Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 7:58 pm Post subject: Re: 5 Rules for PO Preperation
As a long time lurker, I felt a need to add one item to this thread (I know, I know, five are required so maybe i'll add to #1. Anyhow, all of this talk about being on the move means you aren't where you should be. If things get really bad don't you think that being out on the road, passing through towns with utter strangers, doesn't put you at risk? You need to hunker down, and find someplace where you can live out hard times on a permanent basis.
Anyhow, #1 in preparedness should be (but is more difficult than it sounds - as I haven't certainly done this) is to organize a group for self protection. In some cases, where the neighborhood is somewhat defined and you have good people in it, the best solution would be to organize the neighborhood into some type of self-policing and self-protecting area.
I think this may be possible where I live, but I think most of my neighbors would look at me ahead of time as a 'nut' (my wife certainly believes so... But the time will come.
#2 Think out your responses to those who are likely to be in need. You can't just shoot everyone who comes into the neighborhood looking for food. You want to sleep at night and you don't want to end up in jail. But I think we all see the need for some type of defence against those who will take whatever they feel need to survive, at our loss, of course. The difficulty will be learning what to do when. Personally I don't want to be a hardass but I would perhaps hire a hardadd to protect a community I was living in.
#3 The need for organizing in communities will be important. A lot of how things go down will depend on leadership at every level. If its evey man for himself (sorry non-men) then it will be lot worse than if there is some sense of community, shared sacrifice - and strong law and order, however much I dislike the idea and the term.
In any case, communities and nations may fare very differently depending on how their leadership responds to the end of oil and gas.
#4 Figure out a way to generate and utilize electricity on a small (and possibly really small scale). The most critical usage for electricity is, very simply, refrigeration. Forgot air conditioning, forgot heating (the grid will go down once everyone turns on electric heaters when they don't have anything else). It should be possible to generate and store electrical power for critical usages and we need to figure out how to do this economically and on a wide scale.
#5 I like Heineken's idea of also preparing to go gracefully. We should all try to live for as long as possible, but not so long that we end up lying in a bed, incontinent and worse, at the end of our life. I like the eskimo solution: a long walk on an ice flow on the cold night. We'll see... every person and evey living thing clings to life with absolute desperation.
BONUS ITEM! BONUS ITEM! #6 (sic)
#6 Getting out of debt is great, but in some cases, if you have enough financial assets to cover your debts, you may be able to make enough investments to make your life a bit more comfortable. But, please realize: most wall street advice is worthless, most (but not all ) financial advisors advice may not make be worth what you will pay for it, most of the 'can't miss stocks' you get in mailers are a waste of money. There are really good, honest financial newswriters/advisors out there (Doug Casey, James Dines, The Stansberry group from Agora, etc. but you have to read a bit to get the right strategy and to minimize your risk.
Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 8:37 pm Post subject: Re: 5 Rules for PO Preperation
My five rules:
1) Try to stay informed of world & local events - this could act as an early warning system if something big & bad were to happen.
2) Whatever our point of view about how the crash will take place, and whatever form our plans take, try to accomplish at least one thing each week towards those plans.
3) Depending on what is currently happening (refer to #1), do not allow yourself to panic, OR to become complacent.
4) Learn quickly when to shut up talking about Peak Oil, Climate Change, etc.
Regards,
L.
5) Keep coming back regularly to post or lurk on that meeting of the minds known as Peakoil.com - to restore your belief in your own sanity.
Joined: May 14, 2005 Posts: 2125 Location: Along the banks of the muddy Mississippi
Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 9:08 pm Post subject: Re: 5 Rules for PO Preperation
doomer57 wrote:
Anyhow, all of this talk about being on the move means you aren't where you should be. If things get really bad don't you think that being out on the road, passing through towns with utter strangers, doesn't put you at risk? You need to hunker down, and find someplace where you can live out hard times on a permanent basis.
I'm not sure if it falls within Pops' rules to discuss others lists, but since this wasn't actually in your top 5 list, I'll go ahead and discuss it.
Mobility wasn't explicitly among my top 5 list. But I did stress the need to remain mentally flexible and part of that is being able to recognize when the time has come to cut your losses, bail out of your permanent base and hit the road. Yes, it's a good idea to prepare a home base beforehand, and hopefully you will live out a nice, tranquil life there. But you must be willing to leave it all behind if the situation changes.
The difference between being a nomad transitioning from home base to fallback site B and a refugee who is fleeing from his home in shock and panic with no particular destination is that the first person has done a bit of preplanning and is open to being mobile if the need arises. Hopefully it won't, but you never know ... _________________ “Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.” (Ted Perry)
Joined: Nov 25, 2006 Posts: 1373 Location: New York area
Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 11:46 pm Post subject: Re: 5 Rules for PO Preperation
Great thread. Read the whole thing (and hope to read much more). It's late and I'm tired but I will come back and post my ideas soon. _________________ My PO Amazon store (shameless plug).
Joined: May 10, 2007 Posts: 2740 Location: The Entropisphere
Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 12:07 am Post subject: Re: 5 Rules for PO Preperation
Heineken wrote:
Pops wrote:
Heineken wrote:
But the most important rule is:
Heine, I asked for 5 rules…
I think all the core "rules" have already been mentioned, Pops. They're all good.
All mentioned except mine. My "prepare for death" rule helps keep the struggle in perspective.
I don't know how old you are, but I'm of an age now when a part of me---a small part, but not an insignificant part---starts to tire of the pathetic squirming for more time. Making peace with the inevitable, and doing some planning for it, also begins to be important.
Death is going to come back in a big way. We will live more like 19th century people, and we will die more like them too, no matter how cleverly we prepare to survive.
bshirt---thanks for your kind remarks.
I'll be ready to move towards "preparing for death" once my kids are out and on their own. Until then I will amputate my own leg if I need to in order to be around for them and get them out of the nest. In theory I can accept the need for preparation and perhaps I am prepared in my own way but practically I will not go quietly into the night until I have exhausted every other possibility. I will not entertain the possibilty of failure until I have already failed... and maybe not even then. _________________ "Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain."
-Friedrich von Schiller
"What I try, may not work. It may be ineffective. It might even turn out in the pages of history to be the exact wrong thing to do, but I'm going to try to do what I c
Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 12:27 am Post subject: Re: 5 Rules for PO Preperation
Thanks for starting such a great thread Pops.
We are all about to be given the biggest exam of our lives and the only score you will receive is a Pass or Fail.
Most of the rules I've seen center on physical survival and a Pass/Fail means whether you or your offspring will be in a position to survive. I think this test is more than just about physical survival, I think it will test our spiritual survival as well. Having said that, here are my 5 rules:
1-- Learn as much as I can in the time that I have
2-- Help others as best as I can
3-- Teach others as best as I can
4-- Make preparations for physical survival
5-- Remember that this is just a test and life will go on, but your choices will follow you
Joined: Sep 14, 2004 Posts: 6158 Location: Rural Virginia
Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 7:34 am Post subject: Re: 5 Rules for PO Preperation
wisconsin_cur wrote:
Heineken wrote:
Pops wrote:
Heineken wrote:
But the most important rule is:
Heine, I asked for 5 rules…
I think all the core "rules" have already been mentioned, Pops. They're all good.
All mentioned except mine. My "prepare for death" rule helps keep the struggle in perspective.
I don't know how old you are, but I'm of an age now when a part of me---a small part, but not an insignificant part---starts to tire of the pathetic squirming for more time. Making peace with the inevitable, and doing some planning for it, also begins to be important.
Death is going to come back in a big way. We will live more like 19th century people, and we will die more like them too, no matter how cleverly we prepare to survive.
bshirt---thanks for your kind remarks.
I'll be ready to move towards "preparing for death" once my kids are out and on their own. Until then I will amputate my own leg if I need to in order to be around for them and get them out of the nest. In theory I can accept the need for preparation and perhaps I am prepared in my own way but practically I will not go quietly into the night until I have exhausted every other possibility. I will not entertain the possibilty of failure until I have already failed... and maybe not even then.
That's what I meant. Except, once every possibility has been exhausted, I'm ready to go and will help the matter along so as to spare my loved ones, and my dignity, from unnecessary burdens.
The Eskimos and the American Indians and other native groups are living the way we aspire to, and they have a way of dealing with "the end" that reflects their wisdom and knowledge. Trying to carry on beyond the end is a symptom of our profoundly sick culture. _________________ "Actually, humans died out long ago."
---Abused, abandoned hunting dog
"Things have entered a stage where the only change that is possible is for things to get worse."
---Me and my brother
Joined: Sep 14, 2004 Posts: 6158 Location: Rural Virginia
Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 8:13 am Post subject: Re: 5 Rules for PO Preperation
1. Stockpile a lot of insect repellant.
2. Stockpile a lot of insect repellant.
3. Stockpile a lot of insect repellant.
4. Stockpile a lot of insect repellant.
5. Stockpile a lot of insect repellant. _________________ "Actually, humans died out long ago."
---Abused, abandoned hunting dog
"Things have entered a stage where the only change that is possible is for things to get worse."
---Me and my brother
Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 11:31 am Post subject: Re: 5 Rules for PO Preperation
Grifter wrote:
1. Keep my mouth shut about peak oil
2. Pretend to believe in a deity
3. Pretend to believe in business as usual
4. Exercise
5. Stay away from debt
Some pretty good ideas, especially 2... My experience in the south, if you didn't have a cross or something on your desk people will start worrying you're not part of "the team". And you can lose your job real quick, its just human nature. But myself, I was a team player, I made ceramic crosses for everyone! And I'll tell ya, it made them happy. So I guess you could say Jesus was protecting me (or at least I kept myself from being crucified!)...
Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 12:59 pm Post subject: Re: 5 Rules for PO Preperation
1. Stay flexible. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Prepare to live rural if you can pull off self-sufficiency, but prepare to live urban if you fail at that or if the rural life becomes too dangerous. Have a plan either way, including how you can make the transition.
2. Buy things that will be useful in a low energy future. Don't go crazy - you don't need to spend a lot of money. Don't waste your money on things like generators if you are in it for the long term.
3. Learn things that will be useful in a low energy future. You may run out of money, gold bars, buckets of wheat, and ammo, but you will always be able to get more if you have truly useful skills.
4. Don't spend all your time learning wilderness survival and ninja tracking skills, unless that is how you plan on living for the long term. If that is how you plan on living long term, buy some body armor, because you are probably going to get shot at a lot by people who prepared more realistically.
5. Get out of debt when you can. Don't take on stupid debts. But, don't be afraid to take on reasonable debt if it gets you into a living situation where you can more easily sustain yourself. If you have embraced rule #3, you will probably figure out how to pay your debt and keep your place.
6. Choose to live in a place that has conditions and natural resources that make sustainability possible. If you can live in a place where you control your water supply, so much the better.
7. Do a little something to prepare every day, but don't spend all your time fixated on Peak Oil. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Burn outs will be selling off their vacuum packed grains and cases of ammo for bottom dollar during the divorce settlement.
8. Improve your ability to save by wasting less now. You'll have to waste less in the future, but you won't get as much in return. Turn the heat down in the winter, leave the AC off in the summer, ride a bike once in a while, rework your yard so you can care for it with hand tools.
9. Fund your 401(k), your IRA, your pension, or whatever. Finish school if it is important to you and you are learning valuable skills. Be prepared for the world to go on. Be prepared to be wrong or to be surprised by our ability to conserve and make alternatives work. No matter how certain you are that it is all over, people have been certain before.
10. Keep a positive attitude. Think about how dumb the average person is and that roughly half of all people are dumber than that. If you are on the Internet, reading a message board about Peak Oil, you are probably an intellectual god among the tribe of monkeys that is man kind. You will find a way to get through the hard times, because you are smart and adaptable. _________________ With a farewell scream of escaping steam, the boiler bows to the Diesel;
The Iron Horse has run its course and we ride a chromium weasel
-Ogden Nash
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I like it! (even if it was No. 7 
)
