by Schneider » Tue 06 May 2008, 00:04:46
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('usncom', 'S')trangely enough I first kept hearing the term "peak oil" thrashed around in a high performance automobile enthusiast forum. On a whim I decided to investigate the subject independently. I was shocked and dumbfounded at what I've found. I can't believe reputable scientists/geologists have been predicting this for some time but this has not been pushed out into the mainstream.
I'm still in the process of objectively examining both sides of the issue. In the meantime my girlfriend swears I'm obsessed with this subject. I find myself slipping the topic in every chance I get without mentioning the buzz word "peak oil". In my profession as a patrol officer, I practically live out of my car at work so even as I'm driving around in the Ford guzzlin gas I can't stop thinking about it.
I even had a dream about the subject. I was filling up gas in a really old car from the seventies. Gasoline was spilling all over the place as I was putting it in the tank. There was even a special drainage bin in the ground for the spilt fuel going in the cars as if this was normal. I tried to drive off and the fuel started leaking out like crazy from the hose near the fuel pump. I was on my way to a college class but I was worried I wouldn't make it because of the leaking hose I was so desperatly trying to fix.
As I sit here getting ready to take a break by playing "Frontline Fuel of War" (yes, oddly enough someone has made a video game based on a peak oil scenario), I wonder if its all just a fad. The religious overtones of armeggedon and societal collapse seem rather ironic given my first impression of alot of people on these forums are that they are agnostic or atheist. Apocalyptic predictions stemming from an us vs them mentality tend to be dead wrong. Our nation's religious past is littered with cults and sects whose doomsday apocalyptic visions never came to pass.
Ok I'm starting to ramble, this is my first post, and my impressions as listed above are only first impressions. The thing that stands out in all my research of this is the graphs and the solid science behind it.
Hello usncom,
First..don't push yourself too hard, you got a LOT to learn, the first being the way of life you're used to is doomed

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The second is to NOT go screaming around, i can tell you it won't do anything good..study, learn and adapt..at best, you can drop small bits of infos around you but no more.
The first FIVE ACTIONS i might advice you to do are:
1) Take a couple of empty 2L coca cola bottles , rince then use them to store a bit of water (3 days is the minimum, so it mean 2 liters of water a day = AT THE VERY LEAST 6 LITERS).
2) Buy a GOOD sleeping bag! The more adapted to your climate the better ; a sleeping bag can be your protection againt a lot of things (water, sun, camouflage if with a cammo net, etc)..If it is a good quality one, if you buy a large plastic tarp , it will be your shelter, your blanket, the thing who will keep your ass dry and warm.
Trust me, trying to sleep while being wet and cold in a mud pit with nothing to protect you is one of the miserable experience you don't wanna learn ..BTDT

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3) This one will make you laugh..buy yourself a big jar of peanuts butter if you're not allergic..it have carbs, fats, proteins, it is a self countained food source who doesn't need to be eated or processed ! A 1 kg jar and a small bottle of multi-vitamins can get you moving for a while..
4) Buy yourself one of theses stainless steel bottle/canteen of the US army circa 1956-Vietnam. You can boil water in the canteen and store it in the bottle and you can cook in the canteen as well.
5) A good poncho..will keep you dry and cut the wind cooling factor a bit..Put it will a aluminum emergency space blanket and you're good to go for many climate.
Having a good knife , lighters and/or water proof matchs and a few candles doesn't hurt

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It's not much, it's cheap and theses will help you to calm down by securing your short term survival

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