A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash

Gelpke and McCormack's Documentary about the Pending End of Oil

Oct 4, 2009

European journalists and filmmakers Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack deliver a visually stunning view of the consequences of reaching Peak Oil.

Gelpke and McCormack have created a documentary about an urgent topic: What follows nearly a century of cheap energy? What happens when the oil resources of the world start to dwindle? What follows peak oil? This is not a doomsday film but it is a jolt of reality that may help to wake some of us up to the need for cleaner and alternative sources of energy. The earth's blood, as many call it, is fast running out. With both India and China becoming industrialized, the increasing demand is going to impact the globe. It is predicted that if we plan for peak oil out twenty years, there will be no devastating economic problems; if we wait until ten years out, there will be significant but surmountable problems. But the United States has chosen to do nothing to address the pending problems, and we are facing the dearth of oil and energy now.

The Oil Crash and its Consequences are Urgent

Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack know how to make a film that keeps one riveted and engaged. This film has punch. International politics, including the United States obsession with the Middle East, are driven in part by the relentless quest for liquid energy. The stories of how this pursuit has affected people all over the world, the people who have greatly benefitted, the developing world's desire to share in the ease of life that plentiful petrolelum supplies have assured us, all lead towards some major changes that face the global community. Whether these filmmakers are showing us a man in a bathtub of crude oil or deserted gas stations and dry oilfields, the imagery of this film is sure to stay with you.

Conservation needs to start now. The U.S. uses 25% of the world's oil, so it is important that the U.S. lead, but sadly there has been a lack of leadership in facing these problems. It is hard to get re-elected if you tell people what they do not want to hear, even if it is the truth. Foreign policy is driven by the need for oil, and dependence on importing oil leaves our nation vulnerable. The past administration believed that democratizing the middle east was a way to secure oil and keep America safe. But as oil reserves decline, more innovative approaches need to be found. The U.S. will need to claim her proper role as world leader in dealing with Peak Oil, or we may all live to regret it.

Gelpke and McCormack Warn us of the Era of Scarce Energy Ahead

Rather than putting all of our energy into alternative sources of energy, we have spent the past few decades squeezing every drop of oil out of every spot on the globe that we could find. The problems ahead of us are dire: poverty, starvation, catastrophe. Add this to the global climate changes that everyone has been reading about, and there is not much to laugh about during this one. If it is better to be prepared, then there is no time like the present to watch this film. With historical footage and current reporting, this film will help anyone better understand the role of oil in our lives. An excellent drama, with beautiful photography and superb footage. Watch it if you dare.

The copyright of the article A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash in Documentary Films is owned by Barbara DeGrande. Permission to republish A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.