The Green Rocket

This animated video by GOODmagazine breaks down the impact of the world’s “oil addiction”, on prices and other social, environmental and economic factors.

How has oil gotten so expensive?

The story begins with a visual and statistical representation of the world’s exponential population growth over the last 150 years or so. Growing population and technological development has led to an increased demand for energy. According to the video, 85% of the world’s energy is now produced from fossil fuels. Combine this with increased demand, speculation and fear of shortage, and oil prices have skyrocketed. A price surge over the past 5 years has led to a rise from $25 USD per barrel to over $144 USD per barrel.

What are the consequences of such a change?

The fear of oil shortage and increased prices per barrel has put global pressure on the development of alternative fuel sources such as biofuel. In 2009, the U.S. will transfer 1/3 of corn output towards making 9.3 billion gallons of ethanol. This means crops are being diverted away from food production, and the prices of staple foods such as corn are rising, affecting the lower income classes around the world. In face, the price of corn increase 73% from 2007 to 2008, adding to the already increased food prices from droughts, floods and other agriculturally detrimental natural disasters.

The video also provides images and linkages of natural disasters, floods, and climate change as an implied representation of the environmental impact of the oil addiction, and their combined effect on the globe.

Ultimately, it is a simple overview of a complicated situation, but it presents a provocative message:

“The World: Love it, or fix it.”

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