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Galway - Event Notice Thursday January 01 1970 'The Power of Community - How Cuba Survived Peak Oil' Film - 8pm at Galway Social Space galway |
environment |
event notice
 Monday October 12, 2009 19:32 by Liamo
 Documentary Film Screening When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba's economy went into a tailspin. With imports of oil cut by more than half – and food by 80 percent – people were desperate. This film tells of the hardships and struggles as well as the community and creativity of the Cuban people during this difficult time. Cubans share how they transitioned from a highly mechanized, industrial agricultural system to one using organic methods of farming and local, urban gardens. It is an unusual look into the Cuban culture during this economic crisis, which they call "The Special Period." The film opens with a short history of Peak Oil, a term for the time in our history when world oil production will reach its all-time peak and begin to decline forever. Cuba, the only country that has faced such a crisis – the massive reduction of fossil fuels – is an example of options and hope. 
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Jump To Comment: 1We can't deny that there are real problems with the way Cuban society works , the one party system ,its attitude towards gays , its retention of the death penalty come to mind. But at the same time it seems to have been the only country capable of organizing a rational planned and humane approach to solving problems which we in western countries can be expected to encounter over the coming period. Liamo writes about peak oil , but with the recent collapse of "our" financial system , it's very probable that we in the once affluent west may have also reached peak health care levels , peak education and peak calorie intake levels too .
With the post- perostroika collapse in soviet bloc countries living standards and life expectancy rates for the working class plummeted . The restructuring of society that will be necessary to pay for the bank bailouts will mean something similar for workers in the west - and we have already started to see it happening . Other models should be looked at . It was fashionable to say a few years ago that the enrichment of a few would eventually lead to a trickling down of wealth to the poor . Nobody believes that nowadays surely .Is a planned economy based on meeting the needs of the whole of society possible ? Cuba , for all its problems , has a wealth of experience which should be taken on board by those seeking an alternative to the present system.