The source of global economic development is fast running out: this is the theme of an episode from the "E-Cubo" program broadcast on the RAI Educational channel. The film interweaves several strands: post WWII economic growth; Hubbert's peak theory based on the observation that the amount of oil under the ground in any region is finite, therefore the rate of discovery which initially increases quickly must reach a maximum and decline; the situation in Equador where multinationals have exploited the country's natural resources and devastated the environment; opposition by the inhabitants of Ortona in Abruzzo against the opening of il Centro Oli, a new oil refinery, which would ruin the coastline. This and other stories are linked to the use and abuse of petroleum over the past 50 years.
