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The hidden costs of peak oil

July 11, 2007 on 10:17 pm | In Uncategorized |

In typical capitalist fashion, we are being told that the market will resolve any problems caused by the looming oil shortage. As oil becomes more expensive, the argument goes, it will become more economic to produce biofuels. Hundreds of square kilometres of crops like sugar cane that has to be propped up by public subsidies and grapes used to make cask wine will become valuable sources of fuel for cars, once they have been transported to the Middle East and buried in the sand … or something, I’m not completely au fait with the technology involved.

Unfortunately this move to biofuels threatens to have unanticipated consequences. Crops that are currently used to make food that is actually useful might get appropriated for the biofuel industry. The first such casualty is the Italian spaghetti industry.

The pasta crisis is the latest in what may soon be a regular rise in global prices. In January, Mexican consumers were hit with a tortilla crisis, as grain prices doubled and tripled the cost of tortillas and caused riots in some places. Beer prices in Germany ticked upwards in May partially due to the increased production of biofuels.

Soon, the sight of shapely Italian women harvesting the spaghetti that has ripened overnight might be just a memory.

The art of al picente, or knowing exactly which strands of spaghetti are ready to slip off the tree with minimal effort from the picker may soon be a thing of the past, like barrel making and changing typewriter ribbons.

It’s enough to make a man sell his car and look for a good sound horse.