Cuba and Sustainability

Summary:
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba became one of many nations that had to severely cut back on their oil. Every nation, except for Cuba seemed to suffer extreme losses from a lack of oil. Cuba, however, is able to function without tons of oil. People gave up personal cars and readopted cheap, public transportation. Medicine was targeted towards illness prevention and health, rather than getting better. In fact their life expectancy is just as high as that of Americans, and they even have free health care for all. It is impressive knowing that their country still functions without a massive amount of reliance on fossil fuels.

Comments:
~Cuba does many things to cut back on the use of fossil fuels. Houses are made of stone and concrete mixtures. People traded in their cars for public transportation systems. They also walk and bike a lot more, which makes them healthier as a country. Finally, they decided to resort back towards older methods of farming, in which tractors are replaced by oxen.
~I personally believe that relocalization is destined to fail. In order to do this, people would have to be forced from their homes and spread out to where resources are more abundant. I mean, sure, it might be possible to build a sustainable economy which is located nearby energy resources and farms. However, as of right now, most people do not see the need to move towards a more conservative society, therefore, the likeliness of this happening soon is not very high. Also, there is no telling if it is possible to keep our human population under control, and how to make sure that those areas will have the resources to sustain life in the future?

Questions:
~Was the living space at Cuba always as small as it is right now?
~Will similar changes be possible in America? (Cultures and Values seem very different)
~How come in the United States, we do not have to finish high school, whereas in Cuba, it is required to have 12 years of school?