that is not without limit.

the implications of a crude awakening are legion:

• i watched the doc and thought about global warming differently. i wondered if all, or which, replacement energies represent clean-burning fuels. i also thought of how quickly the earth will rebound from most man-made maladies.
• i thought about capitalism's penchant for squeezing every bit of profit out of a thing before letting it pass or advance, which is something i have noticed with various technologies over the years. obviously we could have moved beyond oil by now but of course those for whom oil is the cash cow, well, they promote hinderances for that which would end the reign of their cash flow.
• the movie speaks further to the reasons for the u.s. occupation of iraq.
• the sheer volume of petroleum products is reinforced.

we live in an age of suspect news sources. while documentaries can be skewed or full-blown examples of propaganda at times, they also represent the most informative form of news journalism. instead of piecing together so many news bits culled from newspapers or video pieces, documentaries allow for a thorough examination of a topic in one sitting.