Escaping the city to ride out climate change and peak oil

My wife Sarah and I are moving to Vermont.

I’ve been studying climate change and its interconnected problems for a year, and my research has brought me to the conclusion that a time of tremendous scarcity and uncertainty is upon us. So we’ve decided that it’s time to get started building a different, more resilient kind of life.

When I first began understanding the magnitude of the changes we’re going to see in the next few decades — climate along with peak energy, potential food shortages, likely social unrest — I got really scared. My first thought was to get as far away from humanity as possible. Find a cave in the woods, eat mushrooms and grubs, and let the whole thing blow over.

But after I calmed down and thought things through a little more, I realized that that instinct was dead wrong.

Crowding, no; community, yes

If people do not engage one another, we will be unable to fix the problems we have made, for they are happening on a scale that no single human can match. If we isolate ourselves, we will continue to see other people as our enemies and competitors at the exact time we need to be pulling together.

Even beyond the problem-solving necessities of banding together, there are the considerations of our happiness and inner life. Human beings are a social species. We find our love, hope, and self-worth in the eyes of other people (which is why solitary confinement is considered cruel and unusual punishment). Let’s face it: life isn’t worth living without other people.

With these considerations in mind, once we move to Vermont, Sarah and I will be making special effort to be active and involved members of our community.

We’ve also begun lobbying our families pretty hard to consider changes in their lives and possibly even coming to live with us. After all, family is everyone’s original community. In many ways it’s an uphill battle, as mine is a fiercely independent family, one that resists open talk and shows of emotion (much less cohabitation!). But slowly as time progresses, I can see the landscape shifting. One of my sisters has a couple of beautiful kids who have brought us all closer, and my mom is nearing retirement, so she’s already got the future on her mind.

Wishing to cohabitate with parents in my mid-thirties? Just another ridiculous road that contemplating climate change has put us on.

A reluctant farewell

At this point, I think I owe my current community, a suburb of Boston called Somerville, an apology.

Believe me, when I say that neither Sarah nor I have any desire to leave you! Yet the truth is no one can fight their battles everywhere. Somerville is the second most densely populated city in the entire United States, and even today the pressure for resources is always high. Somerville affords almost no open space to grow food and there’s little direct access to fresh water. I don’t want to leave, but you don’t have to be a tactical genius to see that cramped city living is some of the most stressful living when times get tough.

I take solace in the fact that Sarah and I aren’t the only ones making these kinds of huge life changes in response to the state of the world.

As knowledge of systemic problems spreads, people across the globe are linking up to build resilience and engage in mutual support. The most identifiable organization (I use that word loosely) associated with this is The Transition Movement, which is now gaining steam in America. The movement is a distributed, loosely affiliated network of people helping each other learn and coordinate in pursuit of resilience and local economies.

In the leaking ship that we’ve made of our planet, the Transition movement is like a flotilla of life rafts. And they’ve come not to pull us off the Earth, but to help us patch it and make it right.-Bill McKibben

So to sum up the Big Picture: Sarah and I off to Vermont, to build our little life raft and lash it to the rafts of others. We will build strong, loving community, plan for the worst, hope for the best, and fight for the future.

– Eric Krasnauskas, Science Pope

Transition Voice

19 Comments on "Escaping the city to ride out climate change and peak oil"

MSN fanboy on Mon, 15th Sep 2014 4:20 pm 



LOL, I love their happy nature. LOL

Yes, just forget about a part where the remaining masses break down your community’s gate and destroy all you have built.

J-Gav on Mon, 15th Sep 2014 4:21 pm 



Well, yeah, quoting McKibben is supposed to lend credence to any decision these days. He takes a little too much money from Wall Street to gain my trust but if he can inspire some people to go their own way and do their own thing, I’m fine with that.

trickydick on Mon, 15th Sep 2014 5:23 pm 



Always thankful when feelgood-Lib-preppers leave breadcrumb trails to their stash.

noobtube on Mon, 15th Sep 2014 6:29 pm 



It seems like every place the State-run media wants everyone to go, is already overpopulated as hell.

Hey, look… OVERPOPULATION in the United States.

New York, New Jersey, Boston, Philly, hell the whole Northeast is just a deathtrap.

Then you have Chicago, Miami, and San Francisco, and LA.

But, I thought these were the hip-happening places that were the must-live destinations for the young, ambitious, and talented.

Could the State-run media have lied? Nah. TPTB wouldn’t send you to a hellhole/deathtrap, now would they?

ghung on Mon, 15th Sep 2014 6:37 pm 



Better late than never, I guess.

And all you guys like MSM and Tricky, who think the rural bugout folks can’t protect their interests as well or better than the folks stuck in the cities and burbs better stay out of my neck of the woods. The ROI would be very low for any evil doers who come here with less than honorable intentions.

GregT on Mon, 15th Sep 2014 8:03 pm 



“If people do not engage one another, we will be unable to fix the problems we have made, for they are happening on a scale that no single human can match.”

Sorry, even if people do engage one another, we will still be unable to fix the problems that we have made. Especially when one takes into consideration that one of the biggest problems facing humanity, is overpopulation.

Makati1 on Mon, 15th Sep 2014 9:20 pm 



GregT, you are on the right track, I think. But then, according to some here, I am destined to be killed the second the collapse happens because of the fact that I live in the supposedly most crowded city on Earth, Manila. Something like 40,000 of us per square mile if you believe the Western MSM. If Davy’s farm is around 210 acres, about 13,000 of us could live there … lol.

Anyway, we are moving to a small town 100 miles from Manila next summer, if the s— doesn’t hit the fan first. Sooner, if it does. Then build our farm house three miles from that town, in the jungle above a river. Only a half mile dirt road into the property, that will quickly grow over if we need to “disappear” Nothing along the paved road to indicate occupation.

Our neighbors (three families) are good people, but poor, and will be helped as much as we can to prepare for the coming event. Not that they need it. Both have lived there for many years without a driveway or electric or city water. Just a path and spring. Tells you a lot about self reliance in the Ps. They do have a carrabao though, which will be handy for carrying heavy loads and hauling logs, if we need them.

Yes, get out of any city, but in the US, to do that at a distance where you will not be overrun by pillagers and is still a climate you can manage to survive in, is limited. Vermont has cold winter and not a great growing season. Wild game will last the first winter … maybe. But south will have it’s own problems. Do you speak Mexican? Tough choice.

ghung, do you have to sleep? How much time will you have, to give up the hours for night watch? You will lose the working power of at least three people of your group,forever. Do you have protection from gas attacks? How about a long siege? Maybe you need to rethink your plans?

Norm on Tue, 16th Sep 2014 3:46 am 



I watch this debate. Scenario, oil shortage, economic crisis, financial problems, angry hungry poor people, looking to steal stuff. WELL, what’s safer, the city or the country?

Lotta the survivalists say the country. I dunno, where ya gonna get your gas from, to drive back into town, to get a tooth filling and some more Cheerios? And if there is a brownout, betcha the far away spur lines to nowhere are first to get unplugged.

I think the city will have some remnants of an economy… and will still have the lights on, and probably will continue to a thin blue line, busting heads open all night long, so you can sleep well.

Nigel on Tue, 16th Sep 2014 7:28 am 



Congratulations Eric on a very wise choice.

We live entirely off-grid in a very rural and resilient area. We, and our neighbours are resourced for a lifetime should the need arise.

Davy on Tue, 16th Sep 2014 8:56 am 



Nigel, what region or area are you from. As a doomer/prepper I find it educational to learn about others efforts and where they are making these efforts. You do not have to be specific if privacy is a concern. My effort is in the central Missouri Ozark region south of the city of Rolla, MO. We are mainly a cattle farming area with some logging.

Nony on Tue, 16th Sep 2014 9:18 am 



Dude moved home to his parents, with a wife and in his 30s. All the blabla about doom-prepping is just glossing over that.

GregT on Tue, 16th Sep 2014 9:32 am 



Norm,

Where do you think Cheerios, oil, tooth fillings, and electricity come from? Cities exist because resources are shipped to them mostly from rural areas. Not the other way around.

In a scenario of scarcity, resilience comes through self sufficiency. Primarily self sufficiency in food production. If there isn’t enough to go around, the last place I personally want to be is surrounded by hoards of hungry people.

GregT on Tue, 16th Sep 2014 9:38 am 



Nony,

Family is the nucleus of society. Something that we here in North America seem to have forgotten about, in one human generation.

ghung on Tue, 16th Sep 2014 10:30 am 



Gosh, Makati, you always try to shoot holes in other folks plan when, in reality, your plan sucks from what I can see. I’ve been living mine about 20 years; developing the skills far longer.

Anyway, most anyone who’s ever served active duty military has stood watches while working a full time job. I stood two 4 hour watches/day and still put in 8-12 hour work days, six days per week for over 6 years of hard sea time. On submarines it was 6/6/6: 6 hours work, 6 hour watch, 6 hours off to sleep or whatever. Now? We have dogs. Nobody sneaks up on our place.

Beats the crap out of cowering behind locked doors in the city where folks will be utterly dependent on someone else and failing systems for food, water, sewerage/sanitation, energy, security and virtually everything else. You’ll be beggars, with a few thousand beggars per square mile for competition. Oh… wait! Didn’t you say you were bugging out?

Davy on Tue, 16th Sep 2014 11:50 am 



Thanks G, for the comment. The “expat” is in la la land and obsessed with US (anything) hatred and NUK war fantasy. His prep plan is nothing special to be crowing about like he does. Of the preppers here on PO I highly value your advice and admire your set up. I remember the pic of your place you have posted on the internet. Looks like a solid setup. We can never be fully prepared but we can be adequately prepared.

ghung on Tue, 16th Sep 2014 12:26 pm 



Thanks, Davy, but it’s nothing a hellfire missile couldn’t take out in a couple of seconds. Maybe by then my kudzu stealth plan will be implemented 😉

Nigel on Tue, 16th Sep 2014 1:38 pm 



Davy, we’re in West Wales.

Davy on Tue, 16th Sep 2014 3:59 pm 



Nigel, short story, in the early eighties my family sold JCB backhoes. My father and I were invited to England to see the factory. I was in my early 20’s. I forget why or exactly where it was but we flew a Helicopter across Wales. It is phenomenal country. Good luck with the prep work.

Northwest Resident on Tue, 16th Sep 2014 4:08 pm 



Nigel — My brother and I hired a genetic expert type guy to track down our family heritage. It turns out that if we trace our father’s father back to his father, and his father back to his father, etc… we eventually end up with some dude named Rhys ap Thomas. We thought we had some indian blood in us so we had our blood tested to see what genes they could find. It turns out that we’re both a little over 70% Welsh. Which, I suppose, would explain why green is my favorite color… 🙂