Are we ready to get by if world faces oil crisis?

A US aircraft carrier patrols the Persian Gulf. Photo/File

Where does oil come from, Daddy?

Geo-politically speaking, the correct answer to this question is: "From a long way away". However, if this answer worries you - and it should - perhaps a more palatable response might be: "It comes from huge deposits of dead sea creatures laid down many millions of years ago."

Worry also that God appears to have given the oil to people who don't necessarily have our best interests at heart. Imagine that.

After many years of being exploited, the countries under whose land the oil lies have learned to use it as a political and economic weapon, and the West (us) has not learned to reconcile our addiction to the slippery dark demon that is oil.

Our leaders have adopted the Alfred E Neumann ("What, me worry?") approach to continued oil supplies. We are building more roads, running down coastal shipping, ignoring rail and dallying with alternative power generation and transport fuel in a manner more akin to a one-night-stand than a romance.

We know oil is important for our continued wellbeing, but what are the risks to its continued supply? I will talk about "peak oil" another day, and no ... the world is not running out of oil just yet. Oil only needs to be pumped fast enough; we buy it and get it here. One real risk is to the lines of transport.

Look on the world map - see the strip of water that runs between Saudi Arabia and Iran? That is the Persian Gulf. See the narrow straits that separate that from the Gulf of Oman? Those are the Straits of Hormuz.

Something like 25 per cent of the world's oil passes through these straits.

Iran has threatened to close them to oil tankers if they are attacked by the United States or Israel. The recent row over whether Iran is building nuclear weapons has calmed down - probably only temporarily - but while Iran's new president may have a better PR sense than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, little else has changed.

Iran is aligned with the rulers of Syria and has said that an attack on Syria would be an attack on them. So all eyes are focused on Syria, which has poisoned many hundreds of its own people in a revolting, inhuman way.

Russia thinks it didn't, but United States' president Barack Obama wants congressional approval to shoot missiles at Syria because they have crossed this "red line" - and he could probably attack without Congress's approval.

Obama is waffling with the certainty of a blind man waltzing on a motorway, and no one can predict the outcome.

A rebel win in Syria would be a huge boost for al-Qaeda, further threaten Israel and eventually release hordes of trained radical Muslims back into Europe. Perhaps America wants to use up its stocks of outdated cruise missiles anyway? Confusing? Go figure.

But whatever the motives, the Straits of Hormuz are poised to be slammed shut and throw the world into another oil crisis and the horrors of war.

This could happen overnight, and individuals such as you and me will be able to do little to insulate ourselves from these world events (except continue to live in Godzone).

What would we do if we were plunged back into 1900? Do we need to buy a bicycle? What about a home garden? Supplies of essential items? What about an electric car, motor scooter or bicycle? Luck is where preparation meets opportunity, and I will consider myself "lucky" to happen to own a bicycle to get around.