David Dubyne

The parallels between China’s precarious social and economic future based solely on exports and our own societies entirely dependent on fossil fuel as a driver for growth are striking. China now needs to focus on what’s beyond expanding its economy through exports and manufacturing, while all of us need to focus on what’s beyond growth in a crude oil based economy. Peak oil is occurring now; the economic repercussions are a symptom.

The May 12th earthquake in western China’s Sichuan Province will have effects reaching further outside China than Beijing is letting on. Sichuan Province holds the key to China’s hydroelectric power generation plans in its renewable power targets and the area is also a hub for worldwide outsourced wind turbine equipment. Both were badly damaged.

China has leapfrogged to where we in the West will be within a decade: using coal to power our economies and cities as conventional worldwide oil production continues to decline.

As energy jitters continue to rattle the global economy, regional alliances are being solidified to ensure that China will remain a viable and growing economy as oil depletion becomes a permanent fixture of our daily lives.

China realizes how vulnerable its export-driven economy has become, and is setting itself up as the powerhouse in a post-peak oil regional economy.

Starting now, the Chinese government will support going into CTL projects full throttle, country-wide. It must do so to reduce oil import dependency and give itself a source of fuel oil or feedstock for products we manufacture everyday.