LESSON THREE:
Life Is Starting To Change

Introduction
As the oil crisis continues, widespread changes are starting to occur. Resources that were getting expensive are now becoming unavailable. Airlines are cutting flights, outages are beginning at local gas stations, people are being laid off and stores are closing. The changes are occurring most rapidly and severely to those goods and services that depended the most on cheap oil.

Part 1: Set the Stage

1. Re-immerse yourself in the alternate reality: it's an oil crisis, there's not enough to go around.
   
2. View three short videos:
• Kal's "The Shortage Hits!"   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmY9OMBdPLc  
  
• FallingIntoSin's "Store Forced To Close"
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpUzxyzZ8N0 
  
• Olympe's "Stranded In The Netherlands"
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xmq-eLgF-2s
  
3. Read the following citizen reports about shortages:
   
• A town without water  http://aeldric.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!
  A859FF3D2F2384E4!126.entry
  Going electric vs. "this isn't happening"  http://wwotext.blogspot.com/2007/05/
  fw-from-amanita-pavlova_06.html
  
• We may outlive the net  http://ironmonkey.blogspot.com/2007/05/
  we-may-outlive-net.html
  
• It's the little things  http://winefromthesegrapes.blogspot.com/
  2007/05/its-little-things.html
  
• Researching alternative fuels  http://youporkchop.livejournal.com/2270.html
  

Part 2: Take Action

• Discussion questions:
  • Do any of these shortages and outages hit home?
  • Are they likely to affect you or your family? Why or why not?
    

Part 3: Lesson Activity

1. Review the economic concepts of scarcity  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarcity  and opportunity costs  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_cost
   
2. Create a chart on paper or on the computer with three columns - article title/topic, scarcity, and opportunity cost.
   
3. Apply the concepts to some or all of the citizen reports from the first part of this lesson. 
   
4. Share your group's findings.
5. Discussion questions:
   • What choices will you have to make in the coming days?
   • How might your choices impact others - locally and nationally?
   • Are you looking out primarily for yourselves or the community as a whole?

Part 4: Reflect
Life is definitely changing for everyone in a World Without Oil.  Today you should focus your reflections on what commodities might become more scarce and what choices you and your family will have to make as resources are depleted. Use the following questions to help guide your reflection:

• What items you use on a daily basis have become scarce? What changes do you have to make?
• How are you having to prioritize your needs and your wants?  What are your feelings about giving things up? Do you feel you have alternatives?
• Are you worried about losing necessities such as food, water and power? Do you think other people are worried about losing these things?

Part 5: Take It Further

Now that we are starting to feel the impact of crisis, it is time to start making some real world changes.  To take it further today, you are being challenged to take on one or more of the WWO Missions.

• First, consider the amount of plastics you use on a day-to-day basis.  Try using a reusable water bottle instead of drinking bottled water http://fallingintosin.livejournal.com/3809.html or purchasing some reusable grocery bags http://fallingintosin.livejournal.com/4973.html as Fallingintosin suggests.
• If you are more ambitious, start compiling a list of things you can do without oil. Jason came up with a list from A-Z http://heartlandnotes.blogspot.com/2007/05/oil-free-to-z.html – can you match him?

Make sure to record your feat on your blog, using photographs, drawings, or video to help illustrate your accomplishment.  Good luck!

Additional Resources

• The long fingers of petroleum http://www.energybulletin.net/4740.html
  
• Petroleum uses
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum#Uses
  
• SF supes vote to ban plastic bags in stores http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/
  2007/03/27/BAG1ROSLSG4.DTL&loc=interstitialskip