Are we scary?

dotty · Post by **dotty** » 27 Feb 2009, 20:22

Oh my god what planet are you on?

foodinistar your first link:

Peak Oil is when global oil supplies max out and begin declining. The UK's oil production has been declining since 1999. Powerswitch.org.uk is dedicated to raising awareness & discussion of the impending & permanent decline of cheap oil & gas supply, the consequences of which will affect every corner of our lives.

Ever wondered why oil prices are so volatile? We tell you why. We provide news on the energy industry and how it affects the UK. We keep an eye on what is happening in the political and social arena as the global production of oil, the lifeblood of modern industrialised societies, peaks and then declines.

We will look at the implications. We will provide you with the facts and the material to spread this important warning, and look at ways to prepare for this global phenomenon.

So anybody acting on this is not welcome? and yet 'look at ways to prepare for this global phenomenon' Just too woolly if we are already aware and trying to adapt our lives acccordingly.

Your second link takes me right back to this forum...I've posted on forums for over a decade and have never had an argument with any one...So it seems if your post is anything to go by I have no place on a peak oil forum if I'm actually aware and preparing for it...I need to go on a 'dig your own spuds' forum because my preparedness somehow makes me not 'peak oil' aware...I honestly don't get it

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 27 Feb 2009, 20:30

Don't be dotty, Dotty, of course you're welcome. There's lots of gardening stuff in the Preparations section.

Andy Hunt · Post by **Andy Hunt** » 27 Feb 2009, 20:54

Of course you are welcome Dotty, we need someone to tell us when we are getting a bit scary, and we need to calm down a bit!!

Don't let us put you off - we don't let it put us off!! Any friend of HWH's is a friend of ours I would humbly submit!!

I would rather have you telling me to calm down than RGR. With you I can see there there might actually be some sense behind it.

Catweazle · Post by **Catweazle** » 27 Feb 2009, 23:18

Listen to the arguments and decide yourself. Make preparations or bury your head in the sand - it's up to you.

Nobody here is going to candy-coat the problems we face to make them easy to swallow, they're not and that's a fact.

If my views make you feel nervous I suggest you go to reservegrowthrulez.com where you will find people to tell you everything will be fine.

RGR · Post by **RGR** » 28 Feb 2009, 00:41

[quote="JohnB"]

RGR · Post by **RGR** » 28 Feb 2009, 00:50

[quote="biffvernon"]

2 As and a B · Post by **2 As and a B** » 28 Feb 2009, 07:39

dotty wrote:Oh my god what planet are you on?

foodinistar your first link:
Peak Oil is when global oil supplies max out and begin declining. The UK's oil production has been declining since 1999. Powerswitch.org.uk is dedicated to raising awareness & discussion of the impending & permanent decline of cheap oil & gas supply, the consequences of which will affect every corner of our lives.

Ever wondered why oil prices are so volatile? We tell you why. We provide news on the energy industry and how it affects the UK. We keep an eye on what is happening in the political and social arena as the global production of oil, the lifeblood of modern industrialised societies, peaks and then declines.

We will look at the implications. We will provide you with the facts and the material to spread this important warning, and look at ways to prepare for this global phenomenon.
So anybody acting on this is not welcome? and yet 'look at ways to prepare for this global phenomenon' Just too woolly if we are already aware and trying to adapt our lives acccordingly.

Your second link takes me right back to this forum...I've posted on forums for over a decade and have never had an argument with any one...So it seems if your post is anything to go by I have no place on a peak oil forum if I'm actually aware and preparing for it...I need to go on a 'dig your own spuds' forum because my preparedness somehow makes me not 'peak oil' aware...I honestly don't get it

And you ask me what planet I'm on?

You are like a person who pulls up at a petrol station, sees some bedding plants on sale and demands to know why you can't buy a trowel, bag of compost, flowerpot and gardening book as well and why the staff are not talking about gardening all the time.

Some here are bending over backwards to make your skewed view of PowerSwitch welcome. For myself, I don't understand why you can't just post about the 'effects of Peak Oil' stuff here and the gardening and self-reliance stuff on other forums where, you must have noticed, there are experts who are prepared to give their time answering questions about such matters from novices.

I also don't understand why you think I am responsible for PowerSwitch. Like almost everyone else, I just post here.

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 28 Feb 2009, 08:50

RGR wrote:Mocking?

Yep, that's the perception, justified or not, so while it persists don't be surprised to be regarded as a troll.

WolfattheDoor · Post by **WolfattheDoor** » 28 Feb 2009, 09:02

What puzzles me is why someone who doesn't accept peak oil would go on a peak oil forum? I believe in evolution so I wouldn't bother to join a creationist forum. I would just spend all my time repeating the same explanations and know that it would be a waste of time.

goslow · Post by **goslow** » 28 Feb 2009, 09:19

foodinistar wrote:
Some here are bending over backwards to make your skewed view of PowerSwitch welcome. For myself, I don't understand why you can't just post about the 'effects of Peak Oil' stuff here and the gardening and self-reliance stuff on other forums where, you must have noticed, there are experts who are prepared to give their time answering questions about such matters from novices.

Err, wasn't there always a section in the forum about preparations? Which seems a fairly popular area of discussion. And I often see that there is someone willing to offer advice to the novice so don't understand what the problem is here. One thing that is attractive about PS for me at least is that there are some _particularly_ knowledgable and experienced people who have a goldmine of information on the sustainable/self-reliance stuff. I am not sure what you are saying here is representative of how PS is intended to be and what other people want from it????

AndySir · Post by **AndySir** » 28 Feb 2009, 09:32

Apologies for bumping into and derailing this debate a little, but this community is not alone in the problems it is facing. Within the last couple of days I have noted similar threads on other forums I frequent as diverse as the Scottish Comedy Forum (which is an industry forum for the 50 or so guys who work as stand ups in Scotland who all know each other well) and a forum on PlayStation games.

The common theme "Why is our previously happy little internet community tearing itself apart?" and fingers are pointed, subtly or not so subtly, at a few more aggressive members of the group. Inevitably the schism is the same, between those who believe in the free-market and those who think it is the source of all our problems - even in Scottish Comedy. The minority who believe in free market seem to feel under attack and react badly to what you might consider minor provocation, the majority then leap on, incensed, and on the whole make the matter worse. Cycle repeats.

It seems to be something which is happening on a broader scale as tensions mount - we can't talk about worldwide riots and a 'summer of violence' here in the UK and expect our own happy, clappy little commune to be exempt from a few punch ups. Our way of life is, apparently, crumbling before us and its going to create defensiveness from those invested in the old meme and aggression from those who feel wronged by it.

So in response to the question "Are we too scary?", I say no. The world is getting too scary, but there's not a damn thing dotty, Dominic or Mr Thompson can do about it.

Bandidoz · Post by **Bandidoz** » 28 Feb 2009, 09:51

RGR wrote:Mocking? I consider the fact of previous peak oils to be instrumental in understanding why the glorious proclamation of the NEXT one should be greeted with at least a little skepticism.

Hmmmm - kind of like the antithesis to the wolf at the door

Bandidoz · Post by **Bandidoz** » 28 Feb 2009, 09:54

foodinistar wrote:PowerSwitch is "The UK's Peak Oil Community, raising awareness and making changes" and the forums are for discussing Peak Oil / Oil depletion and how, when and why it will affect the UK, in its various aspects.

Yes but you don't have to take that wording too literally.

Although some of the arguments on the forum may seem quite off-topic, it's hardly as though we're debating whether Stacy is EastEnders' "slapper of the year", isn't it?

hardworkinghippy · Post by **hardworkinghippy** » 28 Feb 2009, 09:58

Edited to say sorry Bandidoz I posted this just after you - and yes I agree! (I should learn to touch type.)

"Believing" in peak oil is why I changed from being a consultant in the City of London to being a peasant in France and to learning as much as I could about self sufficiency and "make do and mend" in preparation for WTSHTF.

I'm a selfish bitch who has the audacity to imagine that the preparations I'm making might get me through the next x years with a bunch of friends and "family" who can look after themselves in troubled times.

The gardening, smallholding and "green" forums are all out there but this one is different and complementary. It reminds me what I'm doing this for, helps me keep up to date with the latest development, provides me with facts and figures to spread the word and I discuss PO openly with a group of folk who don't think I'm a complete nutter.

It's important to share what we're doing, to help people who may feel totally lost when they realise what's happening but IMHO one of the most important preparations are psychological and as long as there's the internet I want to be able to discuss PO with fellow "believers" in a positive and supportive community. There's no doubt that PowerSwitch fulfils that role.

After discovering the forum and looking through the posts, new folk need to be very thick-skinned to take the risk of verbal abuse if they do decide to say something. I bet there are hundreds out there who just wouldn't take the chance.

It is possible to be serious, informed and full of information and still be someone who is pleasant and considerate to other people.

2 As and a B · Post by **2 As and a B** » 28 Feb 2009, 10:20

goslow and Bandidoz,

Yes the forum is more than purely about discussing Peak Oil. There is indeed a Preparations forum, which I have started threads in - and I was pleased to discover a 'What are you planting this year???' thread awoken last Monday from when it was put to bed in June last year. I'm sure that, if there was a keen and knowledgeable gardener/smallholder or two willing to field questions from all-comers, the Preparations forum would take a different direction.

I think hardworkinghippy summed up nicely what I was trying to say before.

hardworkinghippy wrote:The gardening, smallholding and "green" forums are all out there but this one is different and complementary. It reminds me what I'm doing this for, helps me keep up to date with the latest development, provides me with facts and figures

Complementary.