Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
That chart shows peak general oil production, ie conventional+unconventional oil. I'm only referring to conventional (ie the relatively cheap and easy to extract and refine) oil. That peak was reached in 1970, and the US has never surpassed 1970 conventional oil production since then.
The US, starting from the post WWII era, embarked on a auto dependent, sprawl building frenzy. Then the oil crises of the 70s hit, making it abundantly clear that mode of living was not sustainable. Did Americans reverse course on car dependent sprawl? Of course not! They doubled down on building even more of it. Then the price of oil skyrocketed to $150/B in 2008, again crippling the auto-dependent suburban sprawl American mode of living. Again, Americans did not learn their lesson and once more went back to the sprawl building frenzy when the price of oil went back down.
Incredibly foolish complacency. We're now staring down the barrel (no pun intended) of another oil supply crisis and price shock. This time, there will likely be no relief. We will have to pay severely for our foolish hyper-complacency. I recently lived in Colorado Springs, CO, and often times when driving through the place, I'd think about how extremely difficult it would be to live in a place like this without a car. I think places such as CO Springs will become mostly uninhabitable in the coming years and decades.
Supply & Demand.
Contrary to what the doomsayers here constantly say, the Middle Class has been ever expanding. With that comes the desire as well the means to purchase a house. More people wanting houses means more houses.
It is really that simple.
Now, as far as car dependency and the aesthetics of sprawl, there are some fair points.
The US, starting from the post WWII era, embarked on a auto dependent, sprawl building frenzy. Then the oil crises of the 70s hit, making it abundantly clear that mode of living was not sustainable. Did Americans reverse course on car dependent sprawl? Of course not! They doubled down on building even more of it. Then the price of oil skyrocketed to $150/B in 2008, again crippling the auto-dependent suburban sprawl American mode of living. Again, Americans did not learn their lesson and once more went back to the sprawl building frenzy when the price of oil went back down.
Incredibly foolish complacency. We're now staring down the barrel (no pun intended) of another oil supply crisis and price shock. This time, there will likely be no relief. We will have to pay severely for our foolish hyper-complacency. I recently lived in Colorado Springs, CO, and often times when driving through the place, I'd think about how extremely difficult it would be to live in a place like this without a car. I think places such as CO Springs will become mostly uninhabitable in the coming years and decades.
You are FREE to move to any palce you want.
So do the rest of us.
So, the phrase "mind your own business" seem applicable.
Cities are fine if they are managed properly. You can have a low maintenance lifestyle, without the hassle of consist upkeep to large homes and lawns and a dependency on a car for everything. There is a trade off for everything in life. Living in the suburbs comes with many expensive obligation you have to meet in order to live a decent life there.
The problem in the United States is we have a bunch of brain dead Democrat's who do not live in the real world. They excuse crime, homelessness, and general disorder in the name of being virtuous. They destroy the quality of life in our cities, which should be the envy of the world, but now unfortunately for the most part are 2nd class.
gas milage has increased dramatically from 13-15 mpg and less, to now even high horsepower corvettes are getting 30 mpg.
The US has reduced energy use on one hand and increased it on the other with more cars on the road.
Long sought energy independence was achieved under Trump and destroyed under Biden.
Energy is the foundation of the world's economies. It impacts transportation of goods, manufacturing, heating cooling and power to homes and factories. The cascade of an economy begins with energy!
biden and the greenies ignored reality and went full bore for their fantasy which went far to destroy reality for everyone else.
The left and greenies want to help you lose 100 lbs of excess weight by starvation, rather than diet and exercise. they are not of this world. Future fantasies are achievable, but not by erasing reality.
No way is it possible for some of us to live in an apartment in a city like a colony of purple martins or penguins.
Our country affords us the privilege of establishing our own definition of quality of life. the socialists want everyone herded up for better government control. Concentrate people and spread disease, violate personal space and generate instability. Like a monoculture, if a problem hits, you lose the entire crop.
For the majority of Americans who favor suburban living, they where fortunate enough to live in a time in which a perfect set of variables coming together at the right moment in history for the ordinary man to live in a mini villa meant for an aristocratic class in a past age. Wealth, land, natural resources, technology etc all converged into a narrow 70 year time span to make this possible.
The question is will it last? At what point will the material, wealth, environment, political, social state sustain itself to have this lifestyle continue? Do we have enough iron, oil, coal, rare elements, natural gas, etc at a reasonable price to sustain this?
People make assumptions that this will continue unabated. We have been extremely fortunate to have all these factors come together in a short window of time to make this possible. In the future it is not guaranteed.
In the future cities may be the only way for the vast majority of people to have a reasonable quality of life. Cities are able to reduce material and energy consumption per capita to a quarter of what it is for an average suburban lifestyle.
Suburbs demand a massive amount of energy, resources and wealth to exist. The United States pulled this off, because we meet all the criteria. This is not guaranteed in the future.
Last edited by Allan Trafton; 03-05-2022 at 08:27 AM..
Because most people do not want to or cannot tolerate living in stacked 400 sq ft, 1000 unit apartment buildings in the urban ghettos. I'd rather live in an abandoned car in the bottom of a dry wash out in the middle of a desert. The time in my life I had to live in such an urban setting gave me an understanding of what hell must be like and an understanding that most people do not give one iota of a damn about others around them--zero respect, zero consideration, and zero manners.
As I alluded to in my previous reply, I guess the question should be: "why do Americans believe that the only choice in development is car-dependent sprawl and dense urban city." They* forgot that walkable places don't have to be in big cities. Every small town that was founded more than 100 years ago was originally walkable. At that time, just about everyone lived somewhere walkable, unless they lived on a farm, or lived out in the wilderness.
*I'm an American, but I don't say "we" because I didn't forget.
The US, starting from the post WWII era, embarked on a auto dependent, sprawl building frenzy. Then the oil crises of the 70s hit, making it abundantly clear that mode of living was not sustainable. Did Americans reverse course on car dependent sprawl? Of course not! They doubled down on building even more of it. Then the price of oil skyrocketed to $150/B in 2008, again crippling the auto-dependent suburban sprawl American mode of living. Again, Americans did not learn their lesson and once more went back to the sprawl building frenzy when the price of oil went back down.
Incredibly foolish complacency. We're now staring down the barrel (no pun intended) of another oil supply crisis and price shock. This time, there will likely be no relief. We will have to pay severely for our foolish hyper-complacency. I recently lived in Colorado Springs, CO, and often times when driving through the place, I'd think about how extremely difficult it would be to live in a place like this without a car. I think places such as CO Springs will become mostly uninhabitable in the coming years and decades.
1) Because nobody with any sense wants to live in a city
2) Gasoline will have to get much more expensive before people decide the price of fuel out wieghs the negatives of urban living.
3) Drama much? Suburban dwellers weren't "crippled" by fuel prices in 2008. There was no great exodus from suburban areas and rural areas to crap hole urban areas.
4) You obviously have an agenda. Methinks you live in a city and are trying to come up with excuses for your poor decision making.
As I alluded to in my previous reply, I guess the question should be: "why do Americans believe that the only choice in development is car-dependent sprawl and dense urban city." They* forgot that walkable places don't have to be in big cities. Every small town that was founded more than 100 years ago was originally walkable. At that time, just about everyone lived somewhere walkable, unless they lived on a farm, or lived out in the wilderness.
*I'm an American, but I don't say "we" because I didn't forget.
A valid point, but for many of us, even walk-able areas aren't palatable. Also, most alleged "walk-able" places really aren't. My urban dwelling friends seem to have much more difficulty accomplishing simple daily activities than I do. Everything...and I mean everything....takes longer in the city and "walkalbe" areas. Grocery shopping, entertainment, medical access, commuting - everything.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
