Bonum Certa Men Certa

When Peak Oil Isn't Just "Alarmist Propaganda"

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Apr 22, 2026,
updated Apr 22, 2026

Today:

Lufthansa cuts 20,000 summer flights as fuel prices surge

Last week:

Europe has 'maybe six weeks of jet fuel left', energy boss warns

Peak oil, or 'peak extraction' of oil, is the hypothetical point when global petroleum demand reaches its maximum rate

2026 is proving to be a year of breakthroughs for GNU/Linux and maturity of Geminispace because both of these attract new adopters (for different reasons, but somewhat overlapping reasons). Right now the cost of hardware is fast increasing and it's not even over yet (wait till the oil shortages really "kick in"). People think twice or thrice before buying a new computer and Apple isn't a possibility for people who try to keep up with day-to-day expenses like food.

Lightweight computing with modest requirements (enough for machines from 1-2 decades ago to properly handle) can see a resurgence. While it's true that some desktop environments are bloated and demanding (e.g. graphics), they're not obligatory [1, 2]. The same goes for Gemini clients. Some of them only occupy about one megabyte of RAM and are very featureful.

Apple depends on people buying "new stuff"; this is how Apple gains "market share". GNU/Linux benefits a lot when people recycle/reuse "old stuff"; the current conditions favour less consumption.

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