Doesn't what you wrote seem a bit contradictory?

I wonder how much energy it actually takes for shit to hit a fan. Also, can you rely on the electrical grid to power the fan? Things are just going to get so slow. It might be a bit of a relief. People may actually start to share more, and party more, too. What if a gradual power down turned out to be kind of fun? (Oh, am I going to get it now)

Actually I think a gradual powerdown could be a great deal of fun. For the same reasons that planting a tree or raising a goat is more fun than sitting in an office cubicle or the cab of an 18-wheeler during rush hour.

It's amazing to consider how unfun the world we've built actually is, for most of us.

But of course, the world we've built isn't for us. It's for the masters of the universe tooling around in $500,000 speedboats.

Heineken, if you get the chance look up Ted Trainer on the 'net. He's an Australian academic who has written several books on how powering down to a lower-consumption, zero-growth society could actually be more fulfilling than the consumer grind. The best one (so far) is The Simpler Way.

His logic is that if we work locally (less commuting, stronger community) as self-employed craftspeople and subsistence gardeners (more variety of work, more learning skills, less boredom) in small intentional communities, 'quality of life' could skyrocket while 'standard of living' is rapidly decreased. It's a very optimistic read.

On the original topic, there's nothing I haven't done for peak oil prep that I wouldn't have done anyway. Bit of a garden, two chickens, public transport, low consumption lifestyle - I was on a voluntary simplicity kick long before I found out about PO. It might be a bit different for someone philosophically inclined to a high-consumption lifestyle, however.

I agree with every word, kfish.

Back when I lived in suburbia, my most exciting experience was selling my car and using public transportation and walking for all my needs. It was thrilling to jettison the worries and costs of car insurance, fuel, and maintenance. I felt incredibly empowered putting on my backpack and hiking to the local grocery. You could even say it was fun.

I also enjoyed thumbing my nose at my neighbors by using a manual lawnmower and using an old-fashioned leaf rake (and eschewing those goddamned leafblowers).

Ironically, since I've been a country boy I've been dependent on powered vehicles and mowers, along with a few other motorized devices. (I also have a leaf blower, but I don't use it much.)

A few posts back some people were talking about how gas consumers would pay more and more and nothing would really happen for a while. I would like to remind them that money spent on gas is money not spent on other stuff. Those companies that make other stuff are going to have to deal with less revenue by laying off employees and reducing expenditures. That's going to hurt service companies. Someday, possibly very soon, your boss is going to call you into his office and say, "I know you've been with the company for a long time, and we're grateful for your hard work, but ..."

And so it begins.

Is a severe recession "TSHTF"? I agree that as consumers and business alike to cut back on their other spending, that will cause a recession/depression. We're due for a recession regardless of the price of oil though. I'd feel comfortable calling the coming U.S. recession non-PO related. People without jobs drive less and turn the thermostat down more, thereby mitigating fuel prices to some extent. Repeat that enough times and a recession/depression could mask the onset of PO for some time.

Then, after a few years of that "something" might happen. Physical shortages, Potato Riots, etc.

At my current despised gigantic employer, the way it goes is more like, "We have a problem with your recent performance. We find that you lack sufficient passion for the company." You're then offered a choice: quit, or kill yourself trying to "increase your passion for the company" in hopes that they decide to keep you.

The words, "we're grateful for your hard work" are so 20th century.

And this is at a time when we're "merely" downsizing because jobs are being offshored to cheaper labor pools. I can imagine how it will go if/when a grinding recession hits the US. Probably will co-locate a slaughterhouse and catfood factory next to our offices. When my time is up, I want to be "liver slices in gravy" for whoever can still afford to keep pets.

--Steve

You need more animals if you're still having to mow. Some chickens in field pens, sheep, or goats. Maybe a horse, cow, or steer.


We never mow except to line-trim a little path through the grass when we have people over for a picnic. Of course we don't have a tractor or rototiller either.

One persons fun will turn out to be 99 unaware sheeples dread, and with all the flailing about, weeping, wailing and nashing of teeth the SHTF will probably be quite energy intensive!

That's always been my belief. To be more specific, I think the flashpoint will manifest in the form of a Trucker's strike. Three days of no trucks to Wal-Mart will trigger civil unrest. Ready.gov has been priming us for years to have a 72 hour kit. After the 72 hours of canned soup goes away, folks will get nasty.

First sign of a trucker strike-I bug out of Dallas and don't look back.

Will our children's children refer to the early 21st century as when "The Shit Hit The Windmill"?

If it turns out we are wrong in the near term, we lobby the government to declare a War on Petroleum Depletion and create
a vast bureaucracy to support the war. With our expertise we can then all obtain high paying government jobs and work to keep our department busy and budgeted for years or decades until Peak Oil actually does manifest, which will prove us all to be right after all
and eligible for pensions and medical care to boot.

I was one who was expecting things to "start happening" at $100 / barrel although nothing much has happened...at all. Black Friday brought in 20+ billion bucks, people are still camping out after Thanksgiving to get the goods at Best Buy / Wal-Mart etc. I haven't seen any news stories about unemployment up to 20% or food shelves at HEB going dry. Like Heineken said, a balloon can stretch quite a bit before it instantaneously pops at a breaking point. I think, the "collapse" or whatever you want to call it will happen like a balloon being blown up. People seem to be finding loose change in the corners and under couches and doing a little handyman work to readjust their lives a little. Point is, we're more than well-off as it is now and it will take a while to reach the critical breaking point.

What's the breaking point? I don't know. I guess it would be the point where spending money exceeds income with most (almost all) luxuries cut off.

Or it could be a lot sooner I dunno.

Anyway, preparing for PO would be like reverting to a simpler life style away from the suburban life style of the suit-and-tie 9 to 5 desk job downtown which is absolutely loathsome to me. Preparing for PO would just be doing what I've always wanted to do...How could I lose?

To get to the topic I am wasting my time because by the time the SHTF I'll be a memory. However, other will have to live in a very different world because of my actions and if I can do anything now it not a waste.