[wildsparrow]

So I discovered the Peak Oil issue about 4-5 months ago. Freaky. I don't know if I'm posting in the right forum here. This is my first time on the website.

The Peak Oil issue has, it seems, been simmering around the fringes of Western society for quite a few years now. Incredibly, it is still only simmering, and making only gradual inroads into the mentalities of suburban middle class Western people. I say incredibly because you would think that such an important and potentially life-changing issue would be given the time of day by any intelligent person. But it isn't so.

People don't want to think about the Peak Oil issue, I've discovered. The changes implied simply by acknowledging the problem entail such vast and frightening changes to our cherished way of life that it seems 95% of people are literally burying their heads in the sand and hoping the politicians and scientists will make it go away.

I cannot get over the foolishness of this attitude but it seems it is likely to continue. The Sydney Morning Herald can publish data (and did, about a year ago I believe) stating that the ecological footprint of Sydney meant that if every person in the world lived like a Sydney-sider it would take around 12 planets to sustain us. Yet no-one changes a thing. Perhaps people used less plastic bags and tried to get more conscientious about their recycling efforts.

Big effing whoop.

For myself, I struggle with the whole issue. To me the central problem is that for reasons I have no intention of delving into here, reasons most likely stemming from the heart of capitalism, our society is structured in such a way that flings each person onto their own solitary resources and erodes community. We are all, to use a terribly pop-journalistic sounding phrase, too busy keeping up with the Joneses to realise we should be building communities with the Joneses.

(I have no community to help me raise my two babies and so I save all the personal energy and sanity I can by belting the hell out of my dishwasher, tumbledryer, electric blankets, TV and bathtub. Fabulous. Sooooo good for the environment, to be doing that.)

Keeping up with the Joneses is, as we all know, a terribly materialistic and consumeristic way to live, and no good-hearted, thinking, modern person of conscience would seriously be that shallow. But DING, you're wrong. We all are. Our whole mentality, our idea of aesthetics and living standards, cleanliness, art, technology and beauty, is founded on such principles and we don't even realise it. BA-BOW, thank you for playing.

Just the fact that when you hear of a new kind of appliance, TV or car, you think 'Hmmm, that sounds great! I wonder how soon I could afford that!' rather than 'Oh, that's nice, but I don't need it.' It spells out that even the most well-meaning and good hearted regular person is innately consumerist.

(Jumping ahead far too quickly, and not spelling things out very well), it all makes me sick. The havoc I personally have wreaked on the environment through my irresponsible living, and the fact that I was brought up to not know any better and so were my parents, also makes me sick.

And now look at the mess we are in. I feel as if it is all going to come crashing down upon our heads. This slow, creeping illness of capitalism and consumerism is going to turn around and bite us all in the bum so hard that many of us won't survive the haemorrhage.

I want to survive. I am a survivor at heart, I believe. I'm vocal, and good and whingeing, and so some might think I'm a bit of a drama-queen wimp, but at heart, I do not give up without a damn good fight. I have guts. And dammit, I will survive, and make sure my family, and my little children survive, peak oil and whatever crisis looms beyond it.

The question is, how, and what to do about it now!

[Peepers]

Well said, and well written. I think the part that hit the nail on the head the hardest was the following....

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('wildsparrow', 'P')eople don't want to think about the Peak Oil issue, I've discovered. The changes implied simply by acknowledging the problem entail such vast and frightening changes to our cherished way of life that it seems 95% of people are literally burying their heads in the sand and hoping the politicians and scientists will make it go away.

[killJOY]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('wildsparrow', 'T')he Peak Oil issue has, it seems, been simmering around the fringes of Western society for quite a few years now.

[evilmonkeyspanker]

I honestly don't know what to tell you other than to be happy that you have today. Live today as if it were your last, because the degradation of society may happen tomorrow or it may not happen for 20 years.

And killjoy is right, you are very articulate

[Dukat_Reloaded]

auctionmonster, thats what I don't get.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I') honestly don't know what to tell you other than to be happy that you have today. Live today as if it were your last, because the degradation of society may happen tomorrow or it may not happen for 20 years.

[EnergySpin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dukat', ' ')I only care about survival, that is my only concern. I want to be the winner!

[Dukat_Reloaded]

HAHA, your little smiley, it's looking up to right, in human psychology, when someone does that they are lying. I'm not a loser, you are

[foodnotlawns]

Dear Suburban Mother,

I think you need some helpful posts and not this meanding discussion.

Find a CSA farm in your area here:

http://wsare.usu.edu/pub/index.cfm?sub=csa

I will try to come back to this thread if I remember to do so. You can IM me on this board. Otherwise go to "prepare" section." Also, join the Running on empty2 list, Robert Waldrop of Oklahoma manages it. Find it on Yahoo and ask to join. When I'm home I'll post his e-mail address.

Don't worry, plenty of people are serious and preparing, and don't have much time for message boards. Most important, find or start a Peak Oil group in your area, seee www.postcarbon.org

[Pops]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('wildsparrow', ' ')The havoc I personally have wreaked on the environment through my irresponsible living, and the fact that I was brought up to not know any better and so were my parents, also makes me sick.

... The question is, how, and what to do about it now!

[killJOY]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', 'T')here is a lot of flagellation along those lines around here.

[MicroHydro]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('killJOY', 'G')uess what? I learned the equivalent of "Peak Oil" in 1982 in a university course in Ohio called Geology and Human Affairs. The upshot...we will have problems commencing around the year 2000 if we don't begin investing in new energy means NOW (meaning 1982).

[NeoPeasant]

Countless large fortunes have been built by spending small fortunes to persuade us to live exactly the way we do, and spending more small fortunes on our "leaders" to be cheerleaders and promoters of this lifestyle rather than the critics of it. Relatively speaking, pennies have been spent to make us aware of the concept of living in a low ecological footprint sustainable way.
There are no great fortunes to be made in educating the masses about sustainability or promoting voluntary simplicity as a way of life, so hardly anyone has heard of the idea.

Less than 2 years ago I was mostly concerning myself with what cars to buy, what home improvements to make, what vacations to take, and strategies to assure a fairly wealthy and comfortable retirement. Because I was a "well informed" consumer of main stream media and conservation was just some fringe downer hippie crap they talked about on NPR. But eventually my curiosity led me to some information that gave me a much clearer picture of the state of the world.

The point is the peak oil and evironmental situations are well below the radar of the masses and no one is spending the big media dollars to change that. Why should they, where's the return on investment in that?

[killJOY]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('microhydro', 'I') had the same experience in college 1973-1974.

[Tyler_JC]

Welcome to Peak Oil Wildsparrow!

If you don't mind, I will be moving this thread to the Psychology forum now. (It fits better there).

It's a very complex problem with some difficult solutions.

The worst part about Peak Oil is that we don't know the rate of production decline or the amount of oil left.

If you could tell me those two things, I could probably come up with a personal plan. But since we don't know (and won't know until it happens) we are forced to guess.

Most of this site is dedicated to those guessing games.

The best preperation is getting out of debt, decreasing one's car dependence, and getting ready mentally.

The hardest part for many people is finally accepting the very real possibilities that stem from Peak Oil. We may have an economic crash. We could have more wars over the remaining oil.

What we all must do is overcome our own fears and learn to accept whatever happens. Not everyone can do this. Many members of this site still refuse to grasp the basic concepts.

[killJOY]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')n the current consumer society, we just don't NEED anyone else.

[FairMaiden]

I disagree...It spells out that even the most well-meaning and good hearted regular person is innately consumerist.

Most of the well meaning, good hearted ppl I know are environmentalists. They dont' drive cars, they recycle, they compost, they buy organics, they speak out in advocacy against consumerism (Buy Nothing Day, Car Free Day and events like that).

And the other selfish folks may understand what I am saying but their response is either; the government will never let that happen OR consumerism creates jobs and puts food on our tables.

Sad but true.

[spudbuddy]

Good threadstarter, Wildsparrow.

(on the psychological front) guilt is a lot of wasted energy.
In 1980 Canadian author Bruce Young published a book called "Hotel California" that reads like it could have been published this year.
I can't find another damn thing by him in the library catalogue.
No-one paid any attention...
After all, we were about to set off on the 2-decade party that was the 80's and 90's.
Those 2 decades were the bridge between the oil upheaval of the 70's, and reality hitting home in the 21st century.
Much of the affluence of the 60's and 70's still had roots in the Great Depression, and memories of the war years.
There was still a strong public will examining the nature of free enterprise, social responsibility, and quality of life.

Somehow, that all got away on us.
Public will has been trashed by corporate power for some time now.
That is not exactly our fault. Public guilt is misplaced energy.
(I remind myself every day that PO stands for "pissed off" too.)

If you have ever felt even just mildly irritated by globalization and its inherent wastefulness....then your heart is in the right place.

I pay more attention to the writers on this site that remind us this will probably be a long slow haul, and hardly an overnight sensation.

I admit...some days I feel like I'm waiting to spot a news bulletin about thousands of suburban SUV drivers suddenly en masse...driving from the pumps directly to used car lots and trading in their guzzlers for something that gets double the mpg.
Not to mention suburban McHouse sales exploding and skyrocketing resale homes in my city core.

That this is not happening...doesn't necessarily mean that furious denial is going on out there.
(It's going to take some time and effort to roll that whale over.)

Put it this way: For years now I've had the feeling that some great ponderous thick and heavy social malaise (that no-one seemed able to quite put their finger on) was slowly creeping around the planet...
and that what was needed was some issue, some cause (or threat) that could really unify people...
well, I can't think of a better one than this.

Things could begin to unravel rather rapidly (especially economically) or we could be in for radical changes worldwide in the way we do things, how we live, how we do business...that could span decades.
I like to remind myself that much of the power in the world (that makes us feel powerless) relies on cheap energy.

The eternal question seems to be: How "painless" can we retract our use of energy?
Pain is a relative thing. There are far more have-nots, than haves...on such a wealthy planet.
(The author James Kunstler refers to this as "hallucinated" wealth.)

The real wealth that still exists...can still do a lot for us, if we use it wisely.
I dunno...I still believe there's a lot of wisdom rolling around out there.
(That isn't a wing and a prayer on my part...) I see it every day.
A bumpy ride, perhaps.
Then again...the ride hasn't been exactly smooth for most, anyhow.