PeakOil is You
the perfect storm, oil and people
Re: the perfect storm, oil and people
by Don35 » Sun 03 Dec 2006, 11:11:03
I freaked out on my first PO discovery and obsessed in a big way. Wife got mad, things got worse. Now we are splitting up. And there are lots of other problems besides PO. Good side is I’ll have no debt, no house and be able to spend more time building a lifeboat w/ others. Moral of the story: hell I don’t know. Is there ever really a moral to a story?
Everybody thinks they're righteous! Adam Baldwin "Jayne" Firefly/Serenity
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Don35 - Peat
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Re: the perfect storm, oil and people
by shortonoil » Sun 03 Dec 2006, 11:25:05
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I have long since given up the attempt to inform, warn people on PO. The situation is just complicated enough, and the average person on the street is so intellectually challenged in areas of science and technology, in general, that most of the time, attempting an explanation resembles trying to describe the operation of a microwave to an ant. They just don’t have the basic skills needed to comprehend the overwhelming contribution that oil has on our modern technologically based culture. Nor, can they understand how a small decline in the energy that we get from this black gooy stuff, that comes from some hole in the ground, in some country they have never heard of, can and will completely destroy the life style that they have come to accept, so dogmatically, as the perpetual state of human affairs.
I have been able to get some people, to whom I am close, to take precautions, without bringing the aspect of peak oil into the discussion. You can talk them into reducing their debt, cutting out unnecessary expenditures, which they will soon be doing anyway, and generally accepting common sense approaches to living - these they can understand. The Great Depression, fortunately, is still in the minds of people, and people sense, for the most part, that something is very much askew, even though they have no idea at all, as to what it is.
Perhaps, Paulson and our FED’s chief planned visit to China next month, can forestall the economic wreckage that oil’s spirally price has already littered our landscape with; perhaps not. Time will tell. But, the unwinding of the world’s great economies will, to soon, be commencing. Prepare the people that you are close to, as best you can
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I have long since given up the attempt to inform, warn people on PO. The situation is just complicated enough, and the average person on the street is so intellectually challenged in areas of science and technology, in general, that most of the time, attempting an explanation resembles trying to describe the operation of a microwave to an ant. They just don’t have the basic skills needed to comprehend the overwhelming contribution that oil has on our modern technologically based culture. Nor, can they understand how a small decline in the energy that we get from this black gooy stuff, that comes from some hole in the ground, in some country they have never heard of, can and will completely destroy the life style that they have come to accept, so dogmatically, as the perpetual state of human affairs.
I have been able to get some people, to whom I am close, to take precautions, without bringing the aspect of peak oil into the discussion. You can talk them into reducing their debt, cutting out unnecessary expenditures, which they will soon be doing anyway, and generally accepting common sense approaches to living - these they can understand. The Great Depression, fortunately, is still in the minds of people, and people sense, for the most part, that something is very much askew, even though they have no idea at all, as to what it is.
Perhaps, Paulson and our FED’s chief planned visit to China next month, can forestall the economic wreckage that oil’s spirally price has already littered our landscape with; perhaps not. Time will tell. But, the unwinding of the world’s great economies will, to soon, be commencing. Prepare the people that you are close to, as best you can
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shortonoil - False ETP Prophet
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Re: the perfect storm, oil and people
by threadbear » Sun 03 Dec 2006, 13:52:58
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Don35', 'I') freaked out on my first PO discovery and obsessed in a big way. Wife got mad, things got worse. Now we are splitting up. And there are lots of other problems besides PO. Good side is I’ll have no debt, no house and be able to spend more time building a lifeboat w/ others. Moral of the story: hell I don’t know. Is there ever really a moral to a story?
Lots of good advice in all of these posts.
chris-h--Wise advice--talk about depletion in political economic terms rather than geologic ones. It works with, not against, mass consciousness.
Spear--Way to go. You may have saved your brother's hide. Good deeds generally don't go unpunished by family, though. So don't hold out for the fruit basket of thanks.
Don 35--Why do you think your wife got so angry? Is this anger a red flag-- and should others be prepared to downsize, mate wise, if they get this reaction?
Does it signify a character flaw, or is it something that can be worked around if the mate is otherwise sane and fair?
I've caught major flak, on this board, for suggesting that in the presence of available economic data,(let alone peak oil data), that we should be prepared to ditch spouses, who can't make sane adjustments. I've been criticized for calling excessive shoppping what it usually is, pure self centered self indulgence.
Some characterize compulsive shopping as a disease and the shopper as needing help from their mate. What do you think?
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threadbear - Expert
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Re: the perfect storm, oil and people
by shortonoil » Sun 03 Dec 2006, 15:36:53
threadbear said:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')'ve caught major flak, on this board, for suggesting that in the presence of available economic data,(let alone peak oil data), that we should be prepared to ditch spouses, who can't make sane adjustments. I've been criticized for calling excessive shoppping what it usually is, pure self centered self indulgence.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')'ve caught major flak, on this board, for suggesting that in the presence of available economic data,(let alone peak oil data), that we should be prepared to ditch spouses, who can't make sane adjustments. I've been criticized for calling excessive shoppping what it usually is, pure self centered self indulgence.
Since economics are the primary reason for separations, I would expect a very high level of them in the near future. PO will mean a lot more than long gas lines at the local station; it will be a change in the way we run our lives. That will include the most personal aspects of it.
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shortonoil - False ETP Prophet
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Re: the perfect storm, oil and people
by WildRose » Sun 03 Dec 2006, 17:19:54
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('shortonoil', '[')b]threadbear said:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')'ve caught major flak, on this board, for suggesting that in the presence of available economic data,(let alone peak oil data), that we should be prepared to ditch spouses, who can't make sane adjustments. I've been criticized for calling excessive shoppping what it usually is, pure self centered self indulgence.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')'ve caught major flak, on this board, for suggesting that in the presence of available economic data,(let alone peak oil data), that we should be prepared to ditch spouses, who can't make sane adjustments. I've been criticized for calling excessive shoppping what it usually is, pure self centered self indulgence.
Since economics are the primary reason for separations, I would expect a very high level of them in the near future. PO will mean a lot more than long gas lines at the local station; it will be a change in the way we run our lives. That will include the most personal aspects of it.
Shortonoil, I think you're right about expecting more marriages breaking up due to financial problems, especially those where there is already a power struggle between the couple about how to spend money. When there is little money left after paying for necessities, there will be even more of a struggle about who gets to spend what little there is left over. In the process, there will likely be much blaming going on between the couples about who got them into the mess to begin with. Then, after they split, will they be better off or in just as dire straits?
Threadbear, I agree that much excessive spending is, as you said, self-centered self-indulgence. However, I think that for many people it goes somewhat deeper than that. I've known people who use spending as a means of burying issues like low self-esteem, childhood abuse, loneliness and even boredom with their lives. Some families work hard all week just to spend their weekends in the malls and shopping is virtually the only type of outing they share. I wonder why there is such a connection between buying stuff and happiness for some families. Is it just because of culture/advertising, or is it that sharing other activities, like going for walks or playing cards, wasn't modeled for them? Or could it even be something more profound, like a deep sense of dissatisfaction with their lives that they deal with by shopping? Personally, I feel that there would be a lot less shopping going on if more people got in touch with each other and the simple joys of the outdoors.
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WildRose - Heavy Crude
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