The Willamette Valley:
Through the Lens of Peak Oil
The modern world, our global economy, and our remarkable material wealth have all been facilitated by the availability of cheap oil. For one hundred and fifty years we have vaulted ahead, propelled by the miracle of aged and condensed sunlight. Ever faster and bigger cars, jet airliners, sky scraping buildings, spaceage plastics, cheap and abundant food, we have lived like never before on a seemingly free flowing river of black gold. But now, as the stark reality of peak oil and the geophysical limits of petroleum as a natural resource come to bear, it is time to reassess.
The rising price of petroleum and all its byproducts has now begun to effect just about everything that we do. Each time we get into our car, each time we ponder a long airline flight to visit friends or relatives, each time we hear the throb of the furnace fan come on, each time we enter a grocery store, we should pause to rememder that oil, for so long the foundation of our society, is a finite and dwindling resource. Perhaps one day, gasoline will be rationed. Perhaps electricity will be available for only portions of the day. Perhaps we will spend our money on food first then think about secondary needs. Our lives will change; no, they already have!
Eugene, Oregon, at the south end of the Willamette Valley, is the home of Mud City Press. And while those of us who live here in this valley watch the outside world adjust to peak oil through our various electronic windows, hand held or poised upon our desktops, it will be the changes in western Oregon that will mean the most to us, and the rest of the world will recede from our close focus as we scramble to cut energy costs, grow our own food, and retool our local economy.
So what can we expect in the years to come as the Willamette Valley works through these changing times? How will our lives look without cheap oil? What will be the price of a loaf of bread? How will we get from point A to point B? No one has a magic mirror to see into that future, but the Willamette Valley is unique, and as a region with tremendous agricultural capacity, there are things that we can do to prepare for the transition, particularly regarding food security and lifestyle changes. The following articles explain and explore these and other possibilities.
