Leave it to Beaver

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately about Peak Oil and the impression I get is that people like to talk and analyze, but most aren't taking the necessary steps to prepare their family for what is going to happen.

Over the past 100+ years, Americans have gone from being self-employed farmers or shopkeepers to being employees. In that time, they've acquired the habit of expecting someone else to solve the problem. The boss will deal with it - the Federal government - someone will work out a way for us to go on living in the same wasteful, frivolous way that got us into this situation, so we just need to write our congressperson or call our local talkshow host and vigorously state our opinion. What a bunch of crap!

Didn't anyone learn anything from the Katrina debacle? We're on our own! No one is riding to the rescue! The people who will get out of jams will be those who can pay their way out.

I am beginning to look around for the place to live in safety and comfort while our American way of life meets the hard cold reality that there no longer is enough cheap oil to maintain our ridiculous life style. I'm actually looking forward to seeing some of our inane Hollywood celebrities try to earn their living by doing something of real value.

We've got - at most - a few years to prepare. It's a good time to buy a few acres in the country with a few friends. Brush up on your organic gardening and farming skills. Stock up on hand tools, guns, and ammo; learn to use them. Lay back a supply of canned or freeze-dried foods. Maybe put in your own gas tank for the inevitable times when it will be impossible to buy fuel, due to shortages. Get ready and learn to love it.

Lessening your family's dependence on working for someone else, cutting your dependence on foods of questionable quality that must be trucked a thousand miles to your local grocery market - these are good things. Getting out of big cities where you are vulnerable to terroist attacks, bird flu epidemics, shortages of gasoline, medicines, and food may be troublesome to accomplish, but you will be soooo glad when the blackouts get to be a regular occurence or there is a panic for any of the aforementioned reasons.

This is not a drill!

We will be seeing more wars over resources, especially oil in the next few years. I wouldn't count on the USA being able to capture enough to keep our bloated system going. Our adventure in Iraq doesn't seem to be working out too profitably, does it? Just as in Vietnam, I will place my bets on the guerilla forces to win.

My advice is to learn to become self-reliant again. Find a way. Get in shape because only the healthy and the fit (and the prepared) will have a chance to survive the next ten years.

Why believe me? I've been through a few "trial runs" that I'll tell you about next time.