[Aaron]

See this is what's difficult...

Every time I'm ready to give up on mankind, threads like this remind me that there really are caring, thoughtful people out there worth fighting for...

thanks all... (& welcome Annette)

(Looks like my "Aaron's Peak" idea was premature.)

[sabs]

My wife and I live in California. We have been looking into Peak Oil for a while. We are now in the midst of planning our future and how to deal with the coming crisis. We are worried about the civil liberities implications being of muslim descent. My family lives near us, we just recently all got together to discuss the current situation and come up with a family strategy. It is easier said than done though, lot of logistics and variables to consider.

[Wirbelwind]

Hello

My name is Steven. I’m 24 and living in Melbourne, Australia. I work in finance but not viewing it as a long term career anymore

I first became aware of PO through work as I watched the oil price steadily climb. That was six months ago and knowledge of PO has changed my life. I have done a lot of reading on the subject and have submitted myself to the facts. I remain slightly optimistic and am now spending my time learning and preparing for the changes that PO may bring.

I have brought up the subject with family but they seem to think that they’ll find more oil, we’ll use ethanol etc. It’s actually quite painful when you feel that your family thinks you are unbalanced. I do hope that more people become aware of the situation and stop believing everything they read in the dailies. I suppose the high petrol prices will start to make people more aware of what PO is. Current events in this country tell me that the effects of PO have already begun and that the slide will continue.

In the time I have spent browsing this site I have found it a wealth of knowledge. It is very useful and I look forward to learning much from the people here.

Regards

Steven

[mjdlight]

Thanks guys. And...new Tool album coming out today!

Bought it today from my excellent local record shop. Screw Big Retail! Wee!

[spicybrainsgirl]

Anyone out there? I'm Kate from Long Island and my IM name is spicybrainsgirl, feel free to get in touch. I am looking to learn more about peak oil and my possible options for preparation.

[sabs]

hello spicybrains girl- I live in California and am always ready to talk to anyone about Peak Oil and preparation etc- how long have you been into this and what do you want to know?

[ThePostman]

With my checkered past, I feel sorry for the poor slob who steals my I.D. You're welcome to it, I'll trade straight up...

[Jeroen]

Greetings all,

my name is Jeroen.
I encountered the concept of peakoil about 9 months ago when I came across lifeaftertheoilcrisis.org.
I started reading with a smile on my face: another one of those whacky doomsday writers, that was bound to be a fun read.

Sadly, during the reading, my smile faded as I realized that our current system is indeed based on assumptions. Assumptions which are not guaranteed, such as indeed cheap energy.

I then became active in the peakoil community online in my country and founded a peakoil portal (aimed at reaching the general public, so keeping some of the more... uhm..provocative topics out of them.

I have decided to keep running in the current ratrace, while using every spare minute I have to prepare myself, by learning skills which will be usefull.

[americandream]

Good luck...I reckon we're stuck on this ship of fools and will have to make the best of this leaking hulk seein as the crew are mostly high on fumes.

[paleoman]

Hello all,

My name is Rhett. I stumbled across this website while doing some research for a paper I was writing on Wind Energy. I set out to write a positive examination of the benefits of wind. It turned into an outright attack on the inefficiencies and wastefulness of the wind industry as a whole.

My interest in energy issues has grown substantially in the last year. My now deceased Grandfather was sort of a pioneer in the Gas Industry. He was one of the head geologists for Sun Oil Company (now Sunoco) back in the early 30s. He made a radical departure from the mainstream and decided to pursue the exploration of natural gas. Back then the standard policy was to just burn off the gas because it was not used as a fuel. He found some major gas fields in Texas and was considered a wildcatter. I wish I could discuss Peak Oil with him because I am sure he would have an interesting viewpoint having been in the oil and gas business for over 6 decades, until his death in '96.

These forums are a wealth of information and I am reading them with voracity. The interesting thing to note is that these discussions are the foundation of all other discussions. Energy is the baseline from which all economic, environmental, and political issues arise. By learning the foundation it helps us to better understand the important issues and discuss them with insight and vigor.

With continued interest,

Rhett

[clueless]

Hi Rhett -

I am assuming you are college age ? I am between you and the "Boomer" generation. I remember the 70's gas lines and was kind of frightened (I was 7 & 12), and I remember asking my mom about oil and what we were going to do. She said "It's the oil companies- They have it all figured out etc." Her statements along with the tv news (we only had 2 channels then) led me to believe the lie that hydrocarbon depletion is a "non-issue".

I too have been reading voraciously on this subject, it is fascinating. I have also been studying history, both recent and ancient to see how others live. I listened to President Carter's energy speeches in the 70's and realized the 60's hippy children now run the country and refuse (collectively), just as they did in the 70's, to pay any attention to the needs of future generations.

I am, quite frankly shocked and ashamed at the selfishness of my generation, and am doing my small part to make the Boomers realize the true predicament we are in.

When the feces hits the fan, I hope you young folks will treat us better than we treated you.

Welcome to Peak Oil Rhett, Glad to have you aboard !

[azreal60]

Indeed welcome. It's always nice to see someone who actually takes everyone's advice and Reads alot off the site before making major comments. Sign of intelligence, I look forward to reading your posts. =)

[seldom_seen]

Paleoman! great name. welcome.

Your statement about energy is right on the mark.

[paleoman]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. I am actually 31 but just finished an economics degree at Rutgers University in NJ. I am applying to a masters program in Energy and Mineral Resources at the University of Texas Austin.

I was originally planning to go to Europe to pursue a degree in renewables but after doing my due diligence I realized a degree in renewables was too specialized, considering the fact that my faith in renewables has been waning for the last several months. I, like many others, just assumed that renewables would somehow be able to compensate for our decline in oil. But as I researched more I realized that the major green (and I say green with hesitance) energies (wind, solar, hydro, biomass) were not replacements for oil but rather electricity production. And considering they only account for less than 1% of our total energy production (and will only account for about 1% by 2025 according to a report by the DOE, given the increase in consumption).

Well, I am just rambling at this point. Again, thanks for the welcome and I look forward to learning as much as possible so my posts may have some semblance of intelligence!


Rhett

[lorenzo]

Hi Rhett, welcome to this forum and welcome to the bright green bioenergy future.
Your grandfather pioneered in the gas industry. Will you pioneer in the bioenergy industry?

[mjdlight]

Doomer lyrics update!!

Ben Folds has recently updated the lyrics to "Rockin' the Suburbs" I think there's much for a peak oiler to enjoy in them.

let me tell y'all what it's like
watching idol with a diet rite
in a house built safe and sound
on indian burial ground, sham on

we drive our cars everyday
to and from work both ways
so we make just enough to pay
to drive our cars to work each day, hey hey

we're rockin the suburbs
around the block just one more time
we're rockin the suburbs
cause i can't tell which house is mine
we're rockin the suburbs
we part the shades and face the facts
they got better looking fescue
right across the cul de sac

hot real estate rising stars
get rich quick seminars
soap opera magazines
forty thousand watt nativity scenes
don't freak about the smoke alarm
mum left the tv dinner on

we're rockin the suburbs
from downing mews to chevy chase
we're rockin the suburbs
we numb the muscles in our face
we're rockin the suburbs
we feed the dog and mow the lawn
watching mummy bounce the checks
while daddy juggles credit cards

i can't tell which house is mine

big sis just turned 19
she's working hard in the middle east
so that we can keep the gasoline
and our forty thousand watt nativity scene
dad saw something on tv, he
thinks i might have the homo gene

and we're rockin the suburbs
everything we need is here
we're rockin the suburbs
but it wasn't here last year
we're rockin the suburbs
you'll never know when we are gone
because a timer lights the pond
and turns the cricket noises on

each night
yeah yeah
we're rockin the suburbs
yeah yeah
we're rockin the
suburbs

[chukar]

17 years old, living in Honolulu. Just graduated from high school and going into Pre medical studies. I learned about Peak Oil last autumn from the LATOC site, and decided to sign up here after perusing the topics. I gave a speech about peak oil for English class but no one understood it. The students take our affluence and easy life for granted. Environmental destruction doesn't faze them. It's depressing.

[And_over]

Hi all,
I'm (obviously) new to peak oil. I came across lifeaftertheoilcrash while doing some research for a project. I took a closer look into the subject of peak oil and eventually found my way here.

I'm currently a sophomore in high school. I'm originally from New Orleans, but now attend school in Massachusetts. I'm an alright student and have started looking into colleges and the like.

My knowledge of peak oil is moderate, I've read a lot of material and checked the facts where I could. My background in energy is moderate. Besides a lot of peak oil stuff recently, my family has an extensive farming background and produces some corn for ethanol. As well, we own a few, small oil and natural gas wells on the land.

I personally am not a doomer. I'm not expecting the total social collapse many here seem to eagerly await; however, I believe that peak oil could be a major issue in the next 6-30 years and will probably result in major economic dislocation. I have faith in alternatives and the future.

I come to peakoil.com as a seeker of knowledge rather than a distributer. If I see any questions know the answer to, I will comment, but I am here primarily to expand my own knowledge and, hopefully, affect the people in my own life.

I hope to have a sane, reasonable discussion with you all and to learn a lot while I am here.

Thank you

[heckbent]

I am 26, married, and work in the IT industry. I have been visiting for a long time as a reader of the news articles and forums, and finally decided to create an account.

As far as my position on Peak Oil, I don't expect to see the world go down in flames, or anything as sudden and dramatic as some believe, but I wouldn't be surprised to see some big changes in my lifetime. I just do what I can for now to avoid being part of the problem.

In any case, thank you all for providing a great source of information.

[NeoPeasant]

Isn't the sophomore year about the time teens excitedly look forward to getting a license and joining the ranks of the hopelessly auto dependent? Maybe you could consider, and point out to your friends the pitfalls of auto dependency. Drive if you must, but don't paint yourself into the corner of having to. Try to include walkable or transit oriented housing and employment in your plans for the future. When making college choices, think about how walkable, bikeable, and transit friendly the campus and housing is.

Not to mention career choices. How relevant will the career of your dreams be in an economy descending to subsistance level?

These are things I wish I had thought about when I was your age.