Letters
Letters can be sent to "matt" at "lifeaftertheoilcrash.net"
"I must now quickly dispense with everything I had imagined for the future."
Dear Mr. Savinar,
Thank you for your efforts. I heard you speaking with a local talk radio host in my city two days ago. I started reading your website yesterday morning.
I will read your book. Even now, your website, with its wealth of links, has me convinced. I am sure that I am similar to many past and future readers. The world of (industrial, consumer) things in my surround instantly seemed less real. I had thought they were permanent; I now think they will dissapear.
I don't have the means to put into words the disbelief, panic and grief I've felt on the heels of this discovery. I must now quickly dispense with everything I had imagined for the future, and work for something astoundingly, wrenchingly different.
The facts on display seem solid. You point to a wide body of established evidence. Your extrapolations seem unassailable. Yet I am certain I'll have an extremely difficult time of trying to introduce family, friends, and colleagues to the real, painful consequences of peak oil, perhaps because, in part, they are so extraordinarily simple, hiding in plain view.
Over the course of the twenty four hours, I have often thought: "If only it isn't true!", and then, "I'll snap out of it!". But so far as I call tell, the only way to snap out of this will be to start planning now, and to try to inform others. This, in turn, must start with surrendering the delusion that awareness of the real consequences of peak oil will offer a competitive advantage. Thank you.
Sincerely,
M.A.
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"God, am I glad I read your book . . ."
Matt,
God, am I glad I read your book. I couldn't stop shivering as I read some parts of it. Just so you know, I'm a very skeptical person by nature, so it was hard for me to accept all this but as I followed your links/references, and did other research on the Internet, I realized that what you're predicting is true. My life has definitely changed, I notified my fiancee' of all this and although she doesn't want to hear it because it bothers her, I know for a fact that I'm going to immediately make some changes in my life. I will be looking into running the house completely on solar power and seeing how much that'll cost; I'll be paying off debt, and I'll definitely start learning how to grow my own food. By the way, I work for the U.S. military in Japan. Right away I told some friends about this book, but as you mention - unfortunately everyone seems to 'shoot the messenger'. I'm going to continue to send links to your site to everyone I know, whether they want to accept it or not! I really hope that you can get on a prime-time TV show and really get the word out to the mainstream masses, because that's what's needed. Keep up the good work on the web site, I'll be following it closely...
M.A.
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"Revelations Have Changed My Long Term Course"
Matt - I've been following your site and all related issues for 4 months now, and the revelations have changed my long term course, as they did for you. I haven't yet reached the point where I consider myself fully informed, so am still reading everything I can. I downloaded your book last night, and must commend you for a job well done. I hope it sells well. And many thanks for expanding the "breaking news" section of your website, as a central resource for mainstream/alternative news on this subject is priceless.
You are doing a great service.
Sincerely,
A.A.
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"Speechless . . ."
I am speechless, even more so as this is a printed message instead of a spoken one. Thank you for a concise and clear headed approach to some very disturbing news. Still speechless...
Damn.
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"Cogent and Comprehensive Analysis . ."
Dear Matt,
I'd like to thank you for your very cogent and comprehensive analysis of extremely important current affairs. I appreciate the fact that your writing style and "political slant" are such that your message will be accessible to and understandable by people of just about any ideological persuasion. I believe that what you present is of utmost importance and that the more people who can understand and accept it, the greater the chances of - if not averting, at least minimizing - the horrendous effects of our persent course.
I share both your realistic acknowledgment & acceptance of the implicit results of our current dilemma and your desire to limit human suffering. Would that we could avert the horrors that the coming decade may well bring, but I've little faith that such can be done given the strangle-hold the madmen currently in power hold.
At least I can share with those near & dear to me what I know (with the help of your fine work) and hope that it helps them to survive the coming years.
Sincerely,
Clay
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"Our Political Leaders Are Not Telling Us All the Facts . . ."
Hi Matt -
I heard you twice on the radio with Art Bell. The first time I heard you, it blew my mind. But I figured, "Why would a new lawyer be the only person shouting the facts about the oil situation? That is what our political leaders are supposed to do". But since that first time I heard you, I have come to believe that our political leaders are not telling us all the facts. At no time during the debates did the Bush or Kerry talk about ramifications about "Peak Oil". Thank you for your courage, time and effort in presenting these facts.
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"Changed My View on the Future . . . "
Dear Matt,
I wanted to thank you for writing your book. My Dad bought it & sent it to us once he was finished reading it. He heard you on a radio program & just had to buy your book. I read your book this week & my husband is currently reading it. I hate to think that peak oil is true but with all the facts you've presented, plus I've checked it out on the net, it has to be.
Your book has really changed my view on the future. I am grateful for your web site with all the links to helpful info on how to deal w/ the crash. I wish you & yours well in the upcoming hard times! And I again thank you for
your work!
Sincerely,
Kristen L.
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"Appreciate the 'Shoot From the Hip' Writing Style"
Matt,
"This is Erik the UPS driver. I can't tell you enough how much I love your book with its no-holds-barred style of providing information (i.e. brutally honest). Also, I appreciate the "shoot from the hip" writing style. My background is Mathematics, and I communicate to people like this simply because it is more efficient: no reading between the lines!!'
Erik M.
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"Implications for Society Especially Sobering"
Matt,
"I think you did a great job with your book. It was a quick, if disturbing, read. The opening segment on population crashes and implications for human society was especially sobering. I'm already circulating one of the two books to friends and asking them to pass it on, etc. Keep up the vital work, and thanks."
Mark A.
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"The Most Important Information I Have Ever Read"
Matt,
I am astounded on the information in your book. The MOST important information I have ever read. I am an educated professional who is not easily swayed by "doomsday" prophecies but your info is RIGHT ON and I have done an exhaustive amount of research (web based and otherwise) on the subject.
I would much rather be forewarned than be caught unaware, I'm a big boy and can take the bad news, I'm under no false illusions of the future."
Brian K.
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"Came to the Exact Same Conclusions . . ."
Dear Matt,
My name is Marek and I'm an international student from Poland, majoring in economics at the University of XXXXXXXX (actually, I'm graduating this May). As you mentioned in your book, neo-classical economics is completely oblivious to the impending crisis. Fortunately, I was not among the ones to be fooled by the "resource substitution paradigm." The first thing that struck me when I moved to this country was the tremendous energy waste that did not contribute to objective well-being but that was a result of conspicuous consumption (with gas prices hovering around $ 4.50 / gallon in most European countries (including Poland), there is much more focus on conservation in the Old World).
Given my "culture shock" regarding wasteful energy consumption, I began researching the topic about two years ago. I eventually read every single publication regarding oil depletion since February 4, 1949, when M. King Hubbert published his first depletion-related paper in Science magazine. Whether these were papers by geologists (Bartlett, Hubbert, Deffeyes, Campbell, Duncan, Laherrere, Ivanhoe, Youngquist, et al.), geologically- and ecologically-oriented economists (Cleveland, Reynolds, Georgescu-Roegen, Daly et al.), human ecologists (Heinberg), conservation biologists (Ehrlich) or anyone else - you name it, I read it.
Your book was the newest addition to my collection, and I must say that I found some new information in it. I didn't learn anything new regarding oil depletion itself, but I found Part VI (Peak Oil and America's March Toward Fascism) illuminating. I've recently read a lot about government cronyism, but this was nevertheless an eye-opening chapter. Sure, given the CIA-organized removal of Mossadegh in Iran or the U.S.-backed coup in Guatemala (to remove Arbenz and protect the interests of the United Fruit Company) should have been a forewarning that the incumbent politicians' intention was not to spread democracy but to protect the extraction of foreign resources (yes, I've read Michael Klare's "Resource Wars"). Still, such a radicalization of politics sounds really shocking.
As I said, I've been researching this topic for nearly two years now, and I've reached EXACTLY the same conclusions as you did. I'm writing this e-mail mainly because I was wondering how you have coped emotionally with your new worldview. As for me, I must say that the thought of massive wars and a 90% population die-off have been haunting me ever since I learned about their possibility. I never plunged into depression, but it is certainly hard for me to fit into this entertainment-oriented, happy-go-lucky society. I guess that given the "terminal trajectory" that we're on, the only source of meaning in my life is friendship and love. Without them, there would be little point in carrying on.
Congratulations on your book and keep up the good work!
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"The Red Pill . . . ."
Wow!
I'm going to assume that you have seen "The Matrix". Well, I listened to you speak on Coast to Coast AM on Feb. 25th (two nights ago) and I was completely clueless at first. I hesitantly listened along throughout the program, not knowing what to think. Great interview and great topic, yet I remained a skeptic.
Until... I thoroughly reviewed your web-site and read over every possible link and then followed your advice and preformed a google search and read until I could no longer stay awake.
Subsequently I feel like you showed me the reality of the true world that I live in, and you gave me a choice to accept it or reject it.
Why did I mention "The Matrix"? Because I think I just swallowed the red pill.
So many things have entered into my head in the last day. What to do? How to survive? Whom should I help and how? Should I be more bold like yourself and speak out on the matter? Can I honestly prepare myself for this?
My life and my goals have completely turned around. I have loads of debt, I drive a lot and have two nice cars and I own a bunch of worthless crap. I constantly pursued material bliss. I still don't know what my priorities will be, but I do know what they will no longer be. I am in the Engineering profession and make a decent income. However, like most Americans I still live beyond my income level. My family won't like my new passion, but they are going to have to understand that I'm not doing this for myself, but for them, for their survival.
I had lots of plans for the money that I have been saving; those plans have changed as well. First I pay off my enormous debts. Then I prepare to really educate myself. Like learning ways to live my life as if oil had not yet been discovered or at least exploited in the manor that it has over the past 75 years.
I refuse to die off and allow my family to die off while the rich and affluent survive because of their money and power and unwillingness to share their knowledge about this with people like us. Some of these people are nefarious in spirit and are self-minded in nature. They and their offspring will inherit the earth and even then nothing will change.
In the past, I used to believe strongly in the literal interpretation of the book of Revelation from the Bible. Then for I while, I entertained the idea that the book was written by John as a book of hope to the persecuted masses of the time. Now, after reading your information and listening to you; it just seems like a collision course that no one can stop. It almost seems like the events have been preordained. I have to wonder now if the events depicted in that book are based upon literal prophecy. Only time will tell.
Thank you and God bless you Matt (if you don't believe in God, please do not take offense)
Thank you again
Joel
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"Stirred Up the Hornet's Nest Coast to Coast"
Dear Matt:
Well, you’ve stirred up quite a hornet’s nest of interest among my friends and family members from coast to coast! And we’re glad. Thanks to an email from my brother who discovered your website, we are all happy to be among the “Peak Oil” informed.
I am also a graduate of UCD, I majored in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology, then went on to graduate from UCD with a doctorate in Veterinary Medicine. My husband and I have always “recycled” and tried to be conscious of conserving energy whenever possible. We are anti-SUV, rarely watch TV and donate to environmental organizations, yet at the same time I’m embarrassed to say that we also are enamored with the latest technology in cell phones and computers! Your website has caused our family to really re-think our whole lifestyle.
Yesterday afternoon my husband, our son and I sat around the fireplace while I read your website statement aloud. After that, we discussed it for several more hours, and still are discussing it today! Interestingly, my husband has been talking about sensing some impending world disaster for awhile, what with 9-11, the power outages, unrest in Iraq etc. We went on a hike over the Christmas holidays with several of my family members and had a lively discussion about what we would do if we had to go into “survival” mode in the face of some disaster. Five years ago we bought 20 acres at the 3500 foot level in the southern sierra mountains of California. It has a pond, well water from multiple springs in the area, a small fruit orchard and a house with a southern facing roof. We’ve been planning on going “off the grid” (ie: solar panels for appliances, solar thermal water heating, geothermal space heating and air conditioning), now our plans have been stepped up a bit! A greenhouse and garden are a definite future addition. I think one of the most important things anyone can do prior to post peak problems is get out from underneath their debt load, so paying off our house is a priority, but something that is going to be hard to do in the next few years. Oh well, at least we are now aware of the problem.
Thanks again for your insight and we’ll be listening to you on Coast to Coast AM this Wednesday!
Cheryl
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"I Read Your Website . . . Then I prayed. It Was All I Could Do . . ."
Thank you so much for posting your knowledge on the internet for me to find. Wednesday, June 1, after standing in line at a large supermarket chain scanning the tabloids, I took notice of one in particular: the Weekly World News, of all things. It said, "Second Great Depression Coming Within Weeks! Maybe Even Days!..." Now, I never have paid much mind to the same magazine that provides us with, "Three-headed Woman Gives Birth to Alien!"; however, this hit me, and started the wheels in my mind thinking, "What would it take to cause a second great depression in America? Could it happen again? How would we recover?" Curious, I went home and Googled "second great depression." I found several causes of the first depression, which I knew having just taken two semesters in US History (I am a part-time college student, full-time Telecom project coordinator, and have a 3-year old daughter). I chose to look at your website, and my life has changed because of it. I no longer view my future as I know it now, as what I hoped it to be. It will be changed.Your website started a wildfire within my soul, and I have nothing but the utmost fear for surviving the next few years in the world, along with the highest gratitude for what you have done. I have done my own research now, and have forwarded what I know, including your website link, with a sobering "This is our fate" message to my family and close friends. I just pray that they make changes right now. I have had your information now for 5 days and have been moved to act fast. Time is of the essence in this matter (I have a paralegal certification, and learned that this was one of the most important phrases we should know).
As of right now, I am watching the FX movie, "Oil Storm", and wondering if the people who made this movie may have glanced at your website. Still no talk about overall permanent depletion globally. It seems as if the "Peak Oil" theory is too sensitive for America to grasp right now, and they are chalking America's loss of oil on a natural disaster, damaged relations with the Middle East, and haven't mentioned anything about reaching max production capacity yet or scarce oil fields left in the world. I guess it's a hard thing to stare at your own fate in black-and-white, and accept it as truth. In fact, they just mentioned in the movie (it's towards the end) that before America could reach complete anarchy, they seized enough oil to bring America back "from the brink of collapse." Just like a fairy-tale ending. Give me a break. Essentially, the whole "crisis" in this movie lasted 1 year. That's it. 1 year. People need to wake up and get a grip on the real environmental truth that OIL AND OIL FIELDS DO NOT REPLENISH THEMSELVES. Once it's gone, it's gone forever.
(large snip here)
Please feel free to post this email if you like. Please withhold my name, thoughHonestly, after I read your website 5 days ago, I let the fear overtake me and just put my head in my hands and cried. Then I prayed. It was all I could do at the moment, and the next day, began the first day of my "new life." One of the emails on your website stated something about no longer being able to be entertainment-centered, happy-go-lucky citizens anymore. I feel the exact same way. I am scared for my life, and will be preparing to defend what land my family does have here from the suburbanites that will scramble to our hills for refuge. There is also the issue of our dollar and its weakness right now, and am studying up on currency conversion to the euro.
Thank you for your hard work and for changing my life.
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"Comments From an Oil Engineer . . ."
Hi, Matt:
I have run into your W-page only this morning but I rush to tell you - what a great job, man! It gives me crawls to think that a lawyer could do so much with the techinfo where the experts struggle. I hate to see that too - being an oil engineer myself!
My friend, you are speaking my mind. I have been following the events since 1980, when I first got alarmed to the prospect by the Jeremy Rifkin's ENTROPY. And what a breathtaking picture it has been. Within the next 1-2 generations what I call "The End of the Easy Energy Era" will be firmly in reign.
In fact, I have decided to retire from my consulting business, buy some reasonably fertile patch of farm land away from the main dregs of civilization and re-learn the tools and the arts of husbandry. Long have I come to believe that nothing else - no gold, no money, no stock, no real estate, no business (perhaps except weapons industry and undertaking) will be worth a pinch of snuff in 15-20 years. With two adolescent kids totally addicted to the mainstream paradigm, there is a job cut out for a man much younger (I am 57) and of much better health. But, we hardly ever have a luxury at free choice of the starting point, so we fight and fall where we stand.
Some comments: although you may know it all, it may be worth emphasizing that:
1. every form of life survives only in a continuing stream of energy flowing through its systems, and that
2. every form of life, as well as every device employed by man as his exosomatic tool of survival (including his material toys, roads, cities, compaies, political and social systems and institutions) are nothing more than transformers of energy; and that
3. you cannot have energy flow unless you have one energy reservoir of higher, and another of lower potential (i,e. you have an energy gradient); and that
4. you cannot convert (sustain a flow of) any energy without a material scaffold of metals, ceramics, plastics, masonry etc; and that
5. in every conversion in a finite time, you are always bound to lose (dissipate) some of it (this they refer to as the 2nd law) - and the "some of it" applies to both energy AND mass taking a part.
Where I am going with this is to point out that material scaffold of our energy transformers is equally so subject to the immutable laws of thermodynamics, therefore being in part dissipated in the process of conversion beyond further reach of man. This is admittedly complex, and let me give you one example for all to bring it down to practical terms:
Bronze Age was possible only because copper ores available then assayed 30-50% metal and were therefore processable by the primitive firing technologies of the day. Today's world best copper mines average less than 0.8% copper, hence requiring enormous amount of both energy and material scaffolding to render the ore into useable metal. This gives true meaning to the statement that "every new technology comes into existence only in order to resolve the shortcomings of the existing technology."
As every half-bright student of history and theogony, as well as physics, should know, intellect on this planet has but one direction to go, which is forward, and therefore one chance, and one chance only. Those who think we can just use up the oil/gas/coal/uranium/tar/shales and then quietly slip back to 1765 are plain missing the second half of the picture. When the slide begins, there is no resource ledge left unspoiled in the commons on which we may establish a foothold for a new start - it will be all the way back to the caves.
Strangely enough, I feel relieved, rather than alarmed. This madness cannot continue much longer - even if a miracle happened right now and Nikola Tesla, Tony Bearden, Jean-Luc Pickard, or Bart Simpson gave us inexhaustible energy from 'negentropy' today. Man on the Planet Earth is through. The rest is colorally and time.
Until then, be a good American and make a pile of money blowing the whistle. It will make a pile of good to you and family when your Equals stop by to claim the contents of your pantry. Then, give generously and die smilingly. After all, this world is a perfect work of a perfect Creator - and we are all One.
Oh yes - I have not seen any of your charts, but I would be happy to share mine.
Josef
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"A Fellow Voice in the Wilderness . . ."
Dear Matt,
You may or may not recognize my name. I am an old buddy of Ruppert, for several years we have chatted about the New Dark Ages.
My father wrote the first book about solar energy and was the head of Carter's commission on alternative energy.
I used to lecture about what I call "the Real Dark Ages" when oil runs out. I used to get all sorts of amusing ripostes. Like "there is about 500 years of coal left" and then I remind people that the Byzantine empire lasted for a thousand years. 500 years isn't much more than an eyeblink.
I used to ask people, "Raise your hand if you think people will be carrying your litter for you when the oil runs out and we revert to living like two hundred years ago". Everyone raises their hands. Then I tell them to put their hands down and I will show them who will be the laborers and who will be riding high and mighty, namely, myself. "All of you will be doomed to be the ones pulling the car I will ride in for statistically, 99% of the population will serve the 1% and the chances of this 1% being all of you is near zero".
I also, in 1976, would explain that the current oil crisis was a currency/political crisis and was good because it was a wake up call. I said, "In the year 2000, the real oil crisis will begin and we will be at war in the Middle East, fighting over oil".
I used to appear on TV and the radio and science fiction conventions and universities used to sponsor me, I even talked at a Dr. Who TV conference (meeting most of the doctors!). George Lucas and I once appeared on stage together.
And today?
My phone doesn't ring. I have no speaking engagements. No one wants to hear me. As our pitiful window of opportunity slides shut, no one will talk to me. When I first e-mailed Ruppert, about six years ago, he was suprized I was so muffled. For my voice was stilled by our "real rulers" who decided, when they backed Reagan, that fantasy was better than reality and that the final plan would be to steal all that oil using our powerful military and our nukes.
The average American can't understand the downside to this plan. Downside: the oil will still run out but on top of no oil, we will be a dead civilization that doesn't deserve to exist. So much for America the Beautiful.
I welcome your blog and hope you keep up your labor. Don't expect to get rich or beloved. I was Cassandra and my reward has been to be reviled and hated by millions. But if more people wake up and smell the stink, all the better. You might even see me on CBS again! Or CNN, for that matter!
By the way, Shell oil announced their oil reserves are 20% less than they claimed last month. They even admitted that pumping is vastly outstripping new finds. Here it is. Already at our doorstep.
Elaine Supkis
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"Maybe My Children Have A Chance . . ."
I have been actively investigating Peak Oil since Mike Ruppert first posted an article by Stan Goff soon after 911. With every new site on the issue I raise my hopes that maybe my young children have a chance. Thank you.
I have a detailed understanding of the situation but I am unable/unwilling to make the changes I know are necessary. I live in LA with a 17 year old and a 7 and 3 year old. I find myself wishing I lived in some remote cabin or farm instead of a major population center with limited water resources.
As far as the issue I try to speak out on the subject but as you well know the messenger is always the one to get shot. Especially when he dose not change his way of consumption. Feel free to share any words of wisdom with me if you have them. For promoting the issue I am willing to help you and others so feel free to ask for help here in LA.
Regards,
Wayne
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"Very Staggering Subject . . ."
Matt,
I have studied up for some time on the issue associated with oil and energy depletion. It is obviously a very staggering subject to get your head around when you consider all the potentially horrific scenarios. Much to the chagrin of my wife, I do become a bit of a drag about it sometime.
It is easy to feel helpless as, at best, at least some of the really difficult and ugly things will most assuredly come to pass, though how it will unfold is almost impossible to guess. The human aspect is a wildcard. The more sudden the shocks, the higher the likelihood of panic and chaos, which by almost definition become impossible to predict.
I however try to think in term of action and solutions. Unfortunately I find it difficult to even begin in this case. It would be nice if there were a logical plan to flow, though you get to the point where you say, "Well, if everyone just did this or that like I do ...," which is of limited usefulness.
Most all discussions about how to prepare and what you might do to help the situation seem to be similar to the article you link to from your web page, which is to say about how to hunker down and look out for number one. This seems at the very least unsatisfying.
I don't know if you have any more productive suggestion in this regard. I have posed the question (i.e. "What can I do about it?", realizing I personally can't solve the entire problem by waving my hands) to a number of people and got some fragments. Any thoughts would be welcome.
Howard
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"Been Telling People for 3 Years . . ."
I've been telling people this stuff for the past 3 years but they don't want to listen. Maybe just as well, it means there'll be fewer of us in a position to make use of valuable resources when it all comes tumblingdown. I wish you all the best, I think we'll all need all the luck we can get.
Kind Regards
Darren
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"Dismissed You As Paranoid Until . . ."
Hello, I am a Canadian citizen that just read your Internet article "Life after the oil crash". I found your article to be intriguing to say the least, but I was left with a few questions and a possible solution that I hope that for the sake of the human kind you will not be able to shoot down as easily as the others. When I read your article, I must admit I immediately dismissed it as being written by a paranoid pessimist. I thought to myself that we would be set as soon as we implemented hydrogen technologies throughout the first world, and that we would have enough oil to supply ourselves until then if we found an economically feasible technique to extract petroleum from the vast amounts of oil in the Athabasca and similar tar sands and included that into our existing reserves if we used that to fuel our forms of transportation and increased hydroelectric, solar and wind generators. I was about to go to bed content that you are a fool, then I read one of your links on alternate sources of energies, and it became clear to me that using oil to create hydrogen simply would not work and I was the foolish one.
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"Good Luck, Were Going to Need It . . ."
Hello Matt.
In about the mid-1970's I read "The Coming Dark Ages" by Roberto Vacca. Eve since then I knew that the 21st century would see a catastrophe of magnificent proportions. Ever since Imy thoughts would drift to what conditions would be like and what one could do to improve the chances of survival.
Roberto did not mention oil, but in researching an essay I co-authored for the internet [12 000 years of Elliott Wave] I reaslised that the catastrophe wouldhave its origin in lack of oil and that it would be sooner than I had thought. Planning for survival speeded up and became more structured - with one major concern being "With how many other people intent on survival would I have to compete for the very limited resources that IMHO are essential to do so?"
So far the answer seems to be, "Very few".
There is an apathy and denial when it comes to oil running out - from government as well as from individuals that gives me good hope that most people will either do nothing or do something futile like moving to the suburs and starting an organic garden and a methane plant for their biomass. They have no idea, not the slightest conception how ugly it will get during the time when the global population decreases from over 7 billion to say 1 billion or so, becasue of lack of food.
If Jay with his www.dieoff.com can draw less than 1000 people, globally, to his Yahoo! group discussion on the coming crisis, it shows the measure of this apathy.
That is why I headed this e-mail with "Good l:uck" Firstly for this venture with your website and secondly, since I see that you are still young enough to exoerience the dieoff, with whatever you plan to do for you and your family to be among the 1 billion and not among the 6.
Best regards.
Dan
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"Freaked Out . . ."
Hey Matt,
I just read "Life After the Oil Crash", and, I'm freaked out . . . especially after seeing the flash presentation on DU. It has shaken me straight to the core.
I have to sit back for a while and let this all absorb.
Perhaps I'll write more later. Take care, Jake.
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"Hold on to Your Soul . . ."
Hello Matt,
I started reading FTW after the tragedy of 9-11. Since that time, myresearch has expanded from 9-11 to Peak Oil and A-Z. I am in thelegal/media profession and have often delivered messages people just don't want to hear-ever. I have been emailing and speaking to people about 9-11, Peak Oil, and just about everything in between for over two years and the response to all this information has been most interesting and often quite depressing. However, the upside has been that people are smelling a rat on the Titanic and taking it upon themselves to "get educated" on thesematters because they know they are being lied to by their governments and mainstream media 24/7.
I find that folks with young children can be very resistant to thisinformation-that is to expected, but there is a growing sense thatadjustments need to be made NOW with respect to acquiring more "stuff"-I see a definite downsizing (including selling SUV's) going on and more emphasis on spiritual values and/or awareness (traditional and non-traditional).
Sometimes people ask me (and I am no expert on this!) how intense will these changes really be? All I say is, well, hold on to your soul, values and your true friends.
Thanks so much for putting the recent analysis into a Q&A format, it is effective.
Catherine
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"Completely Change My Path . . ."
I just want you to know that this website has completely changed my path in life. I am a Senior in High School planning on going to college to major in Computer Engineering. But when I say this site I did alot of research and now I plan to have my own wildlife show called The life and times of Grizzly Adams. Maybe not but I have evaulated the situation, and plan on going into Chemical Engineering or the like in hopes of doing something good, although all looks hopeless. As Galadriel told Frodo "even the smallest person can change the fate of the world."
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"Saving Lives . . ."
I’ve known for some time now that society as we know it will see some drastic changes in the 21st century, but until stumbling onto your site, I had no idea what would cause these changes (whether for better, or worse), and how impacted society would be. I had no idea what to expect. After reading through your summery of the oil crisis we face, I have a new found understanding of the situation we will all be facing in the near future, thank you. By learning about this at my age, I’ll be mentally prepared for the uncertain future. I now believe that my friends, family, and I will stand a much better chance of surviving whatever may happen. I’m trying to make any positive difference I can now.
You should know that you are making a big difference. You said that your site received 110,000 hits in a very short amount of time! That’s a good indication of the amount of people your message has reached. Since reading the information on your site, listening to the presentations on peak oil, and taking a good look at the statistics and charts presented on the various sites linked from yours, I’ve told as many open minded people about this as possible. I’m going to make sure that my family, true friends and anyone willing to listen are prepared for the future, because if we’re not, we may not survive if society continues consuming, and increasing consumption of our resources at the rate we have been. And I don’t see any significant signs of change. So now that I’ve nearly learned as much as I can in regards to oil, I’m learning about survival skills! I’m lucky enough to live in a part of the world with abundant natural resources, so hopefully we (Canadians) don’t get robbed for what we have before the situation escalates…though I see it in the media now, “Canada Haven for Terrorists”…it’s a shame that so many people believe whatever propaganda they see on TV. I would be very interested in purchasing your booklet when it comes out, and maybe some copies to give to my friends who are willing to accept the truth.
I’m only 21 years old, so I’ll be seeing the effect of the oil crash when it escalates. Thank you for showing me, and so many others, the truth. Since you opened my eyes, I’ve begun to take preparations that will increase my chances of survival drastically.
Thank you again. You may very well be saving lives.
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"Consumerism is Killing Us . . ."
Matt,
Thank your for putting up your site on Peak Oil. Concise and to the point. No flim flam.
I live in Oklahoma. Heart of the oil fields. Our production, (state of Oklahoma) peaked in 1927. We barely produce enough oil to fill a single SUV these days. We've lived in depression like atmosphere since 1982. Peak oil is real and will soon kill most of the people in the world.
You know the facts, I won't harp on it more. I've been concerned about it for 25 years, but only told I was chicken little. Soon gas rationing will start. It must because the energy is going to have to be saved for the production of food. Oklahoma, known as the breadbasket for it's wheat production, cannot produce 1/10 of the wheat that it does now without the mass infusion of petroleum energy in the form of fertilizer, pesticide and herbicides, and massive amounts of diesel to cultivate and harvest the land. Not only in Ok, but everywhere. N. Korea is proof of what will happen when fertilizer can't be applied.
Suffice it to say, the only hope that most people will have of surviving the coming famines is to leave the cities and suburbs and return to the farm so they can grow and harvest their own food using organic means.
Cars are, or will soon be dead. Nothing... nothing can replace fossil fuels, and we must soon abandon them if we are to survive.
If we don't the blackouts will come even sooner, the famines will be even greater, the misery 10 times as great.
Our only hope is that people will wake and realize what is happening. Hopefully you won't be shouted down by the "capitalists" but you have a hard road ahead of you. Keep the faith, because educating the people about the problem is the only solution. If they can wrap thier minds around the problem, perhaps we will stand a chance. If they cannot fathom it, turn away, turn to "someone" for help, then we are lost.
Agraianism is a good way of life, simple, relaxing, quiet, soothing, small communities of people striving together, craftsmanship.
Consumerism is what is killing us and the planet, and it will soon die, hopefully with education we here in America can mend our ways and return to the America of our forefathers, before the advent of industrialization. For really, after the fall of industrialization, we will once again be free.
Hope you survive, although your choice of living location is highly suspect. Thank you for your efforts.
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"Observations From a Multi-Generational Survivor . . ."
Hi Matt,
If I may, I'd like to offer some personal observations as a muliti-generational survivor and a lifetime 'back-to-the-lander'. I saw the writing on the wall with the 73 Arab Oil Embargo, gave up my car (for a while), moved out into the north woods, lived in a tipi, grew large gardens, cut firewood by hand and became 80% food and almost 100% energy self-sufficient. I've changed a lot since then but I still hold precious, much of what I learned in my 'hippie daze'.
It is said that those that don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
To survive the coming years, a person must learn to see the past, present and future as an interconnecting story. To see the story in a rock or a tree, a person, town, a region or even a civilization, a person must learn to look past the illusion of 'today' with it's immediate gratification and self-centered desires and see life in a much broader context.
I say I'm a 'multi-generational survivor' because my German ancestors escaped the depredations of Napoleonic Wars by immigrating to the Black Sea area of South Russia at the invitation of Cathrine the Great. She promised them free lands, local self-government, freedom of religion and exemption from military service. Then, my Great-Grandfather and his extended family immigrated to America in the late 1800's to escape the tyranny of the Czar as he destroyed each of these promised freedoms. My Great-Grandfather, his grown children, their spouses and families moved to the Dakota prairies as a family group and homesteaded next to each other in 1910. My Dad took over the farm after WWII and I was born into this rural, close knit, mutually supportive culture as part of the 'baby boomer' generation. I escaped the illusions of today's society over thirty years ago by choosing to live a life based on the cycles and seasons of nature.
When my ancestors moved to the barren steppes of South Russia, they experienced extreme hardships. It was said that the first generation experienced DEATH, the second generation experienced HARDSHIP but it only after their hard work and self-sacrifice did the third generation live with BREAD.
The coming life after the oil crash will be much like this. Who of us will be willing to experience death and hardship so that our grandchildren can live with bread?
Another more recent example of what life will be like after the oil crash is the experience of the Jewish people living in Germany during the Nazi rise to power. The people that saw the 'writing on the wall' in the early 1930's attempted to immigrate out of Germany. Those that became frightened but could not get out of the country, tried to save their children by sending them to other countries. Some people were able to relocate into rural areas and hide throughout the coming war. Those that didn't recognize what was happening until they couldn't leave, attempted to hide in dugout bunkers or in attics. But most denied what was happening even when they were led into the trains.
So it will be with the coming oil crash. The first to become aware will try to leave the urban areas. Then they will try to save their children by sending them to friends and relatives in the country or they will attempt to hide out in their homes. But most will deny everything until there is a blind panic to flee the cities and 'head for the hills'.
But I tell you, in this mass exodus, predatory groups will prey on the weak and rural inhabitants will band together to prevent the masses from invading their homes and destroying the limited resources that they are counting on to keep their own loved ones alive. So, unless you are making a plan right now on where you are going to go, how you are going to get there and if you will be allowed to stay once you get there, your chances of making it may not be very good.
So, what do I recommend.................
First, regardless of whether you live in an urban or rural area, throw your preconceived values out the door. What society values today will be the garbage of the future and what society rejects today will be of far greater value in sustaining and building a future sustainable society.
Paper wealth and paper insurance will have progressively less value. Your own personal attitude and knowledge is the greatest personal wealth you can possess.
The second greatest wealth to develop is a network of supportive friends. An extended family and/or a mutually supportive community will be priceless in the coming time of trouble. No one individual will survive regardless of his knowledge and preparation without a supportive network of friends and family.
Third, the greatest treasure of sustainable knowledge is with the rural poor of this world. They are the true survivors. They know how to get by with very little, how to fix things and make things work from what they can salvage. They know how to forage and feed themselves. They know how to make it without modern technology and how to get by without large amounts of fossil energy. They are the future's wealth.
So in conclusion, what you need for basic survival is quite simple: keeping your body from getting too hot or too cold, plus food and water. Human companionship is also vital as it makes life worth living.
EVERYTHING after that is LUXURY. You don't need an expensive wind generator or solar panel or biofuel powered transportation or anything resembling your present lifestyle to survive. Establish the requirements for a sustainable life first and then add the luxuries as you have the time, ability and resources to provide. Figure out how you are going to keep yourself and your family warm and fed regardless of what happens to the outside world and then if there is time, consider the extras.
Learn from history and learn from those that are already doing what you wish to do and just maybe there is hope for an urban lawyer as well as the first of the urban awakened.
Attached is an outline I put together for a 'Sustainable Living Skills' education program. Hope you find it of value!
Namaste!
Mountain Firekeeper
You have my permission to reprint any or all of this e-mail and attachment..............
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Life After the Oil Crash
Deal With Reality or Reality Will Deal With You
Great survival and disaster preparedness books:
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Gear for blackouts and emergencies:
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LATOC readers bought the following at Amazon:
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I recommend the following books from Amazon:
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