[OneLoneClone]

Thrift shops, scrap stores and maybe a few dumpsters are John Perry's new best friend. Perry is part of the Compact, a band of Bay Area professionals who have vowed not to buy anything new in 2006. Anyone can join.

This anticonsumerist group called "the Compact" sounds like a great way for peak oil aware people to learn to live on a super tight budget and rely on social networks instead of money. If you are aware of peak oil but have no money for preparations; I bet you could learn from these folks.

"We're people for whom recycling is no longer enough," said one of the members of the fledgling movement, John Perry, who works in marketing at a high-tech company. "We're trying to get off the first-market consumerism grid, because consumer culture is destroying the world."

SF Chron Link

The funny thing is the paper headline calls the Compact a "consumer group"

[mattduke]

Will they produce anything "new", or will they just consume previously-accumulated wealth?

[OneLoneClone]

It is strictly about recycling/reusing NOT about sustainability. Mostly I think its about trying to kick the 'consumerist' habit; the need to shop, the need to periodically open shrinkwrap. They are DIY'ing as much as possible, tho.

So yes, they are using consuming 'previously accumlated wealth' as you call it.

But still its about treading gently upon the earth. And community. Baby steps, you know?

Besides, scavenging/recycling is going make a lot of sense for a long time. We may not be able to live off the land anymore, but there will be plenty of infrastructure to scavenge for a while.

To my mind, scavenging is going to go hand in hand with efforts at sustainablity for many years. My ideal post peak oil community would be just as much about scavening as sustainability, neither lifestyle will be possible without the other, IMHO.

[NeoPeasant]

To my mind, scavenging is going to go hand in hand with efforts at sustainablity for many years. My ideal post peak oil community would be just as much about scavening as sustainability, neither lifestyle will be possible without the other, IMHO.

I can imagine people making a meager living picking apart abandoned exurbs brick by brick, board by board, and nail by nail to cart back to town and resell for infill building along public transport corridors.

[mattduke]

The point I was making was that, assuming they still have JOBS, they are producing some new goods or services, probably at the expense of consuming earth resources, which they then trade away to others who are not following their "buy nothing new" credo. They are reducing demand for produced goods but they are not reducing the supply of produced goods, which means that the price of produced goods will fall, allowing others to consume more of them while they consume less, so it's not necessarily "better for the environment" although it is better for their personal balance statements.

[aflurry]

The point I was making was that, assuming they still have JOBS, they are producing some new goods or services, probably at the expense of consuming earth resources, which they then trade away to others who are not following their "buy nothing new" credo. They are reducing demand for produced goods but they are not reducing the supply of produced goods, which means that the price of produced goods will fall, allowing others to consume more of them while they consume less, so it's not necessarily "better for the environment" although it is better for their personal balance statements.

this is a definite insight. but i think it sort of misses the point of this kind of exercize. if their own balance statements are relieved, maybe they will work and produce less as well over time. They will surely need the extra time to put to developing scavenging and recycling methods. other people can then benefit from the ideas they generate.

I like NeoPeasant's theory of manually deconstructing and repurposing the exurbs. it seems strange to me that we fret so much about unemployment and peak oil at the same time. people may have to get used to working for real again, but here we have one industry frantically churning out comsumer goods and another wheedling people to buy them up. both the consumption and production are artificial needs. and both activities burn fuel.

meanwhile human idleness is a wasted resource in the more depressed areas. can't these pieces be reconfigured to work toward sustainability instead of canceling each other out?

[mommy22]

I often find myself living this conflict. My husband has the corporate job, which has caused us to relocate numerous times, thus using incredible amounts of fossil fuels, not to mention what he's produced over the years. However, how we live at home is really different than how, I imagine, many of his co-workers live (McMansions, new clothes, SUV's,etc...). He lived in Spain with a middle-class family in college in the 80s and learned that happiness comes not from accumulating stuff (they all lived in a modest apartment) but from a happy family. So, that's how we have lived all our lives together. I rarely buy new clothes for any of us (outside of his business clothes) and now when my 12 year old wants something new, she asks to go to the Goodwill. I imagine our girls have been in a mall about 10 times their entire lives (they are 12 and 7). Anyway, I wonder if there are others out there that kind of balance out the world of pre-PO and how they plan to survive life post-PO. I really try to always consider if we need any particular item (after 10 years of use, I needed a new potato masher..I confess to buying a new one!) and really discern the need for the item. Good for this group who wants to try a full year of nothing new...will be interesting to see how they do. It will definately be easier in a group of committed folks.

[waegari]

One thing, though, they will not be able to get second hand is food...

[dissimulo]

Wow, it would be really difficult to live only on second-hand items in an affluent area like SF. I'm so impressed.

There is a large segment of society, widely known as poor people, who live like this all the time. I never had clothes that had not been worn by someone else until I was ~16 years old. I didn't realize I was saving the planet at the time.

[MOCKBA]

One thing, though, they will not be able to get second hand is food...

In fact they already do that. There is a group in NYC called freegans. Here is the URL http://freegan.info/

[blukatzen]

I just joined their group, there are lots of people from all over joining, it must have hit a nerve, lots of people saw this story in many different places, and joined up. Even they are amazed. Folks from Canada, Romania, Russia, etc. plus all over the U.S.
This is something many people have taken a step towards in their own lives, they just want to start talking about it.

One of the things that came up was the concept of needing recycling sheetrock, (obtaining it for a building-enhancing project). None was able to be found at salvage centers.

On the other hand, some are speaking of taking recycled clothing and making it into underwear, which...I'll take a pass on for now.

There are supposedly TONS of thrift stores out there. As here in Chicago, and it may be interesting to compare notes, and what people are doing in their quest to keep things out of the landfill. I assume you've all heard of the Freecycle.org group? THere are many groups now all over. Chicago has almost 12,000 people on thiers, and that is NOT the suburban groups at all. You have to have a Chicago Zip to participate.

[grabby]

Sign me up I think this will be fun.
Also, never go into another wallmart again. try THAT for fun!