Pondering a Future Without Oil

Jeff Rubin

At the Innovators Alliance event on Wednesday evening, dinner concluded with a presentation by the controversial economist and author of Why Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller.  Jeff Rubin outlined his philosphy that the rising cost of oil, tied to its diminishing availability, is going to create a decline in globalization and a return to a more local economy.

Pointing to the slowly improving economy, he suggested that oil prices will skyrocket as demand increases again. He proposed scenarios of what our world would be like then and where prosperity and business growth will shift to. He kept the audience contemplating what a world without international trade, long distance driving and cheap products will look like. It was a somewhat mind-stopping proposition.

But in a room of 50+ successful entrepreneurs, Jeff Rubin’s message also got the creativity flowing. As he spoke of the coming changes, Jeff suggested that this would mean revitalized local agriculture, increasing local demand for steel, improved mass transit, and strengthened local communities. These changes spell opportunity for the entrepreneurial types.

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