"One day we will run out of oil, it is not today or tomorrow, but one day we will run out of oil and we have to leave oil before oil leaves us, and we have to prepare ourselves for that day… The earlier we start, the better, because all of our economic and social system is based on oil, so to change from that will take a lot of time and a lot of money and we should take this issue very seriously."
Fatih Birol, Chief Economist, International Energy Agency, 2009

credit: www.oilposter.org

The end of the Oil Age combined with global climate change, increased world population and demand for resources, threatens what the Government's Chief Scientific Advisor, Prof Sir John Beddington, has described as the 'perfect storm'. Unless these issues are dealt with the planet faces the prospects of shortages of the essentials for life – food and water – leading to conflict between communities and countries.

Teaching resources

One Planet Food Soil Association, 2008 KS 2-3
The film and Teacher's activity pack address big issues like animal welfare, food miles, pesticide use and climate change - and uses humour to show the inefficiencies in our current food production system.

 

 

 

 

Water for life is a resource toolbox for KS2 from Christian Aid that reinforces the idea that water is a precious commodity, using a case study from Peru. Includes assembly and classroom activities and poster.

 

 

Water for All contains classroom activities and case studies on a range of water-related issues and their impacts, using Oxfam colour photographs. Ideal for teaching KS2-3 – ideal for interactive whiteboard.

Background reading

Food Matters: Towards a Strategy for the 21st Century Cabinet Office Strategy Unit, 2008
Detailed review of UK food production and consumption which is informing government policies for secure and sustainable food.

Rob Hopkins and Patrick Holden, eds One Planet Agriculture – The case for action Soil Association, 2008
Series of articles which make the case for preparing for a post-peak oil food and farming future.

Robin Maynard An inconvenient truth about food – Neither secure nor resilient Soil Association, 2008
Report questioning whether government agricultural policies will bring secure and sustainable food.

Fighting food shortages: Hungry for change Christian Aid, 2008
The global food crisis of 2008, which saw food prices rising rapidly as a result of world shortages of staples such as wheat and rice, gives a taste of what the 'perfect storm' will mean for the world's poor.

 

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