North Korea vs Cuba

A few days ago I just went through the DVD on how Cuba survived Peak Oil. Today I came across another article (Peak oil preview: North Korea & Cuba) that essentially tells us how North Korea did not survive Peak Oil.

North Korea and Cuba experienced the peak-oil scenario prematurely and abruptly due to the collapse of the former Soviet bloc and the intensified trade embargo against Cuba. The quite different outcomes are partly due to luck: the Cuban climate allows people to survive on food rations that would be fatal in North Korea’s harsh winters. But the more fundamental reason is policy. North Korea tried to carry on business as usual as long as possible, while Cuba implemented a proactive policy to move toward sustainable agriculture and self-sufficiency.

Chillingly, the main difference I derived from the article is that Cuba looked at the problem and said “let’s do something about this.”  In the case of North Korea, it seems like they simply ignored the problem, and people died of the food famine that followed.

Is Singapore looking at the problem and doing something about it?

Do you want solar power wired in your next home?

Our opinions were not sought when cable TV points were installed in our HDB homes, you get them regardless of whether you want them.

Now there is a survey out there asking if you want solar power wired into your next home.  Not done by the officials, but by a group of people who are concerned about future availability of cheap power.  Want to have your say?

Who knows, maybe your next home will come with solar power devices installed (that will help you save utilities costs) instead of infrastructure that silently encourages you to migrate over to monopolistic entertainment services.