In the end, Suburbia Ends.

We live in a convenient world today. We have the ability to get to places within minutes when olden day people might take days, the ability to transport things from other countries and even the ability to mass-produce things. All of these technology made our life much more convenient then before. But have you ever woke up in the morning with a sudden realization that these could all end? I know I haven’t. And I know millions of other people are still stuck with the mind set that everything is going to be the same year and year after. Unfortunately, we are as Al Gore said, in the age of consequence.

3 years ago, I live in Australia. As we all know, Australia is the biggest island in the world. However, its vast boundless land and the nation’s population are completely out of ratio. In result, many people have to travel longer distance to get milk or household appliances. In a country like that, cars are essential. Without car, they are just like paralyzed people. So Australians reply a lot on cars. But lets NOT forget the fact that cars run on gasoline. And gasoline is a non-renewable resource. But what end up happening is, we are so addicted to gasoline, we can’t live without it. So instead of seeing fewer cars, we see more pumpjacks and oilrigs in the countryside and ocean.

3 years later, I came back to Taiwan. Now, Taiwan and Australia are two totally different countries. Both have similar population, but Australia is much much much bigger then Taiwan. In result, Taiwan becomes a very compacted place. Instead of having a huge 1 floor shopping plaza, we have a huge 5 floor shopping centre. Instead of having to drive 30 min to get milks, we only talk 5 min. This should be clear; a more compacted city is more convenient. And this will, in result save more gasoline.

Now, analysts and scientist found out that the gas production has reached its climax point. Similar to a parabola, it is now dropping. No matter how much more pumpjacks or oilrigs we build, gas wont be as much before.

Other then the gas problem, we also have food problems. Related to what I mentioned earlier, we depend on transportation too much. With these planes and ships, we started dreaming about food from abroad. Westerners started craving for Eastern food while the East is craving for the West as well. And both Australia and Taiwan are guilty for this. In Taiwan, many rich people get imported foods from pricier supermarkets. They would have cheese from France, Steak from Australia and fruits from Japan when all of these are produced locally. In Australia, there are not as many food imports. But there are still a lot of other imports (clothing, appliances…etc). In result, food started going across countries. Of course all these conveying rely on gasoline.

What do you think will happen next? In the end, we will lose to Mother Nature. We failed to play the game as Mother Nature asked us to. We didn’t think about sustainability, we definitely have no idea how to utilize our will power, and we exploited the world. Just remember, we are in an age of consequences. Our actions harm only us, and the next generation. So, use more local products, and drive less. This mission is hard, and dull. So be strong, and may the force be with you.