Suburbia began as a solution to living in the slums of the city. Suburbs became this oasis of “country living” with a short commute to the city and a lifestyle of spending. The documentary End of Suburbia labeled those who traveled to these ideal home settings “happy-go-spending.” The suburbs were the antidote to city life.
Before WWI suburbs were centered around streetcar stops and commuting city workers could easily walk to these transportation systems and make their way to work. With the continued growth of houses and the suburbia promise of security, streetcars were used less, and individuals used their own automobiles to commute to work. Automobiles simply became an efficient way to travel. As of now, without cars, suburbia is not possible.
Cheap oil used to be in great abundance and the automobiles suburbanites used to get to work were the perfect solution to the use of this cheap oil. The amount of consumption, spending, and use of energy suburbia includes, considered “normal” in our world, is truly an excess of energy that is now depleting.
The amount of oil that our world can access is based on a bell curve. Once the peak of this curve is hit or the level of oil produced is as its highest, this amount begins to decline and never increases again. The peak of our world’s oil supply is predicted by or before 2020. Suburbia will feel the effects of this change in oil availability and scientists insist that these “happy-go-spenders” must downscale everything they do. The world must ultimately change the way in which it runs currently.
End of Suburbia contains frightening information that the public world is not exposed to. Even though the huge problem of oil depletion is in the near future, the media has not shown evidence of the preparations individuals should make. At this point the United States is in Iraq basically for the oil they may own. If there is any huge amount of oil left in the world, it would be in the Persian Gulf. If the Persian Gulf has already peaked in its oil production, then the world has peaked. The American public needs to realize that with the lack of cheap and abundant energy, suburbia can no longer exist in the ways it has been.
I love the idea of “new urbanism.” In the documentary, this concept of moving back into the cities, building new walk-able communities that are also great living environments, is outlined as an alternative to the excessive use of oil by commuting suburban dwellers. Living locally and in sustainable communities is going to be key in the future. This shift back to the city life will create a new kind of suburbia that can be more self-sufficient and locally owned and operated. Suburbia must be “repaired” by evolving to become urban villages.
Suburbia accounts for a huge percentage of those living in the United States and their ways of living, spending, and using an energy source that is depleting at a rapid and continuing pace is a devastating issue that has not been fully realized by those it will effect the most. After oil peaks, the reverse of globalization will occur. Instead of relying on the products of foreign countries to fill the many needs of American citizens, local energy sources must begin to sustain local communities through their own local production.
In all, I feel this is a wake up call to the “American way of life.” We must begin to sustain ourselves in a much less excessive way. The energy Americans consume is far greater than it needs to be. While the depletion of oil may be seen as a disaster or an end to the suburban paradise, I see it more as a needed change. The way of life suburbia has created is one that I would rather not become a part of. I hope that my generation will have a dream of life that is less excessive and more responsible. It’s with the desire for change that change can occur.
