[jesus_of_suburbia_old]

Well, I certainly know how you feel? Much of us went through the same shock, horror and despair. You will feel much better gradually. I am the biggest worry-wort I know, so it hit me especially hard.

One thing you can do to calm yourself down is to realize that much of this is indeed speculation. There is an array of scenarios which can result out of peak oil. The way I see it, there are only two absolute truths. The first, oil will peak within our lifetime. The second, the decline of oil will undoubtedly have a profound effect on humanity. That effect, whether positive or negative, is greatly dependent on us.

If we decide to spend the coming decades fighting pointless resources wars and clinging on to an unreasonable lifestyle, then we don't deserve to exist on this planet. If we decide to make sacrifices and adjustments to our society and use our knowledge to work with nature as opposed to against it, we can ride out the storm and come out a more enlightened people. This is why it is so important to educate others about the possible rammifications of peak oil.

More and more people are becoming keen to the real reason behind rising oil prices, but not enough people and most certainly not early enough.

Do some thinking, and try to determine a balanced, logical plan for PO. If you don't feel like doing that, just be mentally prepared for the coming changes.

Most importantly, come to this site often. There are many smart and sane people on this board with great ideas.

Hang in there.

P.S. Now that Savinar is back, I can tell him that I think he is a massive douchebag.