As Goes Oil, So Goes Plastic

With daily headlines proclaiming the dramatic rise in oil prices and the inevitability of “Peak Oil”, consumers are being forced to dramatically alter their driving (and flying) habits, and if a recessionary economy takes hold, manufacturers may have to scale back oil-dependent production lines.  Although such trends may actually lead to a decrease in oil prices down the road, there is no consensus among economists and oil industry experts that that would happen.  In the meantime, apart from a more costly commute, the effects of oil’s rise are visible in gradually rising prices for goods, as manufacturers seek alternatives to petroleum-based sources for plastic, and alternative fuels for their operations.  For example, Goodyear has made a move to natural rubber as an alternative to oil-based synthetics for their tires, but because of the rise in commodities such as natural rubber, have had to raise prices by 15%.  This is just one example of many, which spell out the financial pressures that many manufacturers are facing, and how an across-the board rise in product prices (inflation) may be in the offing.

(Courtesy National Geographic Magazine)

An article in the April 2006 issue of National Geographic Magazine approaches this issue quite effectively, and includes some striking images, such as a two-page spread of a family’s lawn strewn with an array of everyday products made from petroleum-based plastics.  The actual print article is worth a look because the image above does not quite do the dramatic justice of spelling out how oil-dependent design and manufacturing have become.  With this dire discussion however, comes the potential that PLA and other natural (bio-based) raw materials may someday supersede petrol-based plastics, thus aiding the transition to the low-impact industrial economy we must create in order to make the world more sustainable in the long run.  Although this transition may not be altogether smooth, as companies frantically compete for natural and/or recycled material sources, the result will be a stronger and potentially more equitable economy based on less oil dependency, waste, and toxicity, and greater life-sustaining innovation.

Please visit the following links for more information:

New York Times article Oil Prices Raise Cost of Making Range of Goods

Excerpt from National Geographic Magazine’s The End of Cheap Oil

Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas

U.S. DOE Energy Information Administration

U.S. DOE Energy Information Administration’s Oil Market Basics

U.S. DOE Office of Petroleum Reserves