Summary of The Nightmare Life Without Fuel: Isaac Asimov
“The nightmare life without fuel” depicts the American situation of the 1990s. Through this essay, Isaac Asimov shows the destructive effect of fuel crisis. He says that life has been using natural resources haphazardly and in the recent future, the limit amount of fuel will end. So we will face multiple problems such as starvation, famine, crime, disaster, and death.
Asimov says that it is 1997. Because of the lack of fuel, a few buses and trains are overcrowded. It is impossible to go to work by bicycle because of the heavy rain. So, walking is the only solution. The single work available still today is breaking the building. Coal is difficult to dig up and nuclear fission is dangerous and nuclear fusion is impossible to run. Solar batteries are not effective and they are very expensive also. In such a situation, only the rich can ride a car for a short time. Finally, the car will change into hardware materials.
Asimov discusses various advantages of the lack of fuel. He says that there will a clean environment. In pollution, fewer environment people will not suffer from the common cold. The crime rate will decrease and police will be back at beats. The street will be full of people and there will be equality and mutual cooperation. In winter people will take sunlight in the park and wear woolen clothes. In summer people will sit under the shadow.
More than merits, lack of fuel has multiple demerits. People can’t go from one place to another place. The people in the suburbs will suffer a lot because they can’t sell their products. Remaining fuel will be used for agriculture purpose but at last, it will be finished. In the first poor countries will suffer from starvation. Lack of food and energy will cause high infant mortality.
Asimov says that the population will be decreased from 5.5 billion to 2 billion. Living people will have brain damage. The army will be just a burden for the nation as it demands more fuel consumption, so, they will be useless. Because of starvation, disease, high infant mortality violence, the world population will decrease to less than one billion. The machine will be replaced by human muscles. So, people have to work hard for survival. Work, sleep and eating will be a great achievement. Finally, Asimov says that it is impossible to stop this problem. If we had begun 50 years back, it would have some solution. But at present, we can do nothing.
