[ShinyOldLady]

Despite all the debtor economics, oil-related politics/war, emerging nation resource sucking, etc., nothing seems to be changing around me. People aren't even driving less, let alone stopping to think before taking out a loan for another 30k pickup or SUV. No one I know saves up to buy anything, or even considers the necessity of 200 cable channels, unlimited cell phone minutes AND a land line. Maybe I just don't know anyone who has an ARM to worry about right now.

Walmart is packed. For pennies on the dollar, I buy stuff at garage sales that hasn't even been taken out of the shrink wrap. The pawnshops and QuickCashLoan places are booming.

Are you seeing any changes, and if so, what, in your area? For some reason, I was expecting oil depletion to start making a difference this year.

[lys3rg0]

Where i live, most of the people are poor by first world standards... so there isn't much cutting back to be made. But the people are very PO aware, even if they don't really know what it means and what the efffects will be like. Since the 80's, we've been told in school by our geography teachers that we'll run out by 2020. This week, the owner of the biggest refinery in the country said that oil is slowly, but surely headed for $100 and nobody even blinked... I hope we start investing in alternatives real soon, we had no wind maps until last year, and in the last few months there have been massive measurement projects all over the country by a lot of potential investors.

[Jack]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ShinyOldLady', 'T')he pawnshops and QuickCashLoan places are booming.

[billp]

I'm watching anti-Iranian BS on TV.

[mekrob]

In a rural/suburban setting, I saw my first couple of young businessmen in suits riding bikes (actually they were walking with them because there was absolutely no shoulder, which may facilitate the fact that this was the first sighting of bikers in the region). Previously, the only time I'd seen bikers were poor people and cyclists. This is quite strange for our region given the poor conditions for biking as well as a general economy that is very stable and good, compared to the rest of the nation thanks to federal investments such as a military base which makes up a substantial portion of our city and we all know that base isn't going anyway anytime soon.

[billp]

Poster is Iran trained.

[flametree]

Price today $1.41 aus ( up from 1.39)

no real signs here. We have a bus every week that picks us up and takes us home from the mine. Two guys from work drive a car there and back so they can get home a hour earlier. Price and wear and tear on the car means nothing to them. It is about 150Km

Interesting discussion at work. People fly to Bali every year to watch football matchs on tv and drink expensive beer. No sign that is changing. However an email can around asking for help in stopping people stealing copper wire in South Africa and other places, including live high voltage copper wire. No one seemed to make a connection.

[PraiseDoom]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ShinyOldLady', 'D')espite all the debtor economics, oil-related politics/war, emerging nation resource sucking, etc., nothing seems to be changing around me. People aren't even driving less, let alone stopping to think before taking out a loan for another 30k pickup or SUV. Are you seeing any changes, and if so, what, in your area? For some reason, I was expecting oil depletion to start making a difference this year.

[BastardSquad]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mekrob', 'I')n a rural/suburban setting, I saw my first couple of young businessmen in suits riding bikes (actually they were walking with them because there was absolutely no shoulder, which may facilitate the fact that this was the first sighting

[NEOPO]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BastardSquad', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mekrob', 'I')n a rural/suburban setting, I saw my first couple of young businessmen in suits riding bikes (actually they were walking with them because there was absolutely no shoulder, which may facilitate the fact that this was the first sighting

[IanC]

There are a lot more people biking in Portland these days. Okay, it's finally sunny and they represent a tiny fraction of all trips...BUT...many of them are connecting the dots and biking with a purpose. It's good to see a constiuency of oil-aware people literally walking (riding) the Talk.

Farmer's markets happen weekly in almost every part of town now days. The variety of food you can get is incredible - veggies, fruit, cheese, meat, bread, plants, seeds, nuts, cookies, wine, beer and on and on.

On the down side, most people are effing clueless about what's happening around them and just hang on til the next paycheck. I'm surrounding myself with people who get it and immersing myself in the Aware subculture to the extent that I can.

-IanC
PDX, Oregon

[emersonbiggins]

I was speaking with one of my wife's (she's a middle school teacher) coworkers, who participates in a neighborhood garden co-op. I think they pay a fee for a bag of fruits, veggies and herbs (whatever can and is grown within that neighborhood) which arrives every third week of the month. It's not all that unusual for Austin, but I think it's a good idea, though not a particularly groundbreaking one.

[UgaudaKnoUmadja]

One sign I am seeing is in the wheat fields. After harvest last summer many farmers in my area cut way back on their cultivating. Basically, many only went around one maybe two times to knock down the weeds. Good heavy cultivation obviously requires deisel and with price what they are... Well, its a serious financial drain. It basically means lower yeilds the following year and the wheat will get docked heavier because of lower content. Anhydrous ammonia (fertilazer) is made from natural gas and this is another big price hit.

I had a long talk with my Dad about this and asked him if it were possible for today's farmers to farm the large farms they have without deisel. He said it was without question impossible. Please realize that many farmers these days have such big operations that they farm many sections of land. Farmers in recent years have had to grow really big or go bankrupt because profit margins were so narrow. The only way to survive was to farm massive amounts of land. With my Dad's help (he grew up farming in the 50's) he explained the characteristics of farming back then. Basically, it was one family per quarter (1/4 section). That was all that one farming operation could handle. He produced old pictures of belt drive steam engines attached to thrashers. Major labor intensive back then. Farms were ran with back breaking labor. Families, horses, and steam engines provided the heavy lifting back then. Also, friendly neighbors were darn near essential to life.

Bottom line is that as long as deisel is available the farms will keep producing as long as its profitable. At what cost this may breakdown I don't know. However, if diesel is scarce, large sections of land will be left unused simply because the infrastructure isn't there (one family per quarter).

I image that diesel will be available for quite some time. But at what price?

[Cobra_Strike]

There where two people buying bullion coins at the jewelers when I went today....myself and an older guy, at least if things go to total crap I ought to be able to buy food with less then a wheelbarrow load of currency, or a plastic account black hole.

And if not...well...my few pounds of silver are fairly shiny. And I don't have to worry about the gold tarnishing.

Might have been nice to ask if the owner had seen a increase in buisness recently...some small talk about the Canadian dollar and oil prices made me think that he wanted me to buy more...

[PeakOiler]

Where I work, more people are starting to use the van-pool. More people are car-pooling. Some have bought smaller, more efficient cars.

I recently saw a sign at a 7-Eleven convenience store stating they no longer accept Citgo credit cards. I'm guessing the 7-Eleven no longer sells Citgo gas. (Chavez' divestment from the US is kicking in.)

[nella]

It's hard to tell here. I live in a college town and when the students leave, things naturally slow down.
I did see a request from the Meals-On-Wheels organization, asking for help with affording gas to delieve the meals to the elderly shut ins.

[kjmclark]

You guys are in the wrong parts of the country. The joint is jumping here (SE Michigan). As some wag at one of the local papers put it:

- We're number 1! (for highest gas prices in the nation)
- We're number 1! (for highest unemployment rate)
- We're number 1! (for highest foreclosure rate)
- We're number 1! (for worst state economy)
- We're number 1! (for population loss)

I'm not so sure about the foreclosure and unemployment rates, but we're in the top three if we haven't beat other states out yet.

People do not seem to be giving up their trucks and SUVs yet, but there is an eerie quiet around here; more businesses are closing than opening, real estate is mostly just sitting for sale, and you hear an awful lot about people moving out.

And, of course , it's oil industry price gouging that's the problem! Did you notice that it was one of our legislators that sponsored the NOPEC legislation? It is also one of our legislators that sponsored the anti-gouging legislation. As many people have said, the political system is not likely to deal well with peak oil. TS is HTF here in Michigan, and everyone gets to deal with the lousy response of our politicians to the problem.

[What_Went_Wrong]

We are all good for now, but there is strong evidence that the UK government is planning for a big energy crisis (but this is nothing new).

But for now, people are still frequenting the bar I work at, wasting money on $10 a pack cigarettes, over priced food and liqueur. As I believe in a fast collapse coming in the next few years, I find all this very surreal to witness. No one knows whats about to hit them.

EDIT: Sorry, I forgot I was in the Americas forums.

[RonMN]

One thing I've noticed lately is drivers are getting very angry. Darn good thing I drive a 12 year old bronco because very few people are willing to sacrifice their lives by running into me.

Just the other day I'm sitting at a red light with about 10 cars infront of me, while the guy behind me is honking & swearing at me out of his window to "get out of his way" (I smiled & blew him a kiss). But i'm thinking...where does he think he's gonna go?

I think people KNOW soemthing bad is afoot...but they're either to stupid to spend any time thinking about it...or they're just intentionally keeping themselves blissfully ignorant.

[vision-master]

More cyclists in town. Yes, driver manners seem to be getting worse.

The other day I seen a cyclist hauling this trailer. I mentioned to my buddy, What's this all about as the trailer said "peace coffee" on the side.

"They deliver product by bicycle".

"Cool, post peak ready"!

Peace Coffee delivers coffee by bike courier where ever possible to save fossil fuels. Our motto is "Roast beans, not fossil fuel." These are a few of our biker stories…

http://www.peacecoffee.com/pedaling.htm