Imagining a world without oil

By Steve Hallett and John Wright, Thursday, April 21, 4:23 PM

This is the first installment of “A World Without,” a new series that examines the consequences of doing away with something we’ve grown used to -- an idea, institution, commodity, tradition, or event. Send ideas for “A World Without” to outlook@washpost.com.

Dismantle the oil rigs and stack them in a pile. Radio the tankers and order them back to port. Pull out the drills and cement up the wells. (A year after the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, let’s hope we’ve learned how to do that, at least.) Tow the platforms back to shore. Plug up the pipelines. And lock up the Strategic Petroleum Reserve while you’re at it — it has only about a month or so worth of oil in it, anyway.

What would happen next? How would we live in a world without oil?