Our Changing World
By :Mike Doyle, President of the CAGC
2015 November Recorder article. Can also be found here: https://www.cagc.ca/index.php?DP=recorder_articles
2015 November Recorder article. Can also be found here: https://www.cagc.ca/index.php?DP=recorder_articles
Change is the key word these days. For my
industry, we are the backend of a two year downturn while most of the rest of
the Oil and Gas Industry is finishing one year. It could easily be another year
to see recovery – many companies and even their trade and/or professional
associations face survival mode challenges.
The Internet has changed the world
drastically within our lifetime and in particular over the past twenty years.
We have gone from very regional societies to one that is larger intertwined in
the Global Village. Social media in particular ensures issues can live online
and create their own following – often consisting of self-declared stakeholders
that have no direct physical or economic ties to the issue being challenged.
In particular the history of fossil fuels dates
back to the 1700’s with the use of coal for steam powered engines and creating
the time period we now call the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial
Revolution marks a major turning point in history; almost every aspect of daily
life was influenced in some way. In particular, average income and population
began to exhibit unprecedented sustained growth. Some economists say that the
major impact of the Industrial Revolution was that the standard of living for the general population
began to increase consistently for the first time in history.
Jump forward to the Age of Oil. Also known
as the Oil Age or the Petroleum Age, it refers
to the era in human history characterized by an increased use of petroleum
in products and as fuel. Though unrefined petroleum has been used for various
purposes since ancient times, it was during the 19th century that refinement
techniques were developed and gasoline engines were created.
Growth has become the staple of the Global
Village yet it remains inexorably tied to fossil fuels. Growth comprises
wealth, technology and leisure time for society. No one talks about getting rid
of growth yet we have no found no way to de-link the two.
Growth in an economy can only be the result of three factors. First,
is the rise in population. Each new person requires the basics of existence and
production must expand to satisfy this demand. Second, innovation may lead to
improved productivity which allows more to be created using the same amount of
input as before. Efficiencies in the use of raw materials can also allow for
growth with a fixed rate of consumption. For example, we can now store an hour
of music on a minuscule piece of silicon. At the start of the recording era
this was 20 lbs of shellac records. Third, we can increase the size of our
economy by taking from others. This was blatant and explicit in the days of colonialism,
but today is much more subtle.
So in coming full circle, we have seen the last half of the 20th
century as being one of full throttled capitalism. The Baby Boomers are the
most affluent generation humankind has ever seen. The environment was viewed as
the enemy and humans did everything they could to change it and to protect
themselves. Out of the desire for unrelenting growth came the development of
machines and technology such as computers to enhance productivity and add to
the overall well-being of the average citizen. Today’s generation may be the
Lost Generation. They face high unemployment rates; they have to live with
their parents longer; they have families later; however they have the ability
to affect change through online activism. We are seeing subtle changes that are
becoming more and more prevalent – a greater concern for the environment as
they see the environment as a good thing when it is in balance. Unbalancing it
makes it dangerous, and perhaps that can be linked to human development and the
use of energy and resources. This seems natural given they are not tied
personally in the same way to the last 100 years of the growth curve. Their
influence affects politics. Certainly in Canada we see a more right wing
libertarianism movement in the political parties being elected. Change means
new balance is required in time and it means there will be different winners
and losers. For now we can only hope to weather the downturn and see what the
other side looks like.
Balance only appears
for short periods of time. It is simply the crossing point to the next phase of
chaos.
From The Thursday File
Of
course I'll hurt you. Of course you'll hurt me. Of course we will hurt each
other. But this is the very condition of existence. To become spring, means
accepting the risk of winter. To become presence, means accepting the risk of
absence.
-
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - The Little Prince
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