Handy Hints For Post-Petroleum

The priority of these “hints” will vary as the years go by, but most of them will remain relevant over the course of the century. The slight bias toward northern North America is partly due to the fact that the area meets most of the criteria.

1 The world now has an average of 116 people for every square mile of land surface. In foraging (hunting-and-gathering) societies, on the other hand, there is an average of only about 0.1 person for every square mile. Since the survivors will be living closer to a “foraging” way of life than to an “industrial” one, the first and most obvious step is to move to somewhere with a low population density. (Crowded countries, on the other hand, will be experiencing famine.)


2 Everything in the modern world is dependent on hydrocarbons. From hydrocarbons we get fuel, fertilizer, pesticides, lubricants, plastic, paint, synthetic fabrics, asphalt, pharmaceuticals, and many other things. When oil goes, our entire industrial society will go with it. We must therefore look to “primitive” technology.

3 On a broader scale, one could can say that modern industrial society is based on (1) hydrocarbons, (2) metals, and (3) electricity. The three are intricately connected; each is only accessible