The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream (2004)

Director:

Gregory Greene

Writer:

Gregory Greene (written by)

Release Date:

5 May 2004 (Canada)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

We're literally stuck up a cul-de-sac in a cement SUV without a fill-up

Plot:

The modern suburbs have ultimately become an unsustainable way of living. They were originally developed in an era of cheap oil...

Plot Keywords:

Suburbia | Fuel | Fossil Fuels | Oil | Wealth

Awards:

1 win

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Barrie Zwicker	...	Himself - Host
James Howard Kunstler	...	Himself
Peter Calthorpe	...	Himself
Michael Klare	...	Himself
Richard Heinberg	...	Himself
Matthew Simmons	...	Himself
Michael Ruppert	...	Himself (as Michael C. Ruppert)
Julian Darley	...	Himself
Colin Campbell	...	Himself
Steve Andrews	...	Himself
Ali Samsam Bakhtiari	...	Himself
Kenneth Deffeyes	...	Himself

Runtime:

78 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

The Electric Wallpaper Co.

Trivia:

The producer/editor makes a cameo appearance. He can be seen eating a watermelon in the 8mm home movie footage.

Quotes:

Interview: Future growth is not possible.

Movie Connections:

Features In the Suburbs (1957)

A great introduction to Peak Oil and the coming oil shortage

The End of Suburbia neatly collects many of the concerns with the coming "Peak" of the world's oil supply. As the world population grows, so does demand for oil and power. As we extract oil and power, we come to a "peak" in production. More oil is demanded, less oil is generated. The inevitable outcome is conflict, and major change.

This film will be disturbing, and alarming if you're new to the topic. You may react at first with anger and denial because the implications are so grim. It should be required viewing. Beyond politics, beyond optimism, the math is undeniable.

Suburbia is the focus, because our suburban living areas will be the communities most impacted when the price of energy skyrockets. While intuitive logic would tell you that the big cities will be the places to avoid during a time of crisis, the spread out nature of suburbia will make it difficult if not impossible to maintain an efficient community without our vehicles to transport us.

Peak oil is no longer a topic for discussion by survivalists and backwoods crazies. This issue will be at our doorstep sooner than we think. This film is a lucid, coherent look at it.