THE "Telling Others About Peak Oil" Thread pt 1 (merged) Ar.

[Gridlock]

Thanks kasunart. The problem I have is that I feel my folks should be able to enjoy their retirement. I realise that is baseless. I would guess most of us went through some sort of depression when we discovered po. I would hate to put that on other people. Lutherquick, I think you are right. But from my own experience tonight, well I’d rather have been laughed at. It’s funny, we won’t talk about it again for ages, but it will always be there. I beat po depression sometime back, so personally it’s not a concern. I just have to wonder whether I shouldn’t keep my mouth shut, as difficult as that can be.

[lutherquick]

Gridlock,

I was actually threatened... I will not be elaborate on a forum, but will if via email.
Talking about peak oil is an ugly issue. Because if it's true, allot of wealth in America is at jeopardy.
So be it, that wealth will be lost. But new wealth will be gained by those that can look PO dead in it's face...

Here is a flash movie http://www.ipenergy.com/movie.htm , it was on http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/ but I think he took it off because it's a little heavy on bandwidth... Read the first parts of the flash presentation. It's 14 Meg.

There is too much group think going on... Imagine, being in a bar with friends, everyone is drunk, it starts to turn into a brewhaha, after awhile, everyone starts to talk in trends, slowly, they think the same way... you end up only saying what others expect, that's life today... you can't say what's on your mind, you must say what others expect... so much for democracy and being an individual...

This what our economy has done to us.
And if anyone delivers bad news, kill'em.
That's the attitude and the message.

So I think there will be two poles in America, the thinkers who understand peak oil and those that can't deal with reality. Peak oil will also separate those two into survivors and those that die off.

Study Gridlock, pick a career that is good for post peak. But most important keep an open mind, heck maybe abiotic oil is true, and maybe there are wmd in Iraq...

[Laurasia]

It took me about a fortnight, well maybe 3-4 weeks, to get over the shock & mourning when I first found out about Peak Oil. Your Dad will get over it too; he'll just have to work through it in his own way. After all, you said you got over it okay and that you're not a Doomer. So talk him round to your point of view - that times may be rough, but things can be done to prepare which will help people through. In a way, it's better that he's had to "bite the bullet" which shows that he gets it, instead of hiding his head in the sand. You seem to be fairly close, so this could be something you could view as a sort of joint project - after all, two heads are better than one!

I told my own Mum about it two years and she got it immediately, since she'd always had a bad feeling about overconsumption (of everything, really, not just oil). Unfortunately we are separated by the Atlantic Ocean. My own sister (with whom my Mum lives) got it too, and so our Transatlantic telephone calls are often taken up with this topic! So families can work together on this, wherever they are!

Regards,

L.

[Gridlock]

Lutherquick

I’m sorry to hear that, though I am indeed intrigued, I’ve found your posts are quite enlightening from a Western perspective.

Thankfully, I don’t think politics is quite taboo here (in the UK), though it will be shortly.

I feel I’ve done enough study. My future studies will be in organic farming and home-brew wine.

I’m still grappling with the issue of whether it is right to inform others about po. That probably makes me a bit of a pinko-liberal-commie tit. Oh well.

Laurasia that is probably one of the most heartening things I’ve read. Thank you for that.

[lutherquick]

Gridlock,

No big deal... I can deal with anything...
"organic farming and home-brew wine" that's great...
My father does both and I want to spend more time with him and learn about that... He also raises bees, that should be fun....

Yet, me at 41 I'm wrapped up in software developement... I still think that will be an important part of the economy even after peak... Some think it will be the stone age, but that's stupid... Maybe it would be if war is the solution.

Regardless, America will need to get off their asses and start working soon.

There is going to be allot of activity in energy efficiancy and frankly anthing to do with productivity gains... For the last 30 years it's been BIGGER with everything... Cars dropped in efficancy and people got fatter...

So for me, I see great gains in energy managment software, trans seasonal thermal storage, localization for food, building materials, I could go on.... but the future looks good to me... as long as America backs off a little stops with it's war crap, that's my only worry. America is the only variable, everyone else is dealing with PO with the asumption that they can win. America, is scared and is eyeing resources from others.

Whatever you do, be professional, know business inside and out.

[zberry]

I tried to explain peak oil to my dad, and showed him End of Suburbia, but he fell asleep. He just told me not to worry, that it would happen slowly, and besides there's nothing you can do about it anyway. I came away feeling like I should have just kept my mouth shut, but I had to try. I don't plan on discussing topic with him again soon.

[LadyRuby]

Frankly, there may not be much point to telling this to someone who is retired, in his or her 70s or 80s or so. I mean, what will it do for them other than possibly make them feel guilty or depressed that others that follow will have a harder time?

But gridlock, it sounds like your father already had a good sense of the issues. But no one knows how this is all going to play out. People have developed scenarios, but no one really knows if we'll use our ingenuity and flexibility to cope better than the doomiest of the doomers expect. We may get through okay. So if you tell you dad we'll have our own "Great Depression" so to speak, is that really the end of the world?

[pstarr]

Here is a flash movie http://www.ipenergy.com/movie.htm

any idea why this doesn't work. I reloaded the flashplayer an' everthang

[Vexed]

Your dad sounds like pretty cool guy Gridlock.

Sounds like he gave you a fair listen.

------------------------------------------------------------

Years ago, I informed my dad about the PO issue, and he returned the favor by teaching me about the very lethal direction the states are headed in economically.

It was a real father/son moment.

[Golgo13]

Here is a flash movie http://www.ipenergy.com/movie.htm

any idea why this doesn't work. I reloaded the flashplayer an' everthang

I looked at the code for the page and extracted the source of the flash.

Check it out here.

[Gridlock]

He just told me not to worry, that it would happen slowly, and besides there's nothing you can do about it anyway.

That’s exactly what I thought I would hear from my Dad. That you shouldn’t worry about events outside your control. PO is out of my control, but I can at least prepare, although I think it will unfold gradually over decades.

I won’t bring PO up out of the blue in conversation. I never have, but if someone talks about oil prices et al then I will mention Hubbert’s work. People can take it or leave it, laugh or cry. I can’t be responsible for that.

I was quite surprised at how informed he was about oil. He rarely goes on the internet, so he’d have got the info from mainstream sources. The thing that shocked me was I could literally see a crystalisation of his thoughts, a kind of so that’s what it’s all about moment. I guess we all had that.

[seldom_seen]

So I think there will be two poles in America, the thinkers who understand peak oil and those that can't deal with reality. Peak oil will also separate those two into survivors and those that die off.

This might make one feel better to think this way, but knowledge in the midst of chaos is no guarantee of safety.

[savethehumans]

This might make one feel better to think this way, but knowledge in the midst of chaos is no guarantee of safety.

No, but it just might give you an edge. Sometimes, that's the margin between success and failure.

Gridlock, I can sympathize. My father died in 2004, my stepmother the year before, my mom way back in 1968, and all the grandparents are gone. I miss them, yes. But I find myself SO relieved that they won't have to live through this!

Can't talk to my brother and his family about this. But they are resourceful people, and live in a town/city with strong community ethics. So I'm not all that worried about them. Still, it's gonna be hard on 'em, emotionally. On us PO'ers, too--but we're kind of used to that! They won't be. Again, the edge.

Kewl choices for skills, though! Everyone needs to eat. And I suspect quite a few people will be reaching for the wine!

[TWilliam]

I mean, what will it do for them other than possibly make them feel guilty or depressed that others that follow will have a harder time?

Good. They should feel damned guilty. Friggin' self-centered greedy Boomer assholes with their 12 MPG SUVs and 2-week-a-year second homes have quite possibly fomented the extinction of the human race with their gluttonous excesses. People have been sounding alarms about climate and resource issues for decades and these f#ckwits roundly ignored them because change is "inconvenient". F#ck 'em all; they deserve all the guilt and scorn we can manage to heap upon them...

[AlAbu]

Well atleast some of your guys have hope when talking to your dads about it. for me i know 99% chance the answer would be somet like "you stupid brainwashed idiot....."

[Aaron]

Worried dad, or whoever won't accept the ideas behind peak oil coming from your mouth?

Don't tell em.

Let this guy tell them instead.

http://smalley.rice.edu/

This man told me personally he believed that peak oil was not only unavoidable... but immanent.

I defy anyone to watch this video presentation with that in mind, and not come away with a brand new perspective.

You can dismiss some Internet wacko... Nobel winning particle physicists are more difficult to ignore.

[SoothSayer]

That video is currently unreachable.

[TWilliam]

You can dismiss some Internet wacko... Nobel winning particle physicists are more difficult to ignore.

Ohhhh I dunno... doesn't seem like TPTB are having much trouble doing so...

[Princess]

Gridlock...I found this site not long after Hurricane Katrina. My mother was so distressed about the hurricane aftermath, peak oil didn't even make a dent in her distress. Mom is now totally PO-aware and while she is retired, ill and won't be with me to see the full impact of PO, she completely understands the things I do in the name of PO preparedness. The gardening. The once-a-week shopping/errands. The higher setting on the air conditioner/lower setting on the heat this winter. She gets it. I'll bet your father will get it as well. A lot of times we don't give the older generations credit for taking things well. Just take a deep breath, tell him, and see what happens. Good luck!

[catbox]

I have stopped talking with people about PO simply because I felt like my words were falling on deaf ears....or just ears in denial maybe. I do have a few friends who are taking energy seriously...at least to the point of not thinking I'm nuts anymore.
My dad holds an important position for the city of Eugene and is very on top of green building and seems to be more and more aware of the problems the cost of energy has on his job.....so it's been easier to talk with him about these issues.

catbox