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Energy fears looming, new survivalists prepare
By SAMANTHA GROSS, Associated Press Writer Posted Sat May 24, 2008 11:12am PDT

Peter Laskowski stacks firewood at his remote home in Waitsfield, Vt., Friday, April 11, 2008. Convinced that the planet's oil supply is dwindling and the world's economies are heading for a crash, people around the country are moving onto homesteads, learning to live off their land, conserving fuel and, in some cases, stocking up on guns they expect to use to defend themselves and their supplies from desperate crowds of people who didn't prepare. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
BUSKIRK, N.Y. - A few years ago, Kathleen Breault was just another suburban grandma, driving countless hours every week, stopping for lunch at McDonald's, buying clothes at the mall, watching TV in the evenings.

That was before Breault heard an author talk about the bleak future of the world's oil supply. Now, she's preparing for the world as we know it to disappear.

Breault cut her driving time in half. She switched to a diet of locally grown foods near her upstate New York home and lost 70 pounds. She sliced up her credit cards, banished her television and swore off plane travel. She began relying on a wood-burning stove.

"I was panic-stricken," the 50-year-old recalled, her voice shaking. "Devastated. Depressed. Afraid. Vulnerable. Weak. Alone. Just terrible."

Convinced the planet's oil supply is dwindling and the world's economies are heading for a crash, some people around the country are moving onto homesteads, learning to live off their land, conserving fuel and, in some cases, stocking up on guns they expect to use to defend themselves and their supplies from desperate crowds of people who didn't prepare.

The exact number of people taking such steps is impossible to determine, but anecdotal evidence suggests that the movement has been gaining momentum in the last few years.

These energy survivalists are not leading some sort of green revolution meant to save the planet. Many of them believe it is too late for that, seeing signs in soaring fuel and food prices and a faltering U.S. economy, and are largely focused on saving themselves.

Some are doing it quietly, giving few details of their preparations — afraid that revealing such information as the location of their supplies will endanger themselves and their loved ones. They envision a future in which the nation's cities will be filled with hungry, desperate refugees forced to go looking for food, shelter and water.

"There's going to be things that happen when people can't get things that they need for themselves and their families," said Lynn-Marie, who believes cities could see a rise in violence as early as 2012.

Lynn-Marie asked to be identified by her first name to protect her homestead in rural western Idaho. Many of these survivalists declined to speak to The Associated Press for similar reasons.

These survivalists believe in "peak oil," the idea that world oil production is set to hit a high point and then decline. Scientists who support idea say the amount of oil produced in the world each year has already or will soon begin a downward slide, even amid increased demand. But many scientists say such a scenario will be avoided as other sources of energy come in to fill the void.

On the PeakOil.com Web site, where upward of 800 people gathered on recent evenings, believers engage in a debate about what kind of world awaits.

Some members argue there will be no financial crash, but a slow slide into harder times. Some believe the federal government will respond to the loss of energy security with a clampdown on personal freedoms. Others simply don't trust that the government can maintain basic services in the face of an energy crisis.

The powers that be, they've determined, will be largely powerless to stop what is to come.

Determined to guard themselves from potentially harsh times ahead, Lynn-Marie and her husband have already planted an orchard of about 40 trees and built a greenhouse on their 7 1/2 acres. They have built their own irrigation system. They've begun to raise chickens and pigs, and they've learned to slaughter them.

The couple have gotten rid of their TV and instead have been reading dusty old books published in their grandparents' era, books that explain the simpler lifestyle they are trying to revive. Lynn-Marie has been teaching herself how to make soap. Her husband, concerned about one day being unable to get medications, has been training to become an herbalist.

By 2012, they expect to power their property with solar panels, and produce their own meat, milk and vegetables. When things start to fall apart, they expect their children and grandchildren will come back home and help them work the land. She envisions a day when the family may have to decide whether to turn needy people away from their door.

"People will be unprepared," she said. "And we can imagine marauding hordes."

So can Peter Laskowski. Living in a woodsy area outside of Montpelier, Vt., the 57-year-old retiree has become the local constable and a deputy sheriff for his county, as well as an emergency medical technician.

"I decided there was nothing like getting the training myself to deal with insurrections, if that's a possibility," said the former executive recruiter.

Laskowski is taking steps similar to environmentalists: conserving fuel, consuming less, studying global warming, and relying on local produce and craftsmen. Laskowski is powering his home with solar panels and is raising fish, geese, ducks and sheep. He has planted apple and pear trees and is growing lettuce, spinach and corn.

Whenever possible, he uses his bicycle to get into town.

"I remember the oil crisis in '73; I remember waiting in line for gas," Laskowski said. "If there is a disruption in the oil supply it will be very quickly elevated into a disaster."

Breault said she hopes to someday band together with her neighbors to form a self-sufficient community. Women will always be having babies, she notes, and she imagines her skills as a midwife will always be in demand.

For now, she is readying for the more immediate work ahead: There's a root cellar to dig, fruit trees and vegetable plots to plant. She has put a bicycle on layaway, and soon she'll be able to bike to visit her grandkids even if there is no oil at the pump.

Whatever the shape of things yet to come, she said, she's done what she can to prepare.

Copyright © 2007 Yahoo! All rights reserved.

'The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it.'

'When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.'

'And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms.'

'An elective despotism was not the government we fought for.' - Thomas Jefferson

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We will never run out of oil, however it will become expensive and relatively scarce. It is wise to have a sustainable business plan. If you're feeling the pinch at the gas pump or grocery store, etc., there is absolutely nothing wrong with being conservative and growing your own food.(If you've got the means.)

I wouldn't throw out my TV or computer, but I would look for ways to conserve and passively generate power and eventually, possibly get off of the electric grid.

Being able to take care of yourself without any government handouts or interference is a personal preference, one I would and have considered seriously.

I think the technology in the near future will help us electrify most of our bigger energy needs.

What concerns me is the transition to the coming source(s). It could be rough. We need to start building our infrastructure to generate and accommodate nuclear, coal, solar, wind and hydro on a realistic scale.

Here are some suggestions/alternatives and there are many:

Open Energy -solar roof tiles.

Don't know that I would build a home exactly like this, but you can see this type of general construction could be modified to suit almost any terrain. Most of these appear to be in the desert, or fairly rural areas. Could you do something like this in the Shoals area? I think so. I would use several search engines and do a little research into hybrid homes and see if it would appeal to you and yours.

Check out the earthship systems.

Earthships video.

Many people are using solar to offset their energy expenses. Selling energy back to the grid during the day which will cancel some of their consumption at night or weekends.

I'm sure you can use your imagination to come up with something.

regards
These are the people who stocked up on MREs just before New Years 2000 out of fear of the missiles flying since the computers would not know what a 4 digit year was! As soon as I heard about the Y2K fetish I thought long and hard and soon relized something: that most mortgages were 30 years so that every mortgage on a 30 year payback plan would have become paid off after the year 2000 were they issued in 1970 or later.
An enterprising semi-plagiarist could recycle all the Y2K books, change the wording just enough and the outline to beat copyright law and sell them as "Panic on the Streets: How to Survive the Coming Oil Apocolypse!" mostly to the gunshow paperback enthusiasts at first, then by word of mouth to all those who have or desire fallout shelters and vegetable dehydraters in the basement.
An attorney I know, for years, publicly challenged me, in front of a large charity group meeting, to tell him why that Y2K wouldn't be a nightmare, why I trusted Bill Clinton, etc. Being the treasurer, I had just given a financial statement to the group and assured them our accounts were going to be fine.

He did run to a fortress in the center of the state, dug in with MREs and such, only to return to Miami a week later, pack up and move to Virginia.

I guess he didn't want to face the same group he insulted me in front of....
quote:
Originally posted by Howard Roark:
Milliniumists will always be with us. Fallout shelters during the Cold War, Y2K, and now oil. I worked on the Y2K project at State. Don't forget the Incan world ender in 2012.


Is there an Incan ender? I knew of the Mayan one that's fast approaching.
Could someone please put up the link from the TD today about the woman that is preparing her home for the exact same thing. The possible "end of the world" scenario, where we will be fighting with each other for food, water, gas, and goodness knows what else? I believe that article would go well in this thread.Thanks.

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