realizations about peak oil that made you go d'oh

by **theshadypeach** » Wed 13 Jul 2005, 03:01:45

Basically tell your most embarassing and seemingly obvious revelation about peak oil, that made you look back and go, "how stupid could i have been?"

I'll start. I thought that people were quoting this guy

When they referred to statements made by matthew simmons. :lol:

by **some_guy282** » Wed 13 Jul 2005, 03:15:37

LOL

I'm not sure if anyone will be able to beat that one.

by **I_Like_Plants** » Wed 13 Jul 2005, 03:40:17

I guess the biggest "do'oh" point is realizing that everything depends on oil the way our society is set up - so while I got rid of my car which makes me a saint among americans, my way of life still makes me a pig among humans.

by **larrydallas** » Wed 13 Jul 2005, 05:48:57

As I've said here before I was disillusioned when PO and this whole move towards facism occured in the nation.

I wonder how stupid could I have been when I think about my out look on stuff back in college. I was in my senior year in 2001-02 so the expectations I had for the future were shattered right before I finished school. A pretty lousy thing if you ask me.

Until that point I had the typical dream of marry, house, family, etc...

I've become much more realistic since then and now think about which careers will still be around post peak, how I absolutely need to have my spouse be as aware of PO and implications, whether or not to have children in the future (would it be fair to them to lead them in this mess), etc.

It scares me to death when I think of how interconnected everything is and how oil dependent that interdependence is. I dunno...sometimes I wish it was 1997 again and I was a high school kid who did not know all of this stuff and my mind was occupied with girls, movies, and cars.

Those were the good old days.

by **bentstrider** » Wed 13 Jul 2005, 05:57:07

The biggest "D'oh!!" for me was the fact that I thought I would never have to wield a firearm in my lifetime.
Much less see them everywhere.
I was never particularly worried about transportation because of the fact that I knew of alcohol and peanut-derived fuels powering vehicles long before many others my age did.
I never really worried about food because I knew where it really came.
And I also knew how to grow it and raise it.
I looked at firearms and thought to myself, "Now why in the blue hell would I need one of those?".
Well, if I ever want to survive after a hard crash, I'll have to at least get a sling-shot to get me started.

by **eastbay** » Wed 13 Jul 2005, 06:04:45

The biggest one for me was realizing my 6 and 9 year old daughters wouldn't be driving cars as adults. I try to gently teach them the world will be quite different when they are grown up.

For example, I've explained to both that they will probably be riding scooters to college.

Plus, both are into getting involved with martial arts which is one post-peak skill anyone will be able to use.

by **shakespear1** » Wed 13 Jul 2005, 06:13:35

After reading Chomski and seeing a documentry on American Indians I realized that the gov. is telling me Bull.

Then in 2001 I stumbled on dieoff.org site and saw a set of production curves for various oil producing countries and the lightbulb lit.

by **bentstrider** » Wed 13 Jul 2005, 08:01:23

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('eastbay', 'T')he biggest one for me was realizing my 6 and 9 year old daughters wouldn't be driving cars as adults. I try to gently teach them the world will be quite different when they are grown up.

For example, I've explained to both that they will probably be riding scooters to college.

Plus, both are into getting involved with martial arts which is one post-peak skill anyone will be able to use.

by **LadyRuby** » Wed 13 Jul 2005, 08:22:11

I feel really stupid admitting this, but I didn't really understand the whole depletion thing. The fact that these are FINITE resources that we will deplete and then there won't be any more of them. And the faster will pull the oil out of the ground, the faster we'll deplete it.

by **aldente** » Wed 13 Jul 2005, 10:10:26

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('LadyRuby', 'I') feel really stupid admitting this, but I didn't really understand the whole depletion thing. The fact that these are FINITE resources that we will deplete and then there won't be any more of them.

by **dunewalker** » Wed 13 Jul 2005, 10:26:30

Several months ago while leafing through some of my late grandmother's papers, I was reading out loud some of the names in her high school yearbook from Hilo High School in Hawaii in 1916. When I read "Colin Campbell" my G/F asked if it was THE Colin Campbell. I replied "who's that?" Soon after, as I was getting educated on the subject of Peak Oil, it suddenly dawned on me that the major crisis to come would not be peak oil per se, but the point at which global demand begins to exceed the ability to meet it. This could very well occur even as global oil production is still increasing. Now it is becoming apparent that we are near that point and also possibly within a month or so of peak oil as well!

by **Pops** » Wed 13 Jul 2005, 11:07:15

When the other Matt S. pointed out on this site that not only are we rapidly depleting fossil fuel, but we’re using part of that fuel to deplete all other natural resources.

Without a good alternative source of cheap energy, it will be impossible to continue extracting those ores, minerals, etc. Just like oil, the easy, shallow, concentrated sources are long gone – or soon will be.

Dooh!

by **MicroHydro** » Wed 13 Jul 2005, 11:41:07

I believed that the conquest of the Iraqi oil province was a hunt for WMD.

by **mgibbons19** » Wed 13 Jul 2005, 12:40:24

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('eastbay', 'T')he biggest one for me was realizing my 6 and 9 year old daughters wouldn't be driving cars as adults. I try to gently teach them the world will be quite different when they are grown up.

by **Barbara** » Wed 13 Jul 2005, 14:25:27

mgibbons,
I have a 6 years old too, and I've found this workaround: instead of speaking about future, I tell him about the PAST. How his grandparents lived without this and that, how when I was a child there were no snacks or TV color! LOL
This way, he's learning thet living without many things is normal and not a big problem, and it can happen again in the future without being a disaster.
Hope this helps!

by **uNkNowN ElEmEnt** » Wed 13 Jul 2005, 14:58:53

I'd have to say half of my assumptions are having to be reevaluated.

I made a deal with my kids that they don't smoke until they are 25 I will buy them a gold watch.

I also said when they graduated college/ univ or trades school I would put $5,000 each towards a car. Oops. Now I just say towards any mode of trasportation but will I really be able to if the economy tanks? Damn.

I think the whole doubling effect was a real eye opener for me. It was a eureka moment.

by **CarlinsDarlin** » Wed 13 Jul 2005, 16:07:05

I think the biggest a-ha moment for me was when I realized how utterly dependent we are on oil and oil byproducts. For example, how dependent modern agriculture is on petroleum. I mean, I knew about tractors, combines, etc. But it had never occurred to me that fertilizers were petroleum based. Plastics are another example - I'll never look at plastic the same way again. We lose plastic cups? No problem. Medical equipment, however, is another story - oxygen tubing, disposable syringes, every freaking thing is plastic and disposable...

I used to be the person who thought that use of oil = cars, gasoline, transportation, etc. Now I see oil everywhere I look. I think most people are like I was. That's why they can't grasp the enormity of the situation.

Kathy

realizations about peak oil that made you go d'oh

realizations about peak oil that made you go d'oh

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