The last article we read spoke about peak oil. Where the energy given off by oil is surpassed by the amount of energy we are using it for. While America may not exactly be in peak oil stage yet, Cuba is one country that has passed that stage a long time ago. Cuba does not have much oil on their land so they had to have it imported. They use to import it from the Soviet Union but once they had collapsed they had very little oil to work with. They needed to make a change or they would be in big trouble. Since the 1990's Cuba has changed their ways of living and is living a life that does not consume so much oil. Although Cuba is one of the poorest countries they have a very good reputation for medicine and healthcare. All of their doctors make house visits with lessens the amount of sources used to go to the hospital. But on a side note more people go to the hospital. So the doctor would move around more to visit all of the patients. I do not think this makes much sense but its working for them I guess. Cuba also has a good education system in which they attend school for 12 years and learn skills such as car repair, farming and other self reliant skills. Most of Cuba's homes are much smaller than the ones located in the United States meaning it needs less energy to fuel the homes. So this all around leads to a lot less energy than the United States.

Cuba has learned to live successfully with very little oil. This is something we need to do since the time will come when we have no oil at all.

Answer these questions.

1.) Cuba handled the collapse of the Soviet Union very well. They made sure everyone was able to use less oil by educating them on certain skills. They also upgraded their public transportation to save oil and share a ride. The "camel" can hold up to three hundred people at one time, meaning very efficient public transportation. Since smaller houses are used in Cuba they need less energy to fuel all of the houses. Overall the Cubans took the collapse of the Soviet Union as a way to reform.

2.) I feel as if re localization is an effective way of reducing energy use. It makes sure money stays in the community and more local business is established. While this is good, it also prevents markets from outside the community. Which is not good for global markets between the United States and other countries.

Answers

1.) If Cuba can make the big change why can we not begin to even consider a change? Could we use ideas from Cuba's reform?

2.) How exactly would a government enforce regulations on oil? I foresee a big crime ring in the future if oil has to be used sparingly. I cannot see us without oil at all.