Comments on: Peak Oil and Dentistry – the Final Taboo.

By: Philip Boyle

Philip Boyle — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:07:06 +0000

A fascinating read at the very least, I certainly hadn’t even considered how Peak Oil might affect dentistry, but the truth is it will affect every industry to some extent. I guess though in this internet age it will take a very granular approach to get the word out to enough people that care. Talk about Peak Oil in general, and a lot of people will turn off. Talk about Peak Oil and my industry, and I just might listen…

By: Teeth whitening info » Blog Archive » Australian Dental Association

Teeth whitening info » Blog Archive » Australian Dental Association — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:13:04 +0000

[...] Peak Oil and Dentistry – the Final Taboo. » Transition Culture Dentistry”. Modern dentistry is very oil dependent, and painless dental work is something we have come to take for granted. In the surgery of the dentist I [...]

By: Caroline Walker

Caroline Walker — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 12:34:04 +0000

This is a really interesting set of postings and I am so glad someone (above) has given the web address of Where there is no dentist, the follow up to the seminal barefoot health worker manual Where there is no doctor. Looking forward to Ben’s speaking at our Powerhouse event in Bideford on 30th September. See http://www.tag4s.org.uk for details

By: RobWindt

RobWindt — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 00:03:33 +0000

Some online books that are worth downloading
Rob

http://healthwrights.org/books/WTINDentistonline.htm

http://healthwrights.org/books/WTINDonline.htm

http://www.pigeoncote.com/dovecote/dovecote.html

http://www.weblife.org/humanure/index.html

By: Rhisiart Gwilym

Rhisiart Gwilym — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 00:34:38 +0000

Peak oil and dentistry? This is about as persuasive as ‘Ingsoc In Relation To Chess’ in ’1984′. Or how about that grey inadequate John Major, during the slow implosion of the Cons, from which they’ve still not recovered, prioritising in his conference speech the wonderful news that his government would be setting up a ‘Cones Hotline’ to inform motorists about roadworks.

Bit of a shaky grasp, in all these cases, of the concept of relevance to the major urgent issues of the time, don’t you think? Peak Oil and DENTISTRY!? I don’t wonder that there’s nothing much about it on the net……

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 23:43:39 +0000

I’m just glad for question&answer 13 – and perhaps a post-peak world will have less cheap refined sugar to consume too?

I’ll also never forget the movie “Cast Away” with Tom Hanks knocking out his tooth with an ice-skate.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162222/

By: Keith

Keith — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 23:42:17 +0000

There is another issue that has been missed. Before 1940 people used to die from the infections that caused toothache. Over the past 60 years we have squandered the opportunities provided by antibiotics and are approaching a return to a pre-Florey world when antibiotics will no longer be effective. MSRA is on the rise and within a few years people will once again die from toothache (and other bacterial infections, like those caused by broken hips)

By: Peaknik

Peaknik — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 17:00:50 +0000

This is a really interesting subject! I am a peak oil activist with bad teeth, and six months ago I had to go to the dentist because of a serious periodontitis. I knew I had to do something about my teeth but I keep delaying it (money was also an issue, because I wanted to do it "all in once").

Peak Oil (and that timely periodontitis) has helped me to start healing my teeth, it's not over yet, but after the summer I'll get my firsts implants, and at least I will be a little more prepared to the future that I was a year ago.

By: YorkshireWoman

YorkshireWoman — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 15:04:14 +0000

Neither of my grandparents had any teeth by the time I knew them. I used to think that this was inevitable (like white hair) but in fact, apparently it was quite common for people to be 'given' extraction of all teeth, and fitting with false ones, as a...wedding-present! The rationale being, whatever else married life may throw at you, at least it won't be toothache!

I don't like the idea of going back to this, so my children (I have exactly 1/2 as many children as Michael Meacher, or Tony Blair) never drink sugary drinks!

By: Sharon Astyk

Sharon Astyk — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 13:08:00 +0000

Rob, I’m really sorry I put you on the spot. I was really joking, and I apologize if it didn’t come out right. I just knew you were the one other public figure in the peak oil movement who acknowledges multiple children. I think everyone else keeps them in their attics .

This is a great and fascinating post. I’m terrified of dentistry, and have had a lot of it, so this was horribly fascinating and useful.

Cheers, and again, apologies,

Sharon

By: Josef Davies-Coates

Josef Davies-Coates — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 13:06:01 +0000

Thanks Dentist #1 for heads up on Greg Palast's ridiculous articles about Peak Oil (all largely based on him not even understanding what the word culminate means - or bothing to look in a dictionary to find out).

I quite liked The Best Democracy Money Can Buy about how Bush brought the 2000 election, but I have now lost all respect for him.

What a complete and utter plonker Greg Palast is!

By: Gareth Doutch

Gareth Doutch — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 21:39:37 +0000

How funny (for me) that you publish this the very day I’ve been for some work on my teeth. Are you stalking me, Rob?

By: Mark Donaldson

Mark Donaldson — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 17:13:06 +0000

there really is nothing positive you can say about population i suppose, which may be part of the problem when trying to create a sustainable vision for the future. We do face a future where the population will be forced by nature if nothing else to decline to certain carrying capacity levels. I suppose the best approach is to continue promotion of sensible family planning and support the current work being carried out to tackle the economic and social inequality which leads to population explosions.
In a way Transition Towns does address population, by creating a more sustainable local economic future. The problem may lie in reaching limits to local sustainabiltiy, and events will likely push us against those limits quicker than we can build rebuild capacity. I have heard much talk by Peakers about food shortages, but i have yet to see a comprehensive report investigating all the options for coping with such a crisis. there is so much wastage in society at the moment and such much room for rationing that surely we are living in a system with immense slack and cushions for such shocks.

By: Malva

Malva — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 11:46:35 +0000

Very interesting piece. Thank you. I’ve been trying to find more information about peak oil and health but aside from the Peak Oil Medecine blog, haven’t found anything. It’s an aspect that should explored in depth in my opinion.

By: Graham

Graham — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 10:12:40 +0000

Population and consumption should always be considered together in any assessment of what is “sustainable”. They are two sides of the same issue. It is the total human footprint that counts.
Although the total population of the EU 25 is expected to decline, the total worlds’ population is still increasing at around 80million per year, and the EU will come under enormous pressure from immigration which is likely to reverse the decline.
see http://www.optimumpopulation.org/opt.more.ukpoptable.html
or details of population pressure in the UK-one of the most densely populated countries in the world.
The projected 3million new homes to be built in the UK- many of then likely to be on flood planes!- are presumably not going to reduce the carbon footprint, and will not all just remain empty.