Review: The End of Suburbia

Watched another documentary concerning peak oil today. Directed by Gregory Greene, The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream (catchy title if I've ever heard one) focuses much more on the direct effect of peak oil and dwindling resources upon the massive suburban sprawls of America. Here is the trailer:



I found out about this documentary as I was watching this video on Vimeo about Transition Towns. In the 20 min video a professor mentioned that he showed his students this 2004 documentary which sparked them to pursuing more information on how to better suit a community for the future transition away from oil dependency.

Opposed to Collapse this documentary has a more straight forward style including interviews from many experts and most importantly focusing entirely on the issue at hand and not the characters of the people presenting it. It's not a breakthrough documentary stylistically by any hand but it covers the issue in a well paced informative manner. One of the interviewees who lends their voice is none other but Michael Ruppert.


The film clearly shows how the American Suburban lifestyle is wasteful, inefficient, unsustainable, and a completely retarded setup that has absolutely no future. All the while utilizing 50's era footage for ironic effect. Peak Oil is here if we like it or not. There are no quick and easy fixes. And most importantly we can't rely on the federal government or main stream media to guide us. The sooner one realizes there is a problem and that we can't all keep on living life the way we have been the sooner we can adapt into a new future. This film presents those statements in a well constructed manner as well. Most importantly unlike Collapse this film goes into what we can do as individuals and as community members to help better the transition into a non-oil dependent society. The main solution for a better future is more community centered living with all local bought and produced food, goods and services. Again it's addressed that this is not going to be solved overnight but must be met with a strong will of community members to evolve with the changing world.

This is a must watch documentary for anyone interested in having a better future for yourself, your loved ones, and your community.



Here is the main website for Transition Towns which already have a big following in the UK and Ireland but unfortunately haven't really caught on as much as it should in America........yet:

http://www.transitionnetwork.org/

There is really a ton of awesome information on the site that I urge you to check out and share with others. One of the best links is this downloadable 50 page pdf document that is really a must read.

Transition Initiative Primer





Personally I believe this is just the beginning to a better way of life. As Mr. Dylan said: The Times They Are A-Changin.