Cuba

This week in class, we watched a video about the Cuba Peak Oil Crisis. The Peak Oil Crisis occurs when the total oil supply in the world has reached a maximum extraction point and after reaching this point, heads into a decline. This will have detrimental global effects and the Crisis is not so far off based on recent calculations.

Cuba already experienced their own Peak Oil Crisis, when the Soviet Union fell and they were left with no one to get oil from or trade with. Instead, the entire economy had to work as a cycle inside their own country. They developed many interesting practices as a result of the crisis, which is what the video showed us.

One big change they had to make was farming techniques. Before the Crisis, Cuban farmers were using conventional methods to grow their agriculture and importing around 50% of some of the most used products in cooking, like rice. However, this was not sustainable and couldn't support the needs of the entire country itself. Instead, farmers transitioned to organic, sustainable methods, spraying 21% less fertilizers and using crop inter planting. They have also switched to using animals for labor on farms which saves fuel and exerts less pressure on the beds so as to not compact the soil. And after a 3-5 year transition period, relatively normal to a switch in agriculture, the farmers were switched over and could begin building up the economy again.

Many also cleared out many spaces that could be used for urban farming and gardens to grow their own food. This cleaned up many cluttered, ill-used spaces in Cuba and made way for beautiful, beneficial gardens and small farms. They now supply 80-100% of fruits and vegetables produced. Farmers are also now among the highest paid workers in Cuba because of the Crisis.

The world is eventually going to experience the Peak Oil Crisis and if we don't change our methods now, we will be forced to when the time comes. If it were up to me, the whole world would take a page from Cuba's book and prepare themselves for what is to come, but we will just have to wait and see.

- Noe