[blukatzen]

I would say all of the above of what previous folks have posted, but with a ramping up of the problems caused by aberrant weather patterns due to GW/Climate change. THAT is the real "wild card", that NO ONE can control.
(Excepting those that believe in HAARP.)

[dinopello]

I'm torn, it's either when we no longer have the capacity to make cheese doodles to eat - or, more likely, when the only thing we can make to eat is cheese doodles.

TGIF!

[NEOPO]

When everyone agrees the government MIHOP or LIHOP 9/11
When people who think firearms are going to save them give up their guns for jesus
When people who think they can gaurd their suburban home from zombie hordes wind up on the bar-b
When the only neocon's in existence are those in power

Otherwise the 1st world is going to continue to suck the blood out of the earth regardless of the consequences.

TSHTF means I will be okay but my god tells me that yer fooked!

[I_Like_Plants]

It will be a steady process of things getting shittier, except for sudden events such as Katrina, or the Straits of Hormuz being blocked and fuel rationing, or things like that. The newspapers will constantly trumpet better times "now" or just coming up ahead, yadda yadda. Those newspapers are handy to wipe your bum with BTW when the TP runs out, in fact better get used to washing up with water now, you can use "semi potable" stuff good enough to water your garden to wash your ass....

[perdition79]

I expect the big warning sign to be diesel fuel scarcity, and a stop to the grocery stores' food deliveries. From there, I assume things will deteriorate into the typical garden-variety widespread panic/mad max/doomer porn fantasy.

Clean your bathtubs weekly, and be ready to fill them with potable water right around the time the grocery stores start running out of food.

[max_power29]

Yes I think it will start when the trucking business becomes completely disfunctional as well as power outages that last longer than 1 to 2 weeks. I think in about 5 years it will be obvious that the shit has hit the fan.

I agree also that it hits the fan on a family level whenever someone loses a "good job" and cannot ever find another "good" one. this has been happening and increasing every day since the 70's (peak of prosperity) in the united states.

[Fredrik]

I believe there will be several "decisive moments", at different times in different parts of the world. I would assume the biggest to be the day when the irreversibility of PO will be published as a fact in the mainstream media. I don't expect this to happen before the evidence is obvious, though. Even then many will bitterly resist the idea, because of its fatal implications (post-PO times will offer no hope of growth, at best only hope of survival, and that with a much more frugal living standard than most people could fathom).

[JohnLudi]

As I see it, we basicaly have a lynchpin economy with SOME redundency...but some of those lynchpins just can't be replaced.

Trucking is one of those, for example.

If trucking (or the electrical grid, etc) falls apart, all bets are off. I would expect that the government would make a perfunctory show of trying to fill the gap, but it would make post-Katrina New Orleans look like a model of efficiency.

Given the current level of acceptable behavior in our culture, I'd say well within a month of such a breakdown we'd be in Lord of the Flies territory.

That is my optimistic assessment...

[Newsseeker]

I would expect an increasingly difficult life for all until the SHTF, the grid starts failing, there's not enough gas for vehicles and food production is affected thus starting the die off.

[mmasters]

What max_power said.

Any way it goes it's going to be ugly and we'll never have as fruitful an overall economy as today for the masses. It may get ok for the upper 10% after something like the Amero, but I wouldn't expect much more. Viruses, diseases, slow poisioning and war will overwhelm and devour the general populace.

[Fredrik]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Newsseeker', 'I') would expect an increasingly difficult life for all until the SHTF, the grid starts failing, there's not enough gas for vehicles and food production is affected thus starting the die off.

[Last_Laff]

Is there a thread somewhere on this site about employment and jobs? I don't remember seeing one because its a vital issue.

[PrairieMule]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('max_power29', 'Y')es I think it will start when the trucking business becomes completely disfunctional as well as power outages that last longer than 1 to 2 weeks. I think in about 5 years it will be obvious that the shit has hit the fan.

I agree also that it hits the fan on a family level whenever someone loses a "good job" and cannot ever find another "good" one. this has been happening and increasing every day since the 70's (peak of prosperity) in the united states.

[ucosty]

I guess it could end up a bit like dark angel sans the genetically engineered people. Heavily restricted movement with government checkpoints, high inflation. Actually it will probably be worse than that. I can't really see our government effectively enacting or doing anything at all. Crash crash here we come

[PrairieMule]

I remember a few years ago reading Timebomb 2000, as we all know it didn't turn out as predicted. I did however extract one good concept from the book that could be used in Doom 101.

America can be described as a table with four legs. The four legs consist of transportation, utilities, communication, and commerce. Take away any one of the table legs and our dinner hits the floor.

Oh as we all know every one of those things are contingent on cheap abundant energy.

Have a nice doom!

[Baldwin]

I expect that in America, Canada, britain...the 1st world, we will see the rest of the world fall apart before us.

Get real people, this isn't going to be something where the sheeple wake up on October 10th, go to their 9-5 job, then wake up on the 11th to find the world has ended.

Latin America, Asia, the ME, and Africa will collapse first. This will be difficult to discern for the sheeple who will write off the watered down news reports as "Same old, same old 3rd world chaos lolz". I would say to watch Cuba, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Brazil, and Mexico. When you see major abnormal upheaval, then you know that it is time to clean out the bathtub.

Otherwise, the situations of crashing markets, and food shortages will become reality. The 1st world, particularly America, will be able to feed off the rest of the world for a little while after the Southern Hemisphere nations have collapsed. Not long, but for a little while this will happen.

Has anyone seen the new shell commercial where the scientist admits that the days of easily accessible oil are gone? (yes, that was said verbatim) Unfortunately then the commercial devolves with the "bendy straw" drill. IE technology will save us.

[dinopello]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PrairieMule', 'I') remember a few years ago reading Timebomb 2000, as we all know it didn't turn out as predicted

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('zensui', 'E')xactly what are you expecting when TSHTF?