The End of Suburbia

The End of Suburbia is a 2006 documentary focusing on the end of cheap energy (oil, natural gas) and its implications. I found it through NY Times' dot Earth blog.

It briefly covers the history of suburban development in North America after World War 2 (and while the facts are irrefutable, I don't agree with their reasoning, which is backlash against the chaotic industrial city), then focuses primarily on how we've reached peak oil with a lot of scientists speaking (yet very little scientific data). The second half of the movie then focuses on the implications of having past the peak oil and is very dystopian: farther suburbs becoming slums, no more cheap products from China, manual labor returning to farms, etc. The last part is somewhat uplifting, but focuses on how the world should reorganize in face of this epidemic, which is to return to local economies and local sources of energy.

The movie is not so much a forecast as it is more a prediction, and it hinges entirely on having reached peak oil. Everything is entirely linear, and they leave no room for "ifs" or any other caveats. Even if we have reached peak oil, I find it hard to believe such dystopian outcomes. It also loosely attributes the 2003 blackouts and the war on Iraq to the end of cheap energy, which seems like a stretch.

The movie is much more about energy than suburbia or urban development, and is worth watching if you want an extremist perspective on the issue (while also getting familiar with some of the language). I'm not sure if it provides much in terms of forecast material though, and there are probably better sources for discussion on peak oil. The movie also heavily features Howard Kunstler, whose TED speech I posted earlier.