[brentmeister]

Guest, gold and silver are not barter items, they are/will be a medium of exchange. Just like now, you can buy food by exchanging it for useless bits of paper or useless bits in a computer somewhere. As long as the next guy has faith in these bits, then you can buy things with them. From past historical experience, many people are expecting that gold & silver will function in the same manner when faith is lost in the current precarious arrangements. Money is an extremely useful item, especially when noone else has got none.

[everything-is-fine]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Golgo13', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('tdrive', 'A')lso suggested to buy energy futures with delivery dates
past 2010. Currently light sweet crude oil is the only one traded that far.

But beware, all those are very risky. With high potential profit
you have to be prepared for high risk (think of losing your shirt).

[Guest]

Sure, but what will the recieving party (the one getting the gold) buy with the gold?

*More food: back to square one

*nothing: They might have trouble buying something

*something usefull: Who will have this if every one stored their wealth as gold and will that person accept the gold?

Sure, gold will be usefull post-dieoff but during the event who needs it?

[deconstructionist]

how about making money without investing it? like working? does anyone forsee a profitable future as an engineer working towards sustainable energy development?

[lorenzo]

This entire topic is senseless because based on a flawed starting point. There will be no crisis whatsoever. People will get better from the very gradual process of oil depletion, since it forces us into new technologies, which will create millions of jobs.
We're all going to benefit from these changes, certainly when you consider that energy alternatives will be built locally, no longer dependent on imports from the Middle East.

Just take the example of biodiesel: (don't laugh) Pacific coconut farmers went bankrupt en masse because prices for their product had declined dramatically over the years because of overproduction; meanwhile oil prices rose. Now they are using their farms to produce competitive coco-diesel, which brings profits, and new jobs. Sounds ridiculous? Well, Lula, the president of Brazil is extatic about turning his country into a biodiesel exporting nation, which again will create millions of jobs and bring profits, to local Brazilians who otherwise had nothing to do with energy policies (which were based on oil imports by big multinational companies).

The same will happen when other nations start to produce other alternatives; Iceland has created thousands of new jobs in the eco-energy sector.

There are plenty of other examples.

[persimmon]

Just remember that the economic pie will be shrinking rather than expanding. On the average what you make will be less than before.

Some individuals always get a bigger peice of the pie, so yes it is possible to make money in hard times, but it is harder than it is in good times.

Example, is that it was easy to make money in the stock market while it was going up wildly, but since the bias has been sideways to down in the last few years, only those with exceptional ability have been making money.

[OilIsMastery]

As far as common stocks are concerned, Matthew Simmons of http://www.simmonsco-intl.com/ likes "oil services" and "deep sea drillers." This means Schlumberger (SLB), Halliburton (HAL), Transocean (RIG), and GlobalSantaFe (GSF). SLB is the only one that looks overvalued.

[Tyler_JC]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TylerJC', 'I')f this is a possibility, we might want to investigate it. When Rome fell, there were people who profited. When the Depression happened, there were people who profited.

Side note: profit will come at the cost of human suffering

As a group, we might want to think about ways to make money off of the gradual decline of society. If we can, our chances of maintaining any kind of comfortable lifestyle increase dramatically.

Even the in Dark Ages, there were kings and nobles with luxury goods. This may sound selfish, and it is, but how do we get a seat at the table? I don't want to end up as a serf on some corn plantation. I don't want to enslave anyone else either. I'm wondering what kind of skills I'll need to survive in a shrinking economy.

I have 2 ideas.
1st buy silver (the price is set to explode)
2nd buy a gun (I can steal what I need)

If the transition is slow and orderly, the first idea is the best.
If the transition is quick and painful, the second makes more sense.

[OilIsMastery]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tyler_JC', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TylerJC', 'I')f this is a possibility, we might want to investigate it. When Rome fell, there were people who profited. When the Depression happened, there were people who profited.

Side note: profit will come at the cost of human suffering

As a group, we might want to think about ways to make money off of the gradual decline of society. If we can, our chances of maintaining any kind of comfortable lifestyle increase dramatically.

Even the in Dark Ages, there were kings and nobles with luxury goods. This may sound selfish, and it is, but how do we get a seat at the table? I don't want to end up as a serf on some corn plantation. I don't want to enslave anyone else either. I'm wondering what kind of skills I'll need to survive in a shrinking economy.

I have 2 ideas.
1st buy silver (the price is set to explode)
2nd buy a gun (I can steal what I need)

If the transition is slow and orderly, the first idea is the best.
If the transition is quick and painful, the second makes more sense.

[simontay78]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Anonymous', 'H')ow to profit from a decline in oil? Simple really.

Look for the alternatives to oil and then work at bringing those alternatives to market. If you have a home that is energy self sufficient then the effect of peak oil on your life will be dramatically reduced.

Once the general public becomes aware of peak oil and its implications there is going to be a HUGE demand for products that allow energy self sufficiency and the people that can make/install/maintain them.

Rather than sit here with the knowledge of impending doom and feeling helpless about it, lets position ourselves to profit from the experience and help our fellow man.

So, do you know how to install a solar system? Do you know how to make a wind turbine? Do you know how to build a composting unit that will create and store methane gas?

The opportunities are there and fairly easy to see if you are able to resist the paralysis of fear.