It's a complicated subject. As I've mentioned earlier, we don't depend on oil only as a source of energy, although that is one vital use. We also rely upon oil as part of our production process.
Besides our interest in a cheap and transportable form of energy, oil is closely associated with pesticides, fertilizers, solvents, medicines, cosmetics, plastics, lubricants, asphalt (e.g. for road surfaces), detergents, nylon, polyesters, and so on. Globalization has also meant we now transport much of our resources over long distances and much of our manufacturing is done, cheaply, abroad... and then transported. Cities in younger nations have also been developed around the idea that we have access to cheap transport. In essence, the message I want to convey is: this is not just about using more solar and wind power (also, have a look at how long our uranium will last, with regards to nuclear power...), our civilization is far more dependent on oil than most realize. It underpins so much of our current standard of living.
A few snippets I've come across...
In Canada, food travels
an average of 5000 miles (8000 km) from where it is grown to where it is eaten. In the US, that figure is closer to
1500 miles. The transport of food obviously links to fossil fuels.
Written two years ago, regarding the link between
oil and food:
Randall may not be certain when oil prices will level out, but it's abundantly clear to him that $70/barrel petroleum is taking a huge bite out of his business. Nearly every part of his farming operation is being impacted. The price for the diesel fuel that runs the tractors and trucks on his 4,500-acre farm have more than tripled in the last four years, rising from 80 cents per gallon to close to $3. Fertilizer prices are also up sharply. Since synthetic fertilizers are made from natural gas, they too are impacted by higher fossil fuel prices; the cost of fertilizer has gone from about $160 per ton to $460 per ton in the last three years. Smaller, organic growers are also feeling a pinch from costlier petroleum. The price for the plastic drip irrigation tape commonly used on organic fruit and vegetable farms is up 20 percent from two years ago.
More on oil and food...
Oil refined for gasoline and diesel is critical to run the tractors, combines and other farm vehicles and equipment that plant, spray the herbicides and pesticides, and harvest/transport food and seed
- Food processors rely on the just-in-time (gasoline-based) delivery of fresh or refrigerated food
- Food processors rely on the production and delivery of food additives, including vitamins and minerals, emulsifiers, preservatives, colouring agents, etc. Many are oil-based. Delivery is oil-based
- Food processors rely on the production and delivery of boxes, metal cans, printed paper labels, plastic trays, cellophane for microwave/convenience foods, glass jars, plastic and metal lids with sealing compounds. Many of these are essentially oil-based
- Delivery of finished food products to distribution centres in refrigerated trucks. Oil-based, daily, just-in-time shipment of food to grocery stores, restaurants, hospitals, schools, etc., all oil-based; customer drives to grocery store to shop for supplies, often several times a week
...
However, transport energy consumption is also significant, and if included in these ratios would mean that the ratio would decrease further. For example, when iceberg lettuce is imported to the UK from the USA by plane, the energy ratio is only 0.00786. In other words 127 calories of energy (aviation fuel) are needed to transport 1 calorie of lettuce across the Atlantic. If the energy consumed during lettuce cultivation, packaging, refrigeration, distribution in the UK and shopping by car was included, the energy needed would be even higher. Similarly, 97 calories of transport energy are needed to import 1 calorie of asparagus by plane from Chile, and 66 units of energy are consumed when flying 1 unit of carrot energy from South Africa.
...
- Commercial food production is oil powered. Most pesticides are petroleum- (oil) based, and all commercial fertilisers are ammonia-based. Ammonia is produced from natural gas
- Oil based agriculture is primarily responsible for the world's population exploding from 1 billion at the middle of the 19th century to 6.3 billion at the turn of the 21st
- Oil allowed for farming implements such as tractors, food storage systems such as refrigerators, and food transport systems such as trucks
- As oil production went up, so did food production. As food production went up, so did the population. As the population went up, the demand for food went up, which increased the demand for oil. Here we go round the Mulberry bush
- Oil is also largely responsible for the advances in medicine that have been made in the last 150 years. Oil allowed for the mass production of pharmaceutical drugs, and the development of health care infrastructure such as hospitals, ambulances, roads, etc.
In 2004, the
UN stated:
The manufacture of an average desktop computer and monitor uses more than 10 times its weight in fossil fuels and chemicals, according to a United Nations University (UNU) study which has called for worldwide action to halt "the growth of high-tech trash." The study, released yesterday, shows that the construction of an average 24-kilogram computer and 27-centimetre monitor requires at least 240 kilograms of fossil fuel, 22 kilograms of chemicals and 1,500 kilograms of water or 1.8 tons in total, the equivalent of a rhinoceros or sports utility vehicle.
So, we can't just create a few wind farms, switch to more efficient cars, and feel we've done our bit. We need to completely rethink our way of life. How many here would happily give up new computers and iPods?
When it comes to research, where do we divert the money from? Healthcare? Education? You can imagine the fuss if politicians went down this road, where the voters feel the pinch now for something that is to come in the future.
(Hang on, did I just sound a note of sympathy for the politicians?...

)
In the end, it is not just about big business, corrupt politicians, or gas guzzling cars. Unfortunately, it means we need to end our utter dependence on oil; everyone one of us will have to reassess our lifestyles, and in a bigger way than we perhaps feel prepared to do at this stage.