[bodigami]

Hello Pedro. I'm from Costa Rica and lived for about 6 months in Spain. Have some pie

[bodigami]

I'm with BigTex, we should not make personal attacks. It should be about ideas, arguments, rationalization, analysis, and so on, not fruitless personal attacks. It's unhealthy for the "movement" of PO to be broken from within because of lack of amability.

[azreal60]

Welcome Jenny. Your quest to save polar bears is noble but I'm afraid peak oil isn't going to help in time. Last I checked global warming is trucking along well enough that even if we just stopped using all Co2 right now, the effects have gone along far enough that polar bears won't be living outside zoo's in a few years.

Now, that doesn't mean they have to go extinct. It just means it's likely.

If you've noticed, there is a re-occuring theme on the responses to you. Save yourself first, if you plan on saving anything else. There's a reason it's being said over and over.

Also, if you REALLY want a good mind bender, I recommend the works of Daniel Quinn. Read Ishmael and you will be forever changed. I do believe however what you need to realize is that you are awakened to a realm of knowledge that you didn't even have an awareness of before. So rather than letting it get you down, realize that unless death is staring you in your face right now, you have time. Use it. Plan. Think. Far too many people spend way too little time in a day thinking.

Overall, I'm in favor of more thought.

And again, welcome.

[portuga]

Salud a Costa Rica
yeah Drifter, i try not to overload too much on PO info:)
and i´ve quit talking about it to most my friends, they have absolute faith in technology and say i´m paranoid....

[virgincrude]

Pedro: I am in Southern Spain, have visited Lisbon a few times when I had a Portuguese boyfriend

First: don't panic about your child's future. My daughter was just 3 years old when I discovered PO and I went through some very dark times. Three years later, the crunch which is upon us is not directly due to PO and so I have some hopes it will not be the sudden catastrophic death of humanity which many on this forum predict.

One very important thing to bear in mind: this is a US oriented forum, the cultural viewpoints represented here are far away from those of Portugal or Southern Spain. Think about the social set up you have now: I bet your family unit is strong, you know and talk with your neighbours. You don't live in an isolated Austrian village where a man can kidnap and rape his own daughter for 20 years without anybody suspecting anything....

Social and cultural norms are strong indicators of the quality of life you might expect during the next 20 years. And while your child is growing up, since he/she will know nothing else, he will make the best of it and with your help, get along just fine.

[Office_Clone]

Ok, so here I am. I’m a little late to the party and I’m new to peakoil.com, but thanks to that article on the drudge report I found you guys. I must say it’s a bit overwhelming to see all these different people, all who to some degree think like I do that there is an “event” forthcoming that could/will alter the way we live forever. Overwhelming to see how dire some of you think it will be. Will it be a Nuclear attack ala the TV show Jericho? Maybe. Famine? Maybe. Zombies? Unlikely. But when I talk to people about my concerns I say Zombies so that we both chuckle and it lets them know I’m not a Militia kook or something.

My wife and I own a house in the suburbs, I have an office job. So some of you think I’m screwed. Which is also why I’m looking to sell our house, move up to New Hampshire and get a Police job at some point in the not to distant future. I’m also in the process of learning some useful skills for life after the “event”. I unlike some of you think we still have some time left. Preparations are being made on our part to gather enough food and supplies to outlast the “event”. Guns are in the process of being procured (Massachusetts has some strict laws and since I’m not a degenerate scumbag I don’t have one illegally.)

Funny thing is I’m kinda looking forward to it. My favorite movies and books are those in the Post Apocalyptic genre. So for me, 5 billion less people and not having to deal with all kinds of degenerates I know have no clue what going on right now makes me smile. Sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on the way home and looking around I laugh sometimes thinking one day maybe nature will find a way to think the herd and give me (hopefully) some breathing room. I think it’s going to be like the film the Postman- No jobs, no currency, just trade and barter and doing it all on your own with some remnants of the past still at our disposal. Hopefully I can find some people on here that share my vision and want to make a go of it near me. I don’t think it will be a dire as some of you do. I think there will be enough fuel in aftermath to remain comfortable for a while. But I think the “event” will come one fast and brutally. People will turn on each other almost immediately and then TSWHTF. After that there will be a “feeling out” period where whoever is left poke their heads out and take stock of what’s left. After that new communities will hopefully take shape and life will be simpler, cleaner, and a lot more rewarding.

[dunewalker]

Sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on the way home and looking around I laugh sometimes thinking one day maybe nature will find a way to thin the herd and give me (hopefully) some breathing room.

I lived for a year in Massachusetts awhile back and spent some time sitting in commuter traffic too. One day during gridlock, looking in my rear view mirror, I noticed the guy behind me get out his car, open his trunk, pull out a baseball bat, walk forward, past me, and remove all the windows from the car in front of me with his baseball bat. I sat there contemplating why my car was different than the one in front, and how to get the hell out of there. The guy then walked back to his car, put the bat back in the trunk and climbed back into the driver's seat. That was 24 years ago--one can imagine how things will go there in the future. They don't need no stinkin' guns either.

[Tyler_JC]

Welcome to Peakoil, neighbor.

What part of the state are you in?

[Office_Clone]

Welcome to Peakoil, neighbor.
What part of the state are you in?

Lowell. You?

[KingM]

Do the optimistic doomers (those who look forward to doom) feel at all guilty about looking forward to seeing 5,000,000,000 people die of starvation, disease, and war?

More specifically, why do you think NH will be better than Mass? There are fewer people, of course, but also less arable land and harsher winters, not to mention that southern NH is very similar to the Boston area in many respects.

[dunewalker]

Do the optimistic doomers (those who look forward to doom) feel at all guilty about looking forward to seeing 5,000,000,000 people die of starvation, disease, and war?

Me personally, not at all, for several reasons. I don't hold humanity in higher esteem than the rest of life on this planet. For the sake of all remaining life, those 5 billion need to go. Also, recognizing this at a young age, I chose to not produce any children, seeing that the species was more than taken care of. In my 61 years here I've attempted to make a relatively small footprint, using the rough guideline of "if everyone did this, could it work?" Of course, being an American and a product of this culture, I've consumed far more than my share od resources compared to some in the 3rd world. Finally, I fully expect to be one of those 5 billion, like it or not.

[taizy8]

Hi Office-clone,

welcome...I'm new here too, though not new to the idea of peak oil and the changes that may happen. I am not sure what camp I'm in:
1. the armed survivalists (much ammo needed against the zombies)
2. the little house in the praire-ists (chickens and goats required, pickling skills a plus)
3. the Religious doomsdayers (lotsa bibles and books with hellfire covers)
4. solitary cubicle observers (waiting to move out of the city)
5. Eco tribal primitivists (saving polar bears on the side...in Birkenstocks with bicycle trailers)
6. International rationalists (well they think they are..........will wait to see which way the wind blows and then will find the perfect place to move to..hoping the natives are friendly)

any more suggestions ?......someone else started me on this.

[Office_Clone]

Do the optimistic doomers (those who look forward to doom) feel at all guilty about looking forward to seeing 5,000,000,000 people die of starvation, disease, and war?
More specifically, why do you think NH will be better than Mass? There are fewer people, of course, but also less arable land and harsher winters, not to mention that southern NH is very similar to the Boston area in many respects.

Well I'm not looking forward to doom (most days), and NO I don't feel guilty at all because like it or not WTSHTF your either gonna pass or fail. So F 'em. As long and me and mine are taken care of I don't care they're not my problem. Why do I think NH is better then MA? Well for one- more woodlands ot hunt game in, more lakes to fish and drink from. The winter here in the Merrimack Valley is just as harsh if not worse then Southern NH so I'm not to worried about it.

[taizy8]

I am a Newbie and hopefully not a NOOB.

My little opinion: I don't need to trawl through every piece of data and expert opinion to understand that at a certain moment of time the cup becomes half empty......now you can either conserve and prepare for when the cup is empty, or just gulp it down quick and spill half it while you are at it....... Its going to be empty at some time or another (unless another drink can be found).....and we in the west aren't exactly taking tiny sips.

[wreckspecs]

I've been lurking for two years at least, and figured it was high time to join in. It's no fun just having arguments in my head, you know?

We're making what changes we can to shift our lifestyles to better cope with PO, climate change, and any other foreseeable catastrophe. Looking forward to discussing backyard chickens, gardening, midwifery and low-tech medical care, and all things local.

See you around.

[gonfishn]

Another newby here,I would like to thank you all for this website.
I hate to admit it but I found you through the news story.

I am a gleaner by nature.I never throw anything away without thinking if there might be another possible use for it now or in the future.Never met a junkpile I didn't like. Grew up to do a little of everything.Raised on a ranch by grandparents who lived hard through the last depression.
8 years US. Army, Metal working,body work,heavy equipment operation, timber industry,water and waste water and now as a jack of all trades type for a small municipality in western Mt.
My greatest fear is not the total collapse of mankind but the danger that we will spiral into a depression that will make the thirties look like a cakewalk.

[Ferretlover]

Welcome and we are glad you found us, gonfishn.
This is a most interesting site; please read both the current forum topics and the archives, too, as you get the chance.
We have a wide variety of topics, personal views and personalities.
Enjoy yourself.

[Tyler_JC]

For the summer, Norwell. Then it's back to Somerville.

Lowell is only a couple miles from the New Hampshire border so I don't see how moving north would make much of a difference.

Unless you're talking about northern New Hampshire (next door to Canada), you'll still be within the Boston-area Zombie Zone.

[Pretorian]

For the sake of all remaining life, those 5 billion need to go. Also, recognizing this at a young age, I chose to not produce any children, seeing that the species was more than taken care of.

I always drop a little tear when I read something as sweet as that. But let me tell you a little secret-- men do not bear children, women do. Thanks for the spot by the way.

[aldente]

Two years is quite an increment of time. Did PO change you and your perception of things?

Very few of us are bitten by the bug, so welcome to the club and don't despair by the fact that this forum will be the only 'sort of 'support network for those who are PO infected.

Advice: Never discuss PO with the broad (random) public.