[django]

Remember that article that Zardoz posted about ecologists trying to fight depression? Well, it mentioned how most of the doomers are upper-middle age or even elderly, like Suzuki or Lovelock and then it just sort of trails off when it talks about the younger generation. Well, I can tell you what it's like being 17 and facing PO/GW.

IT FUCKING SUCKS.

What the hell does Lovelock have to care about regarding Gaia's revenge on humans? The man is nearing his 90's! He's in the twilight of his life and he'll have gone into that good night before it even starts. But me? I've got at least 50 more years.

I mean, think about Reagan! He got elected, appointed members of his cabinet that did enough damage to the environment to give E.O. Wilson nightmares for the rest of his life, and then got Alzheimers and died at the age of 94. What a undeservingly good life that man got! He spent 8 years as president, spent the next 6 years being hailed as the greatest conservative president ever and then, before anyone with a scrap of info regarding global warming can get to him, he starts degrading into a dumb, blissful state of unaware. Lucky him.

I feel as though people owe me an apology. You know how people talk about environmental destruction and how it will affect "our children"? Well, that's all fine, but they never say it to our face. They talk about it like a Ms. America talks about how bad it is that people are starving while doing little or nothing to do anything about it. The sentiment is "Oh, what a shame". But now, "the children" i.e. myself now KNOW about this. There are days I feel like walking around my neighborhood, knocking on doors, and yelling at all the people alive during the last 30 years and scream at them.

I even had dreams of relatively simple living. I would get a job as a music teacher, live in the city, never using a car, and making a moderate income, buying vegetarian organic and all that. But it seems to be coming to a close.

This is awful.

[threadbear]

Don't EVER give up. Just remain as flexible as you can be, see the problems as a chance to be heroic, even in small ways--like creating a small footprint, as you had planned. Don't cave in. I don't blame you for being disgusted with your elders and think it's a great idea to let them know.

I'm afraid we are going to suffer for our sins. Granny bashing is bound to increase.

[gg3]

Django, what country and what region do you live in? (Note, I'm not asking for town or anything more specific than e.g. "northeast US", and don't give out anything more specific than that online.)

The most important thing you can do right now is to take advantage of whatever opportunities you have for learning: starting with math and and the sciences, and also with trade skills that will be viable in a collapse scenario (about the latter there are many topics on this site).

Also spread with word among your friends but do it quietly and subtly, to get them to think it out and reason for themselves: they will end up coming to similar conclusions about the future.

In times of decline & fall, the winning strategy has three essential components: a) establish base communities that are long-term viable, b) preserve useful knowledge to enable rebuilding after the collapse, and c) encourage the needed behavior changes in society-at-large. The best fictional account of this strategy is Azimov's Foundation trilogy: read it and consider how to apply those lessons to what we now face.

Thus, find others who are already in agreement about the key points of the sustainability crises and their solutions. Work with them and move toward establishing sustainable community; this will probably mean rural and agricultural. You & your group of friends & family could also join forces with another group that already exists (there are many, use common sense in evaluating them and choosing a group with which to collaborate).

You should also be saving money to the extent possible; you'll need it to build community and do the various outreach functions. Start now and keep at it: a little each month adds up quickly.

It's natural to get depressed and angry about what we all are facing. When you're depressed give yourself time to rest and gather strength. When you're angry, turn the energy of anger toward accomplishing a constructive task. Beyond despair and anger, one of the greatest sources of strength and energy is love: in the partnership of a committed relationship, and in your relationships with family and friends.

It is for those who we love, as much as it is for our own ideals and for the facts of the times we face, that we are willing to do the hard work of building a world that is sane, humane, and sustainable.

[Micki]

Most teenagers seem depressed, no matter what age or time they live in.
My grandfather was in WW2 from when he was 18 to when he was 22, so don't think you are the first generation to face some tought times. (Not to talk about all the teenager who more recently went through Culture revolution, Pol Pot, Biafra, Rwanda etc.)
I think it is a minority of teenagers who do not have to face tough challenges.
You at least can be part of the generation that set things right again after the older generations tried to f*ck it all up. It comes down to attitude.

[Heineken]

django, although I'm middle-aged, I felt the same way you did when I was a teenager (and even a child). I wrote letters to newspapers about overpopulation, the trashing of the environment, and the risks of endless mindless growth. I read many topical books (e.g., "The Population Bomb") and terrorized my friends with my opinions and knowledge. I became quite the little treehugger (although we didn't call them that then).

All to no avail, of course.

Although Threadbear is probably right that the older generations are going to be blamed and possibly beaten to death by you young sprouts someday, remember that at least some of us shared and even acted on your views when we were young.

Although perhaps we don't deserve any extra years at this point, I'd like to enlighten you that although older people have fewer years left to live than do you, that time is still precious to us.

[EnergyUnlimited]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')I hate being a teenager now

[Heineken]

If he survives the upheaval, EnergyUnlimited---a dubious proposition.

[django]

Threadbear, thanks for the words of encouragemnet. Heineken, I full well realize that many of my elders tried to help the situation, but I can't even afford to look in hindsight right now. I'm not REALLY going to kill/torture my elders, but I FEEL like that some times.

gg3, I do in fact live in the U.S. Northeast. As for math and sciences, what specifically should I learn more about and how? I was most unfortunate to get a chemistry teacher who knew about as much as a billy goat and never took much away from what might have been a rewarding course. I've now dropped both math and science from my schedule. Also, once I learn these skills, how should I apply them to the situation at hand.

I've been subtly spreading the word out. Yesterday, my friends and I were talking about issues, and one of my friends, a kid who never even thought about the environment said, "I will agree that Global Warming is a serious problem". Of course, my other friend just said that "yeah, it's important but there are more pressing issues like border security". I guess that's a microcosm of how the world looks at it.

My community is very friendly towards each other, but there are subtle problems. 1.) it is a suburb and they are interested in material prosperity 2.) They're all middle-aged. So maybe more down the road, I'll find my community, but it isn't here.

I actually should start printing out hard copies of my information so that they can be shared offhand with people.

[morph]

im also a teenager (16) living in the UK. I'm doing my a levels at the moment and studying maths, biology, chemistry and physics as this is what interests me and what im good at.
I still feel really confused about the future,i have no idea apart from science in general at what job i want to do. I haver found a few university courses that seem really interesting about renewable energy so should i apply or stay debt free? and at the end of it will the actual peak oil have already passed and there be no jobs for me to have? My plans for the future seem to change from day to day depending on the mood. Somedays i wish the collapse would just happen now so we can get it over with.

So just prepare yourself as well as you can and know that atleast your know the problem which is more than most other people know

[jeezlouise]

Your anger is understandable. Use it for something constructive. But do remember, the course we are on was set by our genetic ancestry. We are, as homo sapiens, hardwired to hunt and gather as much as possible; it helped us survive when times were a lot more dicey, thousands upon thousands of years ago. This instinct has carried over into the modern world, as reflected by our orgiastic consumer habits, and is ironically now making it harder for us to survive. We really only had one small span of time where we even had a shot at saving ourselves from ourselves - from the beginning of the 1960's (when GW/ PO were only just barely beginning to register on the radar) to the end of the 1970's (when it was pretty much too late to stop either). This trans-generational game of hot potato ended with the generation before yours, so they're the ones who will recieve the backlash.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('django', 'A')s for math and sciences, what specifically should I learn more about and how?

[threadbear]

Practical skills like shoe repair, small appliance repair, carpentry skills, etc...People won't be throwing things away. As the dollar loses value a microwave, for example, will become way more expensive, so when it breaks, people will be more inclined to want to fix it. Same with shoes. Just about everything that is cheap right now will become very expensive. Reconditioning of computer and computer parts, too, a good job in the future.

I went to a talk given by Catherine Austin Fitts, who is also located in the NorthEast, USA. She has started something called the Solari network, which addresses surviving the coming economic environmental and social problems. Her accent on downsizing and sustainable living in intentional communities is a dynamic and revolutionary idea. Please get in touch with her association. She'll point you in the right direction and at the very least she'll try to put you in touch with people in your area, who are of like mind.

http://www.solari.com/



Explaining the tapeworm--interview with Fitts.

Following Catherine's reasoning requires attention. Listening to her is like crossing a creek on stepping stones: you only touch the surface of the water, even though it runs very, very deep. Most of all, Catherine's upbeat outlook always leaves you encouraged. She sees the future as it ought to be, & believes that it can be, too.

MONEYCHANGER? What is the American Tapeworm" or the "negative return on investment economy"?

FITTS Thats an economy with two classes of players, the insiders & the outsiders. The insiders are constantly subsidised at the expense of the outsiders, like a tapeworm, a parasite that eats through the body. The parasites engineer the economy to drain it for their benefit, consolidating wealth & economic power by liquidating wealth, people, environment, & economic productivity, all to fatten the Tapeworm.

MONEYCHANGER "Liquidate & transfer to others" isn't exactly "transferring assets," although that can happen as a privatisation.

FITTS The thousands of recipes in the Joy of Cooking cookbook are all still recipes. The "Tapeworm" doesn't drain us by one recipe alone.

http://www.solari.com/articles/MoneyCha ... erview.htm

[Zardoz]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('django', '.')..Well, I can tell you what it's like being 17 and facing PO/GW.

IT FUCKING SUCKS.

...I feel as though people owe me an apology. You know how people talk about environmental destruction and how it will affect "our children"? Well, that's all fine, but they never say it to our face.

[Concerned]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('django', ' ')

I even had dreams of relatively simple living. I would get a job as a music teacher, live in the city, never using a car, and making a moderate income, buying vegetarian organic and all that. But it seems to be coming to a close.

This is awful.

[threadbear]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Concerned', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('django', ' ')

I even had dreams of relatively simple living. I would get a job as a music teacher, live in the city, never using a car, and making a moderate income, buying vegetarian organic and all that. But it seems to be coming to a close.

This is awful.

[coyote]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('django', 'I') even had dreams of relatively simple living. I would get a job as a music teacher, live in the city, never using a car, and making a moderate income, buying vegetarian organic and all that. But it seems to be coming to a close.

This is awful.

[americandream]

Us commies spent decades trying to wise these capitalist nutjobs to the dangers of blingedy bling living...but did they listen....nope...instead we were maligned, murdered and those of us whom they could buy out were paid for, brain and conscience,

(can you believe it..these maniacs want to unravel Cuba....crazy monkeysucking morons).

so, suckers....use your fucking open market to save the planet! Dead humans walking....hahahahahaha!

Yer numbers up BOY!

[Micki]

Can we please try to calm down this recentment towards older generations please.
Yes the older generations did use up the oil. But that is coinsidental. If the people who were young now had the chance, THEY would be the ones using up the oil.
I've got two kids, one in the late teens. Both use electricity like it was limitless. TV's are left on when no one is watching. Ligths are turned on everywhere they go and not turned off when they leave, the old one would take his car if he had to get 100 metres to the post box.
Independently of which generation it is, and I would say this especially applies to younger people, we try to maximise comfort and that to a large degree involves use of "other" (not own) energy.

If any anger must be directed anywhere, it should be to seek out those who knew about PO and didn't help take out the message to the rest of the people.

[mrobert]

What I do, is slowly stash up things that can be used in crysis situations.

It will be up to each individual to save himself.

[cracemosa]

Django,

Good advice have been given.

One thing I have been thinking about is, that being in middle age right now, I am past prime.

Being a teenager now means, you might be in your prime when bad things happen, and that will be important. It's easier then to work the soil, or do other bodily work, and react in a flexible manner.

You are also not as burdened by previous life decisions, have not accumulated much dept, if any. You might not have many commitments (like children to care for and worry about).

Someone also said, and I agree, that you belong to those who might see both the world before and after. You will once be able to pass on important insights to those who come after you.

It will be easier for people of your age to make the best of a bad situation. Maybe you are not off that bad, compared to older folks.

C. Racemosa

[Heineken]

Age is a huge issue for all individuals considering how to prepare for post-PO collapse. It is also a wild card because we cannot know how old we will be when it starts to happen.

Although he can still probably outmuscle most teenagers, Farmer Heineken is getting creaky at 51 and can see the writing on the wall. Strength per se isn't the issue so much as flexibility, endurance, and ability to heal quickly from the small injuries that frequently plague anyone who works on the land.

The older set, including many of the well-prepared survivalists among them, will be quickly swept away in a real collapse scenario unless they live with devoted younger family members or as a part of some sort of "community." Most survivalists aren't really social animals, though, and make a credible case that being part of a community could work as much against you as for you.

The younger set will be tougher and more resilient, but their deficits in experience, knowledge, and resources could prove similarly disabling and indeed fatal.