Since World War II Suburbia has become the American Dream which is why Peak Oil strikes at the very heart of that way of life. In terms of the word ‘dream’ this is quite an alien concept outside of the US as few countries have had the luxury (or short-sightedness maybe) to follow this model. It is a product of seemingly endless cheap energy and boundless post war optimism. The automobile replaced the community – roads replaced pavements. Ironically, whereas Europe was destroyed by bombs the post war American Urban landscape was demolished by the wrecking ball in what Kunstler calls the ‘greatest misallocation of resources in the history of the world’. Continue reading →