Responding to the suggestion I stop burning petroleum

["Mad" Miles]

This is in reply to Wildflower who suggested we all stop burning petroleum to hinder global warming and destructive storms resulting from climate change. She posted to the "Test" section and I am placing this here as it seems the appropriate "category."

Consumer warning: What I have to say in the following is not for the squeamish and faint of heart. It is worst case scenario nightmare speculation, but they are thoughts I've had for quite a while and can't seem to shake. But if David Romero films are anathema to you I suggest you do not keep reading.

OK, Say I stop burning petroleum. How do you suggest I get to work from Forestville to Santa Rosa and Sebastopol as a substitute teacher? How do you suggest I get food? How do you suggest I heat my apartment in the winter and cook, not to mention heating water for kitchen and bathroom? (OK, it's natural gas, but how do you think they transport the natural gas?) And as for the electricity I use to post to this website, write and read email, watch TV, monitor the internet, listen to music, use the telephone, light my apartment, much of it is generated by deisel powered electrical generating plants.

You think global warming is scary? What are you going to do when the oil runs out, the whole world becomes a massive Superdome/Thunderdome ala New Orleans the last two days, and after the food reserves are used up, the gangs of urban cannibals start ranging farther into the hinterlands? Join them? Fight them? And what will you be eating when it comes down to it?

And in the mean time, when the people who have survived, by whatever means, start digging up the landfills for plastic to burn for heat, the burning of fossil fuels will look like child's play in comparison, at least in regard to the effects on the environment and global climate change.

It's easy to making sweeping pronouncements about what people should do, figuring out how to make real alternatives which are available on a scale that makes a difference is a whole different matter. For a very sobering look at all this I suggest a close reading of the information on the following website:

https://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/

And then just for real depressing fun try:

https://www.well.com/user/davidu/extinction.html


"Where everything is bad, it must be good to know the worst." F.H. Bradley, "Father" of English Positivism as quoted by Theodor Adorno in "Minima Moralia"

"The world's a mess, it's in my kiss." X, circa 1981, LA Art-Punk Rock Band





"Mad" Miles

[wildflower]

OK..
have you heard of walking, biking, cars that use veg oil, electricity, biodiesel?
Have you heard of solar electricity? Compact fluorescent bulbs that reduce elec consumption by 75%?
Have you heard of gardens, farms where you grow stuff and eat it?

You're going to be forced to stop burning petroleum...probably sooner than you like to think! Some really smart people think we can avoid the *Mad Max* scenario if we do it now voluntarily!!!
i AM working with others to figure out what to do... There are also MANY ways to lighten up your petroleum consumption now...and they're not that hard! I know.....

You say,"figuring out how to make real alternatives which are available on a scale that makes a difference is a whole different matter."

I invite you and everyone to do just that! Let's talk about it.... you can search for these terms on the net for more ideas about what to do:

Jason Bradford and WEL
Richard Heinberg, author of "Power Down"
post carbon institute

just for starters

https://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/[/url]

And then just for real depressing fun try:

https://www.well.com/user/davidu/extinction.html


"Where everything is bad, it must be good to know the worst." F.H. Bradley, "Father" of English Positivism as quoted by Theodor Adorno in "Minima Moralia"

"The world's a mess, it's in my kiss." X, circa 1981, LA Art-Punk Rock Band





"Mad" Miles

[wildflower]

https://www.well.com/user/davidu/extinction.html

wow....I just felt my depression deepen to new levels........

https://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/[/url]

And then just for real depressing fun try:

https://www.well.com/user/davidu/extinction.html


"Where everything is bad, it must be good to know the worst." F.H. Bradley, "Father" of English Positivism as quoted by Theodor Adorno in "Minima Moralia"

"The world's a mess, it's in my kiss." X, circa 1981, LA Art-Punk Rock Band





"Mad" Miles

[wildflower]

The Not-So-Gradual Collapse Of Empire

By Carolyn Baker

...........For me, this means getting my personal and political priorities in order.
Economic collapse and the devastation of Peak Oil require me to prepare my
own household and my community in every way possible to navigate our
formidable future. For some, it may mean co-housing, intentional
communities, or other options for shared housing arrangements, but in every
case, it means "Powering Down" (see Power Down, by Richard Heinberg (
www.museletter.com ) and learning to live with much less. For specifics on
preparing for the ramifications of Peak Oil, see Matt Savinar's website
www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net and click on "Preparations". Also instructive
is Dimitri Orlov's three-part article series on surviving the collapse of
the Soviet Union at
https://www.fromthewilderness.com/fr..._lessons.shtml.

https://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/[/url]

And then just for real depressing fun try:

https://www.well.com/user/davidu/extinction.html


"Where everything is bad, it must be good to know the worst." F.H. Bradley, "Father" of English Positivism as quoted by Theodor Adorno in "Minima Moralia"

"The world's a mess, it's in my kiss." X, circa 1981, LA Art-Punk Rock Band





"Mad" Miles

[tomcat]

This modern high tech civilisation has indeed been built on a rather delicate house of cards that require everything to go just right in order to continue.

Just look what hapens when there is an interuption in services (storms, strikes, riots, earthquakes, fires, war, etc.).

The number one thing that makes it all work right now is energy from fossil fuel.

Changing that for the masses will be a HUGE challenge.
Lots of people do not believe the threat exists and have no intention of changing. Others are just paralized by the complexity of it all.

It is very hard to change our habits, but we must, at some point, if we are to survive.

Do what you can in the long run to downsize your energy needs and convert to a non-oil source, and in the short run just make sure that you have emergency supplies to last for at least a month... for the occasional societal breakdowns that WILL be happening.

Good luck to us all!
Tom S.

The Not-So-Gradual Collapse Of Empire

By Carolyn Baker

...........For me, this means getting my personal and political priorities in order.
Economic collapse and the devastation of Peak Oil require me to prepare my
own household and my community in every way possible to navigate our
formidable future. For some, it may mean co-housing, intentional
communities, or other options for shared housing arrangements, but in every
case, it means "Powering Down" (see Power Down, by Richard Heinberg (
www.museletter.com ) and learning to live with much less. For specifics on
preparing for the ramifications of Peak Oil, see Matt Savinar's website
www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net and click on "Preparations". Also instructive
is Dimitri Orlov's three-part article series on surviving the collapse of
the Soviet Union at
https://www.fromthewilderness.com/fr..._lessons.shtml.