Cuba: Life After Oil

Cuba has already gone through the fears we have about running out of oil. The Soviet Union, their source, had stopped giving them any. However, on trips there, some reporters found out how they were dealing with this crisis. For instance, they use bio-pesticides instead of petroleum based ones, and they've replaced tractors with oxen.

Despite the fact that Cuba has always been a poor country, they have also always been exceptional in the field of medicine. With free health care to all, vaccines to prevent 13 childhood diseases are provided, and their infant mortality rate is even lower than the US's. Cuba even has an international medical school, but the students have to go to poor areas when they complete the program. Because everything is limited, Cubans lead healthier lives; eating a mostly low-fat vegetarian diet and biking or walking where they need to go.

Schooling is another important aspect in Cuban culture. Although they have fewer college attendees than the US does, they have 1 teacher per every 42 students, a statistic that is one of the highest in the world. TV is something that they mainly use for education, not recreation. There is a camp children can go to for free, where they learn many different trades that will help them determine what they want to do in life.

When the oil stopped coming from the Soviets, transportation was totally paralyzed. Today, however, there is public transportation (though very crowded), and some still have cars (less than one-tenth). There is one interesting way to get around, known as the "Camel," which is basically a huge truck that holds 300 people. Because there is so little oil, Cubans have learned to make do with what they have. They use old Chevies for taxis, where people will squeeze four in the front and four in the back.

The housing situation in Havana is very crowded. It's not uncommon to find multigenerational families living together, which contributes to the high divorce rate. When new houses are made, they make them out of materials like sand and stone. Cuba, however, does not have slums the way other third world countries do.

Questions

1. Because Cuba lost the oil imports from the Soviet Union, they had no choice but to make do with what they had. They created many different ways of transportation, as mentioned above. They also created stronger community bonds, which helps them even more.

2. Relocalization definitely has its pluses. For instance, shipping costs would be significantly lower because we'd be using resources closer to where we are. Also, less energy would be used for agriculture because huge machinery wouldn't be used, and people would be growing locally. However, some drawbacks are that people wouldn't have as much as they're used to now. You can go to Walmart and get anything you want. Relocalization would hinder this, and I think it would take people a while to get used to it.

My Questions

1. Do you think the United States could handle no oil coming in like Cuba did?

2. If that did happen here, it would mean we would have to rely on our neighbors. The United States is a very self absorbed country. Do you think we could pull together?

3. I love that Cuban doctors do it to help people and not for money, and I think Americans love the money aspect. Do you think if we were in a situation like Cuba, that attitude would change?