WS 3371 Fall 2007

The film "End of Suburbia," really jumped out and grabbed my attention by pointing out that every aspect of society today relies on oil in some form. I guess I personally never really put too much thought into it before.
As mentioned in the film, we have finally began to realize our dependence on oil and have tried to develop new sources of energy. But in reality we haven't gotten anywhere because even with the new energy forms, we use oil and natural gas to produce them (example: ethanol). It was also pointed out that no matter how many wind veins or hydroelectric dams we build, it will not produce enough to meet our demands.
So my question is, even though society is aware of this, how long will it take before we as a society do something to reduce our energy consumption? When we do, will people have to purchase the right to drive automobiles, much like companies have to purchase shares of carbon emmissions? Will the automobile lose its significance in America much like trains and steam engines?

“The End of Suburbia” really made me think about my own stance on oil consumption, both personally and nationally. Even though logically I know that oil will not last forever, I just have been unable to comprehend a life when oil is gone. I mean, I realize that high gas prices are a result of oil becoming more expensive to obtain (aka running out) but I have the mindset of “gas is expensive, but it’s still there and it’ll always be there, even if it’s pricey.” Couple that with the belief that I’ll be dead before the really bad stuff hits (that’s my thoughts on global warming anyways) it’s a very secure, even if it’s a false, state of mind. But the film made me think that well, maybe I won’t be dead by the time the really bad stuff starts. And that got me thinking about why I still hold that belief even though the signs are pointing to the end of oil. I mean, the signs are there, one specific example I remember is when my parents and I were looking at new cars the salesman said that if we wanted a car with the plastic (or whatever it is they make it out of) body we should buy now because the next year’s model is switching to steel because oil prices are so high. I guess I didn’t really make the connection that if small changes are happening, the really big changes are going to have to happen next.

This video was very interesting. It showed me many different aspects of how we use oil, and how it affects our life. It really makes a person think about the future and what will happen in the next 10 to 15 years, especially when is our oil production going to peak, are we going to have alternative fuels by the time we cannot pump any more oil from the earth, and what is the alternative fuel going top be?
Another question I have is how is the new emphasis, by the general public, on corn based ethanol and sustainability will affect their numbers and their arguments. I ask this because over the last year many new ethanol plants have been planned and are being built with new more efficient methods then previous plants in operation.
I also have on more observation about this movie. During the movie I keep think that these guys are hippies. However, their message hasn’t changed and it is still something important to think about.

On my way to the East Bank after class I couldn’t help but think of all the things that were using petroleum. Buses, cars, trains, factories, hotels, THE UNIVERSITY were all sucking up this non reusable resource. I thought about what might be a good alternative source of energy, but alas to avail. I thought it was a very grim documentary because the “experts” were all saying that at some point petroleum will be depleted and we will in a sense are going to be reverted to what we were a few hundred years ago. Yes it true that at some point we will use up all of the petroleum of this planet, but it doesn’t mean that our society will go to hell. The experts were saying that hydrogen is not a good alternative nor was ethanol. Be it true but it does not mean that there is nothing else that can be considered as an alternate source. I have noticed a common trend amongst politicians and experts such these; they all provide a very stark point of view but offer very little to the solution of the problem. Yes petroleum is depleting now let’s do something about it. What good is going to come of this repetitive theme? If these guys know the most about petroleum depletion then they should also offer up some resolutions. I think it’s very easy to be an expert with an emphasis in pessimism, but it takes a strong mind to be optimistic and provide a solution. These guys contribute very little if anything to the solution. Let’s all become aware of the problem; ok now what?

"The End of Suburbia" was very interesting and frightened me a little bit. It actually frightened me a lot while I was watching it, but then afterwords I acknolegedged how one sided it was and that some things might have been exaggerated to maximize the film's effectiveness. Either way, the idea of us being in a war that will probably last the rest of our lives and some just for oil disgusts me. It is selfish. Why can't we just find an alternative fuel source? I always thought we were doing a fine job at doing so, but according to the film ethanol and hydrogen are inefficient. I never knew that. I guess we are at a dead end until we do run out of oil. I can only hope that whenever that happens the transition into the next (and improved) energy source will be a smooth one.

The first part of the movie “End of Suburbia” was depressing to me. It examined the origin of our independence on petroleum. Cheap oil has always been around so it just grew into this huge necessity. Now that we are running out, the prices to continue the life style the way we have known it for the last hundred years are increasing tremendously. Instead of looking for new and improved technologies to advance and improve society we continue to spend our money on old inefficient ones. Oil exploration and securing supplies already know are huge expenses. Alternatives are necessary to move forward. It was eye opening to hear from experts that the economy will probably have recession after recession soon after the oil runs out. How can this happen to the most powerful nation in the world? Our cities and homes and jobs and schools are so spread out that without the transportation of cars we could not continue. Billions of dollars should be going into research and improving current technologies yet we are defending years worth of petroleum. The dependency on petroleum has become so strong that prices have pushed to the roof and aren’t predicted to come back down. It is going to take many different technologies to take the place of the petroleum based fuels and products that we use so much of now.

I also thought the “End of Suburbia” film was quite depressing. It was sad to hear all of those scientists and environmental analysts talking about how our dependence on oil has become extravagant. They really seemed to criticize our societies need and desire to live in suburbia. I have never really thought of it as a negative thing, but I had never considered some of the reasons presented in the film. I can see why suburbia flourished as much as it did. Since cheap oil was so abundant people were able to live further from the cities and commute with ease. I myself commute to school every day from Prior Lake. I know it may not seem economical to some people to travel that distance daily, but it is cheaper for me to drive than pay rent in the cities. I have a house with my boyfriend that is paid off so we do not have to pay rent, which would cost more than the cost of gas to travel during the week; luckily we can carpool to school together as well. Therefore, I think that suburbia is not a disadvantage. I enjoy being away from all the noise, heavy traffic, and extra pollution of the cities and I think people who developed suburbia felt the same way. I can however see why it is starting to become a disadvantage. With the constantly increasing cost of oil driving is becoming a bit of a hassle. I think the film was depressing because it talked about how oil is projected to peak and then slowly start to run out. It just shows how important and necessary it is for us to develop alternate fuel sources in order to sustain our standard of living.

This documentary really made me think of our current problem, although new technologies are trying to find solution to solve our energy problem, at mean time developing cars that is using hydrogen fuel. However what shuts down the idea is the reearchers in the documentary showed the data that by making hydrogen car, we'll require a lot more energy than we already did. We might still think energy crisis will never happen because our newly developed technologies, however in fact it is slowly happening. It reminded me the movie live free or die hard which in the story it discussed when the entire technology system we are so depending on all the sudden shutting down, what will a world become. Entire economic crash, nations will fall down one by one. If we seriously ranning out of our recources, our day of life will be bring back to our stone age, which we began to use tools from our surrounding materials.

Upon watching most of the documentary, “The End of Suburbia,” I found myself resisting much of what was being shown to me. I did not find myself resisting the evidence of the decline in oil production, rather, I found myself resisting all of the grim predictions that would supposedly take us “high and mighty” Americans down to a society where one is either rich or poor. Perhaps I am being cynical, but it seems to me that some of these predictions are so radical that I can see little other reason for one to support the claims other than to A) scare people into using less oil, and B) help market a book written by the individual making the assertion. If so many of these “experts” are predicting such a bleak future, why aren’t more of them leaving their jobs and selling their stocks in the oil companies to avoid the inevitable sh*t storm? In addition to this, I was disappointed in the lack of explanation as to why no alternatives we currently have available to us are good enough to help us sustain, or at least ease the burden on, our economy. Overall I think the documentary raises a good amount of awareness, but I think some of the theories and models are somewhat suspect. I’m glad I saw the documentary because it helped me put some things in perspective, but I refuse to believe that our economy will collapse simply because of a shortage of oil. Maybe it’s the jingoist in me, but I just can’t see it happening.

While "The End of Suburbia" was kind of depressing, or really depressing, I don't see how it is something we didn't already know. Not in the way that scientists have been telling us we need to quit oil, but that mankind, or Americans have been making this mistake for a couple of centuries now. First it was the trees and then the passenger pigeons, oil just seems to be on a more global level. We did kind of dig ourselves into this hole though. I wonder if our backs are up a wall if we can come up with something better?

The messages in this film were not new to me. I have been hearing things like this in my classes and in books I've read, like End of Oil. Many people hear messages like the ones in the film and they get scared because it causes them to think of the life they live, in suburbia, as a bad thing for the first time in their life. It is normal to many people, and I think they only get scared by it because they don't know how else they would live. I don't think that people should feel so much personal responsibility for suburbia because for our society to change it is going to involve everyone planning for a better option.

Changing the fuel of our cars to something other than petroleum is going to be a difficult transition. The oil companies and car manufacturers are going to want to keep business as usual for as long as possible to make the most money. There are things you can buy already, such as biodiesel for any diesel vehicle or convert your car to run ethanol, but these will not solve the problem. I'm looking forward to see how the video finishes.

The apathetic attitude displayed by the general public towards the impending oil crisis seems similar to their reaction to the problem of global climate change. Most pretend they do not have the time to familiarize themselves with such important issues and and find consolation by thinking someone i.e. the government is taking the time to come up with solutions. It really concerned me when one of the commentators mentioned the amount of violence which America will most likely continue to use within our lifetimes. Politicians have been warning our country to prepare itself for never ending wars, mostly fought to secure the remaining supplies of constantly decreasing energy reserves.|Another common misconception is that some as of yet undeveloped or underdeveloped technology will come along to save us from our own self created "cluster fuck." I had known that no source of energy is really ever free, but I had not really considered the difficulties that would be encountered during the period of transference if and when this super technology was ever discovered. Both are difficult problems that will have no easy fixes, but the sooner the government and the public admit the problems exist, the more time we will have to adjust to this transference period.

The video really makes you realize that we are far too dependent on oil for pretty much everything. After seeing the video I started trying to think of alternative ways to give power to all of the pieces of technology I use every day, but I just couldn't do it. As soon as we do deplete this source of energy we will find the world in a state of confusion, left with a bunch of useless hunks of steel and plastic. The car will eventually rest in the garage like a mummified corpse, large corporations will no longer have the ability to distribute products and probably will collapse. People will move back into the city for work (which might be scarce), filling all of those condo's that have been built in the last few years. The suburbs might become ghost towns and roads eventually broken and torn... Kinda creepy.
It amazes me that stuff like this doesn't even have a mentioning in the news, it's like the media is turning its back on a gigantic monster that is destroying a city and instead focusing on topics such as dog shows, it's arrogant blindness. Think of all the research that could have been done with the money that is going towards Iraq (~$500,000 a minute, referenced from Time magazine). In one day I wonder if they wouldn't have been able to have enough money to construct a well designed solar power plant that might be able to replace a coal burning plant?

The film made some good points and provided some legit arguments to our current problems with oil. However, I am optimistic when it comes to solving our energy problem. We have been experiencing the depletion of resources on earth for decades. Yet, we are still improving our lives by being more efficient. And humans have a will to survive and I believe that technology will lead us to something (whatever that may be) that will help solve this crisis we are experiencing now. We can't live forever, but we do a pretty good job of trying to prolong life on this planet.

What will we do once we are depleted of oil? The video really made a point to say that all of the worlds oil will soon be non existent due to our mass consumption of it. I don't have a car right now but if i did, I honestly would say that I would continue to drive my car. Driving is embedded into our culture. Anyone can see that. For example, my roommates will chose to drive a few blocks to the House of Hanson grocery store because it is a) too cold out or b) they are too lazy. The thinking is, 'what's a few blocks of driving going to do? It won't use up that much gas'. People don't realize it all adds up. Americans seem to think short term about these things and hope that they don't live to see the consequences.

The video brought up using of corn to fuel cars. I don't know to much about this but hearing the video, it doesn't seem efficient. First, oil is needed in the fuel making process and second, the opportunity cost. They said the amount of resources to grow the crops would be greater than continuing to use gas. Where does this leave us. What other forms of long distance and personal transportation will we have in the future?

I think people should be more thoughtful on how they use their cars. Why live an hour away from your job so you can live in the suburbs? What's wrong with the city. People need to be more rational about where they live in comparison to their job.

The movie so far has been very depressing. I thought it was very funny that we apparently stopped watching until next class right before the movie starts talking about options we have.

This whole movie sort of opened my eyes. Hearing several different experts voice their educated opinions based on research, experience, their own work and the work and knowledge of others is rather convincing. It bothers me how concerned modern media is with their ratings rather than reporting the truth; how no news channel has thought to directly put pressure on the limited oil story. They've started talking a lot about Global Warming in recent years, about how we need to carpool and bike/walk when we can to reduce our emissions, and it's my thought that this might be their way of indirectly drawing America's attention toward conserving oil without just saying, "soon there will not be enough oil to continue our way of life."

^-- (that was me)

So after watching 'The End of Suburbia" I have to admit I felt a little depressed. It definitely has strong points which are difficult to contradict. However, when I was discussing this matter with some other people it was very easy for them to disregard it. I believe that the documentary is correct in saying that people in Suburbia will deny and fight the energy crisis for as long as possible. I think it is amazing how easy it is for people to completely ignore the fact that we will eventually run out of oil. This doesn't mean that I think that our economy will collapse when oil runs out, but I do think it is an issue which needs to be addressed by the American people.

I was also disappointed with the fact that they didn't offer further explanation for alternative energy solutions, or even entertain the idea that there is one out there. Instead it seemed that they were suggesting that all society will return to the dark ages without oil. Of course I am aware that there is not easy solution, but still a solution must be found. I am interested to see what they say at the end of the documentary. I am also interested to see how everything continues to unfold in the next couple of years.

One thing that I was thinking while watching the movie was that people who understand oil depletion effects—are gathering and talking to people that already understand the situation. Why aren’t the experts talking to college students, parents, corporate companies, legislative groups, oil companies, or people that make regulations about emissions or vehicle regulations? I think it is important to educate as many people as possible about a topic/situation/idea and then changes will be made. People change when they understand the possible aftermath of their current actions. I think the target audiences need to have a closer look at and this is definitely a serious matter. Even after watching the portion of the video in class, I understand how my actions are effecting the oil depletion but I, myself, am just one person and cannot change everything by myself. Maybe a requirement to all university students would be to research this matter and watch this video—then at least we would be educated.

The end of suburbia was a great! I have had lots of exposure to most of the topics of discussion. The looming energy crisis is going to change the world. I really wonder how society is going to adapt. Will the huge deficient left by the depleting oil reserves be filled with some new energy source? I guess I have always had a significant amount of faith in human ingenuity, meaning I believe science will produce the answer. I strongly believe nuclear power has a good chance at lessening the energy shortage.
The facts discrediting E 85 were amazing. I have had discussions in other classes regarding ethanol based fuels derived from biomass, all of which made obvious many fatal flaws in the concept. It is worse then gasoline, mostly because of the way it is produced. But E85 also produces much higher level of carcinogens. E85 is not the answer it is a political ploy.

I think American energy is spiraling out of control. I also think it is pretty apparent that America and the world has reached the “peak”. It is just a matter of time before the real crisis hits. This film really opened my eyes. It’s just evidence of how naïve society is—they don’t think the oil reserves could ever be depleted. Americans are being very stubborn about energy—really nothing nationwide has been done to counteract the growing problem. Americans just drive more and waste energy. I think that Americans need to be educated about the approaching energy crisis. Really all that we as society are seeing is the rise in gas at the pump. For example, earlier this fall, oil peaked to over $80 a barrel!! The days of $1.25 gasoline are gone. Today in the Star Tribune was a brief article about the crunch Midwesterners are going to feel with the rising prices of natural gas. Don’t people realize what we are doing now will impact the future? However, I do want to point out that Minnesota has at least taken a step in the right direction. The governor singed a bill that mandates 25% of energy come from renewable resources by 2025. Fortunately, many other state governments are catching on—its only a matter of time before the rest of the nation follows suit.

The End of Seburibia actually kind of scary to me. I now we haven't seen the end yet, but from what we have seen, makes me scared. This video also make me take a step and look at the life I live. I of course life in suburia and commute about 25 miles to school everyday. Now I am completey aware of he gative conseuences of my life, but I have never thought about losing these luxuraties? I don't think I could change to adapt to a oil free world and that is the most scariest part of all.

This video made me think about how much of our natural resources I consume individually, as well as how much my family consumes. And as I continued to branch off from there...extended family, friends, neighbors, community, state, country... It is amazing to consider that that many people are possibly using the same amount of resources as me.

I had never thought about Suburbia specifically being responsible for a majority of the consumption and depletion of oil, but it definitely makes sense. My parents drive in and out of the city five days a week, and many of my friends' parents do the same.

Over the last few years I have been made aware of the damage cars have been causing the environment, but I don't think I ever really considered how these damages could affect the way I live my life. I think many of people are in denial when it comes to what is right and what is comfortable, but this video made it very clear to me that in the future we need to be much more careful with how we use natural resources. What does the future hold for us?

Oil consumption is obviously a huge issue with today's economy, government as well as the overall lifestyle of Americans. I wonder if there is really anything we/I can do to slow down our consumption rates.
My peers are unique because we are going to be witnessing a time period where crucial decision-making must happen, and some of us might even assist in this process. We could either be advocates of change and recognize the risk we are putting future generations in (in terms of lack of fuel, environmental damage, and overall structure of society), or choose not to acknowledge the facts concerning the depletion of our natural resources that we rely oh-so-much on while simultaneously being absorbed in pop-culture and Range Rovers.
The films emphasis on our addiction to gasoline and the car brought me back to Edward Abby’s passage “Sounds”. They both make great points on how reliant society has become on oil and the individual’s convenient commute.
This made me realize how easy it is to forget about the simplicity in life and the real meaning behind it. We all fail to notice the blatant signs that we are poisoning our planet (i.e. the Canadian blackout). It is very depressing, but hopefully this will be followed by change for the better.

I thought that “The End of Suburbia” very depressing while I was watching it, I felt as though there was nothing for me to do and that all hope was lost basically. However, from an informational point of view I thought it was very informative. I knew a little about ethanol and the negative outcomes that could come from E85 becoming a widely used alternative fuel. I had no idea that petroleum was used in the production of E85; which lead me to believe that our alternative fuel is not really an alternative at all, it is just a different way of using oil. I think that Americans need to be educated more about global warming and what they can do to help slow down the process. I hope that the end of the film gives us some idea where to start because right now it is depicting a pretty grim situation that we are in.

The movie "The End of Suburbia" was really interesting. I knew that our oil consumption is out of control but I never thought that we would have to change our habits so drastically.

The experts in the movie explained how the use of the alternative energies won't be enough to sustain our consumption. And that's apparently will still be the case even if we increase our fuel consumption standards. It sounds as if we will have to resort back to city living and people powered transportation. After reading about how much waste that horses deposited on the streets of New York, I'm not sure if they will make a comeback. Maybe they will make a comeback and we'll collect their "leavings" to make methane??

The “End of Suburbia” did heighten my awareness of how much we use and depend on oil, but I found the perspective and presentation of the video thus far to be very pessimistic and one-sided. I wish they would elaborate more on their claims and cite them. I did enjoy the segment on the history of suburbia, though I disagree when they said that suburbia has only the “disadvantages of both the city and the country life;” having grown up in a suburban neighborhood, I find that suburbia has the advantages of the city and country life. It is not a new statistic for me that Americans are the number one oil consumers in the world, and I don’t think it all has to do because of those living in suburban areas. Overall, the “End of Suburbia” raises some good questions about our country’s over-consuming habits, I would hope that our entire economy would not collapse because of oil, but only time will tell.

After watching the video, it just hit me that our dependence on oil is way more than what I already that it was. How did this happen? I feel like we're living a videogame, where the amount of resources are limited and we need to move on into a new age that requires a different resource to survive. Our dependence on oil has not even exceeded two centuires, and we're already trying to figure out ways to make it last. The problem is not our dependence on oil, but our dependence on convenience and abundance. people managed to have happy lives centuries ago, but that can't happen since there will always be a comparison to how convenient we live our lives, if we were to stop consuming oil.

The video seemed unnecessarily alarmist. The problem, as I see it, is just as much a product of the public’s general ignorance as it is the extent of our physical dependence on the resource in question. The latter condition cannot be rectified until something is done about this ignorance, as implied.

The scope of the problem, as expressed in this video, has, as yet, been described only in terms of its effects on our civilized infrastructure. In other words, “global warming” is something that the filmmaker has yet to factor in to his argument for why there are seemingly no viable solutions at the present moment. His case is already strong, but so far it serves little more purpose than as a rationale for hopelessness. The film not being over, there is still time for him to shed a ray of hope on the situation he has illustrated for us to this point – something we can do, something we can look for or support. If no such thing is offered, I don’t see how this film serves any other purpose that as a recipe for depression-induced apathy for all who watch it. Such things do not forward any reason to expect anything less than the apocalypse, which is anything but helpful.