[Revi]

John Michael Greer has been one of the best commentators on peak oil I have ever read. His comments are clear and offer a breath of fresh air in my opinion. He moves on to what we need to do, which is use less, and unhook from the larger system somewhat.

Here are his latest blog posts, which are some of his best. Read the last two and see if you agree with me:

http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/

[Rod_Cloutier]

We already have 1/2 dozen threads about John Michael Greer here already, maybe they could be merged by a moderator?

+1,000,000

I think he is a genius, perhaps the greastest mind currently publishing. My two favorite articles of his are 'The metastatis of money' and 'The herding of cats'.

[DomusAlbion]

Agree. His is a fine mind focused on the truly relevant issues we will all be facing before too long.

Will I as a moderator take the time to find and merge JMG related threads? No, I'm too busy scrambling in the physical world preparing for all the stuff he scares us about.

[Pops]

I like Greer even though I don't read him as much as I used to. But I like the current topic, we discuss it all the time around here.

Someone yesterday made exactly that argument: Anyone can see the bubble but no one can guess when is the exact top - point being, why get out of the vat early and miss out on all that sugar? the pond while there's still open water? the commuter "Lifestyle" while there's still cheap gas?

Or so you know your job is on the endangered list, but what are you going to do, quit before it's gone and not get to enjoy the personal watercraft and RV and heated power leather seats and buying all the books about peak oil?

[evilgenius]

I like Greer even though I don't read him as much as I used to. But I like the current topic, we discuss it all the time around here.

Someone yesterday made exactly that argument: Anyone can see the bubble but no one can guess when is the exact top - point being, why get out of the vat early and miss out on all that sugar? the pond while there's still open water? the commuter "Lifestyle" while there's still cheap gas?

Or so you know your job is on the endangered list, but what are you going to do, quit before it's gone and not get to enjoy the personal watercraft and RV and heated power leather seats and buying all the books about peak oil?

Right on, Pops. That is the dilemma. I like what Greer had to say this week about that. In a round about fashion he pretty much said that scaling down on energy usage takes practice. The more practiced at it a person is the better chance of survival, or even of thriving, they will have when there is less to go around.

[Revi]

My strategy is to continue to work on the decks of the tilting Titanic while making a raft out of deck chairs. I am not going to be given a spot in the lifeboats anyway, so the only way to make it is to keep working, but meanwhile plan for the time when the ship sinks. Since I don't have the money to buy and equip and defend a fully functional farm, I am going to have to go with the woodlot I own, which provides heat and maple syrup at least. I need to keep working as long as possible before things get nasty.

They say that you want to be stepping up into the lifeboat, or in other words stick with the bigger and more seaworthy ship until it is sinking, and then step up from it into the lifeboat. I think we need to keep that in mind and keep our day jobs while simultaneously planning for the time when they won't be there any more. If I lived in a city that would mean I would have a bug out spot and go there as often as I could. Get to know people and make it a place you would want to go to if it got nasty. You might have to get there and stay a while.

[Loki]

Greer's blog is great, I read it most every week. The comments are also good to read, civil and informative, unlike Kunstler's commenters.

[nobodypanic]

arch-druids, green wizardry, natural and geomantic magic, robes and vestments and oh by the way buy my book.

imho, none of that helps establish any sort of credibility. it's hard enough engaging people and trying to get them to understand what a colossal F-up things are becoming and the cliff we're speeding towards; it's hard enough trying to get them to accept catabolic collapse and that we need serious efforts at change without all this additional superstitious nonsense.

[Loki]

arch-druids, green wizardry, natural and geomantic magic, robes and vestments and oh by the way buy my book.

imho, none of that helps establish any sort of credibility. it's hard enough engaging people and trying to get them to understand what a colossal F-up things are becoming and the cliff we're speeding towards; it's hard enough trying to get them to accept catabolic collapse and that we need serious efforts at change without all this additional superstitious nonsense.

I don't disagree, I wish the Archdruid / "green wizardry" stuff wasn't part of Greer's message, strikes me as exceedingly silly.

But ignore that and his blog is quite interesting, he's a smart guy with an interesting take on things. I'm glad he doesn't inject too much new agey fru fru stuff in his blog.

[evilgenius]

I don't think his green wizardry stuff should be confused with his Druid background. Maybe it is unfortunate he chose the term wizardry. Any reference to magic and it seems people like to post a picture of the man wearing his robes, so that they and all of the other idiots who don't like to read anything longer than a paragraph can laugh at him. You have to read what he says, however, to understand what he is talking about.

[Revi]

His post this week is clear and readable.

http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/

I don't know about all the green wizadry, but his writing is some of the best in the peak oil movement.

We might need a little magic to make it in the future.

[Rod_Cloutier]

Greer appeared in full 3 hour long interview recently where he not only talked about the usual peak oil, and decline of industrial civilization narratives, he also gets into to his occult and magic background and discusses these issues in detail as well:

https://youtu.be/POiN-jptBbg?t=1s

It was an excellent and timely interview!

[ennui2]

He's really kind of retreated back to an even more cult-like niche. I just went to his blog because this topic got bumped and I thought somehow he had posted a really got entry, only to see that it was really just a long-winded thank-you note to his faithful audience for making him feel important.

I don't know if I can justify 3 hours of my time to hear him talk, considering how long-winded he is. I used to be a regular reader of his blog but I got put off by how insular he is, how unwilling he is to entertain the idea that any of his analysis might be the least bit inaccurate. As such he attracts people who enjoy the comfort of being told the same things again and again. In that respect it's no different from, let's say, a Rush Limbaugh listener. The tune may vary, but the attraction is the same--it's the thought-silo.

[Revi]

I agree. I only have the attention span for real information. Kunstler is good, but for a page or two. Greer's posts are usually about 5 pages, which is okay as long as it's about something I'm interested in. I have no interest in "wizardry".

[Lore]

I agree. I only have the attention span for real information. Kunstler is good, but for a page or two. Greer's posts are usually about 5 pages, which is okay as long as it's about something I'm interested in. I have no interest in "wizardry".

That's what Harry Potter thought until he found out he was one!

[Revi]

True enough! I am not saying that I think it's a bad thing to be what he is. I am just saying that I like his way of looking at the world, but I personally am not interested in the religious/magical side of peak oil and it's ramifications. I love the way he writes, and his take on things, however. If the magical stuff is the price of his message, so be it.