Energy fears looming, new survivalists prepare

[Contrary1]

Movement can't save the planet, too late, they say; focus is saving self

"BUSKIRK, N.Y. - A few years ago, Kathleen Breault was just another suburban grandma, driving countless hours every week, stopping for lunch at McDonald's, buying clothes at the mall, watching TV in the evenings.

That was before Breault heard an author talk about the bleak future of the world's oil supply. Now, she's preparing for the world as we know it to disappear.

<snip>

Convinced the planet's oil supply is dwindling and the world's economies are heading for a crash, some people around the country are moving onto homesteads, learning to live off their land, conserving fuel and, in some cases, stocking up on guns they expect to use to defend themselves and their supplies from desperate crowds of people who didn't prepare.

The exact number of people taking such steps is impossible to determine, but anecdotal evidence suggests that the movement has been gaining momentum in the last few years..."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24808083/

[Jack_DeLeon]

1. IMO this is a good thing...

people need to realize what is possible if the people who run this nation dont take steps to protect us, we will need to step up and do for ourselves.

[Deja Q]

2. Well, they can shoot all they want.

I'll find a more civilized way to kill myself. I'm sure I can find a cliff or something if all these nightmare scenarios come true. Other people can murder and have it on their conscience (or lack thereof); someone once said they should lock up all the good people and let the bastards kill each other in the streets.

:shrug:

[Jack_DeLeon]

4. Why?

Why would you choose to kill yourself just because life became harder?

I do understand it is your life to live as you choose and if you want to end it that is your choice, but I personally believe that ending ones life is in most all cases a failure of some kind.

I personally would not look foward to killing people, but if masses of people who choose not to prepare (or just remained ignorant of the situation) wanted to take the resource I have prepared for myself, family, and friends then yes I would do whatever I needed to protect that.

Right now we still have time, you can choose to prepare in whatever way you think is appropriate, or you can just sit back and hope nothing happens.

[Hannah Bell]

24. Suicide is failure; killing other people is success?

The American ethos.

[colorado thinker]

3. We're doing it too.

Manually operated tools, kitchen equipment, sewing machine. Thank god I still have much of my grandmother's things, as well as my mothers kitchen utensils from the 40's. Canning jars, etc. I have a wood burning fireplace and a cord of wood in the yard. The bicycles have been tuned up, and I'm buying extra tires and tubes (made from petroleum?). I put a new roof on the house last year, hopefully it will last for then next 20.

My sister and I dug up part of my backyard today to put in a garden, won't get much this year of course, it's a little late.

Going tomorrow to buy a shotgun, they are on sale but I hear there is a shortage of ammunition.

And no, I'm not a "the sky is falling, the sky is falling" type of person ordinarily. We've been watching the oil situation for the past 5 years, the energy analysts said when oil hit $100, the economy would start to crash. Chaos is inevitable, Americans have forgotten how to live simply. The McMansions are going to be terribly difficult to heat next winter. Most people don't know how to put up food for long term storage if necessary.

Things are not going to be pleasant ahead.

[Jack_DeLeon]

5. I like manual tools myself...

since I was little I always used the manual can openers they always seemed nicer, were smaller, and worked better than the big electric ones that always eventually broke because the motors wear out.

[ChazII]

6. The country would be much better

off if we had more folks like you.

[colorado thinker]

Thanks!

My 20 year old son thinks I have lost my mind even though we've been telling the kids in the extended family about this for years now. He doesn't want to admit this is coming, I don't blame him and my heart is breaking about what he will have to endure for the next many years.

However, I've been saying since 1998 that this country was due for a correction, and a big one. Well, I think we are about there.

Take care of yourselves and your loved ones!

[Indiana_Dem]

7. Thanks! I just posted this article to my blog! We peak oilers are getting recognized!

Our cover has been blown! I've been preppin' since '04! Now debt free and learning how to garden and much more in my 4th year this year!

[Subdivisions]

8. I've been prepping for two years. And, yes, because of peak oil.

For those who just don't want to hear it or believe it, life is going to get very rough very fast. I have no sympathy for those who have heard of peak oil and do nothing and I have no sympathy for sheeple who refuse to educate themselves nor employ critical, logical, or common sense thinking where current and future events are concerned. I have warned, informed, and debated about the subject of PO on this site until I was blue in the face. For those who didn't listen, too bad. And if a single person comes near me with the intent of taking my seeds, tools, food, etc., they're going to get an ass full of lead.

PERIOD!

[Indiana_Dem]

9. I haven't got the gun yet, but we're getting close to buying and learning how to use one as much

as I don't want to have to. Even feral (sp?) dogs that nobody can take care of will be a danger to your food and/or livestock of chickens, rabbits, etc.

[Subdivisions]

10. You're preachin' to the choir, friend. I am immensely pleased

that you are doing what you believe you need to do. And, if nothing comes of it and it turns out that we needn't have been so cautious, then at least we have a nice stockpile of things we can still use. And perhaps we'll even have learned the importance of being more self-sufficient and we'll have a better sense of how to live more simply and slow down a bit and get back to friends and family like it used to be.

[VAliberal]

11. We are preparing

for a rough spot ahead - somewhere between everything will be just fine and MadMax. Perhaps we are looking at several years of really rough recession or even hyperinflation (depression?) and oil shortages if the supply/demand thing doesn't equal out.

My wife and I have been and are in process of putting in a large garden with food stuffs that can be canned or dried; going to put aside some water, a load of firewood, seeds for next year's garden, general 'emergency supplies' and simple living strategies that we should all have on hand/be able to do anyway in the event of a natural or civil disaster.

I'm as left-wing, progressive, socialist as they come and I hope to be able to help out several of the elderly folk in the area if need be, but rough times - seems they are a'comin.' I hope I'm completely delusional and wrong.

[Indiana_Dem]

19. I am every bit the same LW, progressive, socialistic but there is also a hint of libertarian in me

too, since I've come to know about fossil fuel depletion and all it entails. This situation we will find ourselves in has no political side. We will all need to be more self-sufficient.

[mtf80123]

12. Debt free here...

Been stocking my pantry for the last 3 months with canned and dry goods.

[texastoast]

13. Sprawl has to go

Gotta grow food somewhere and live so we don't need gas. Gosh, will we have to walk and bike? And lose weight? And cardiovascular disease? And diabetes?

Maybe, but only if we have a good diet.

[Runcible Spoon]

14. my father is on the fence about buying a windmill for off the grid energy.

he's worried that if everyone around loses power, they would just aggressively attack him for having that and it would be a real power struggle.

I told him it might be easy to conceal electrical deviced hypothetically and he should do it, but honestly it raised an ugly and very likely scenario...

[texastoast]

16. Civility is a thin veneer

in times of survival.

[Indiana_Dem]

20. That's why it's important to try and get everyone you can in your community involved

as possible. It won't be as difficult if everyone is doing the same things.

[dysfunctional press]

that's what these people did...

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=4888310&page=1

Inside the First Wind-Powered City in America
Why the Small Farm Town of Rock Port, Mo., Has Big-Time Energy Ambitions

...They erected four turbines, which are expected to produce 16 million kilowatt hours of electricity every year -- 3 million more kilowatt hours than the city is expected to use.

"On most days, this is not only powering this town, but selling enough energy to power another town of its size," said Tom Carnahan, president of Wind Capital Group...

[uppityperson]

15. I know a lot more people are planting veggies this yr, some in flower beds

Talking with people, many are planting at least some veggies, some putting in bigger gardens. I think we will return to backyard gardens being an ordinary and expected thing. Salad garden doesn't need much space and yes, you can plant veggies in with your flowers.

[texastoast]

17. Just harvested the first beans and squash

of the season. I think I'm going to ... to ... can!

[Indiana_Dem]

21. My goal is to make my whole yard edible or medicinal--

I'm yanking out (except for a few trees) everything and replacing it with only edible plants. Even daylilies are edible! It's kind of fun! It's taking some time, though, but each day I can do something about it, it helps me alleviate my anxieties.

[uppityperson]

29. What do you do with daylilies to eat them? I've a whole bunch of them. nt

[Indiana_Dem]

30. I haven't tried them yet myself-I haven't planted any but will start some in a couple weeks--

http://www.poppainc.org/pdfs/Daylily_recipes.pdf

http://www.ghorganics.com/page16.html

http://www.frontrangeliving.com/garden/daylilies.htm

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Daylily-Salad

Sound interesting, don't they!?

[uppityperson]

31. Thank you, that they do.

I got a bunch in trade for some work once, have them growing everywhere and still have some that I need to transplant from their "stick them in the ground bed" to somewhere they will grow. Thank you, interesting. I put a bunch in my herb bed just because, funny to find out that they are edible since I've warned kids that most things there are edible but check with me first.

[jwirr]

18. I attended a staffing for my daughter and when it was done we turned

to the state of the world. There were 6 of us present and every single one of us is working on some aspect of what might be called survival living. It has become a part of a great deal of grandmothers like the lady and ME.

[riverdeep]

22. Opportunity cost.

What are you giving up for what could turn to be paranoia like the survivlalists who prepared for 2000k? I believe this isn't like that, I believe this is real, but that is in the minds of people who argue against it.

[colorado thinker]

25. They will be the most

angry when proved to be wrong!

[Strelnikov_]

27. I hope they are right. I would prefer to not use my lifeboat

and lifestyle changes made to date are all for the better.

[colorado thinker]

23. The thing to remember is

that until the 1930's really, mankind managed to survive without plastics, gasoline, TV's, cell phones, etc. etc. And we can surely do it again. Imagine a world without petrochemicals in the water supply, carbon emissions in the air? Things might just get a whole lot better after the initial shock.

[mtf80123]

26. May all the Buddhas of the 10 directions protect you....

and your loved ones for all time and eternity.

Gate Gate
Paragete
Parasamgate
Bodhi Svaha

_/\_

[alittlelark]

28. We have a place in NM w/ solar and a greenhouse.

We've had it for a couple of years. We head down there 3-4 times a year to keep it up.

If everything turns out peachy-keen then we will have made great improvements to a beautiful piece of land.

[Divine Discontent]

32. great discussion - I'm moving out West out of the sprawl & into some higher ground

later this year. I pray to my Lord that we won't have the bad times hit that I keep feeling are coming. I have been shown some visions that are very big, that have come to pass in less than a year's time. One I saw two years ago was of massive (in the billions) of non-human 'life' dying. The bees alone these past couple years have died in that figure. I would like to be prepared for harder times, regardless if it happens. Good vibes to all in the thread...

[Mojorabbit]

33. Good article. Thanks, n/t

[dbt]

34. K & R

FYI, Pinkeye Purplehull peas yield two crops per season and Cajun Delight okra is a very prolific bearer.