Sorry to put this post on here but I need to vent somewhere!!
My partner made me aware of peakoil a while back and I have since done my own research and very much agree that there is in fact a very serious problem. Now my partner wants to basically pack up as soon as possible and move somewhere with a hotter climate so he can become self-sufficient. Apart from the fact that at the moment that is out of the question (we are having huge debts etc due to a failed business not long ago) my partner keeps trying to convince me, as time is running out.
I'm just getting more scared every day. My partner has 'embraced' peakoil and in a way accepts that life as we know it is going to change. I feel like sticking my head in the sand....I hear what he is saying but I just don't want to leave the UK...(I've moved here from the netherlands 8 years ago)
scared ****less
Moderator: Peak Moderation
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fromthemiddleofnowhere
- Posts: 5
- Joined: 24 Nov 2005, 11:09
scared ****less
'Until lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter.'
Sorry to hear about that, and I hope that you sort out your debt problems soon (or not, depending on if that'll make you stay in the UK...)
I'm still in the 'denial' area about PO at the moment. No matter how much I read, listen or tell other people about PO - inside myself I just think that it'll all carry on just fine, smiling all the way - even though everything points to it not being peachy in the future.
I'm still in the 'denial' area about PO at the moment. No matter how much I read, listen or tell other people about PO - inside myself I just think that it'll all carry on just fine, smiling all the way - even though everything points to it not being peachy in the future.
Remember you have nothing to fear save fear itself. Take a deep breath, think about what is really important to you, and remember no-one knows exactly what is going to happen. It would certainly be a good idea to try and get rid of as much debt as you can. This made me laugh if you have not read it
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f ... DTL&nl=fix
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f ... DTL&nl=fix
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peaky
Re: scared ****less
Judging by the drought and fires being experienced in most of Europse, particularly France and Portugal, I don't see rushing off to a 'hotter climate' particularly appealing or sensible (much as I love Francefromthemiddleofnowhere wrote:Now my partner wants to basically pack up as soon as possible and move somewhere with a hotter climate so he can become self-sufficient. Apart from the fact that at the moment that is out of the question (we are having huge debts etc due to a failed business not long ago) my partner keeps trying to convince me, as time is running out.
)Echoing others, try to reduce your debt as much as possible and realign your mind to having less. A lot of stress comes from wanting everything to be the same and it won't be, but I believe it could well be a lot better when we begin to focus on the things in life that are really important.
I think the things to concentrate on are:
a) if things are bad but not too bad then a debt burden is going to make things a bit harder but you'll eventually work it out if you keep trying.
b) if things are really bad then money or lack of it won't be much help to anyone or hinderance. Your ability to be useful to others will be more important. Think about useful skills and try and learn some in your spare time - the trick is to be imaginative.
Don't panic. You have a partner who agrees with you. Stressing out will only put pressure on that realationship which won't help either of you.
Good luck and keep asking for advice when you need it.
a) if things are bad but not too bad then a debt burden is going to make things a bit harder but you'll eventually work it out if you keep trying.
b) if things are really bad then money or lack of it won't be much help to anyone or hinderance. Your ability to be useful to others will be more important. Think about useful skills and try and learn some in your spare time - the trick is to be imaginative.
Don't panic. You have a partner who agrees with you. Stressing out will only put pressure on that realationship which won't help either of you.
Good luck and keep asking for advice when you need it.
"You can't be stationary on a moving train" - Howard Zinn
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fishertrop
- Posts: 859
- Joined: 24 Nov 2005, 11:09
- Location: Sheffield
You don't nesseccarily have to leave the Uk to become self sufficient (or closer to that), and as peaky says there are reasons to stay close to our current lattitude. The Republic of Ireland has great promise if you really want to go for self sufficieny in a big way.
If we end up seeing massive change in the next few years it can come as a shock to us as a generation that has known only stability but only a generation before (like our parents') there was just as much european instability with (probably) much worse dislocation and suffering.
You say you are originally fron the netherlands? Nazi occupation must have seemed pretty bad to that generation of dutch - it's just that we have known only glorious prosperous stability.
The massive changes that are really needed to work in a less-energy world are not actually THAT bad, they are just different. And there is a lot an individual can do prepare for that, even if a huge slice of the public get taken by surprise.
Don't deny the possiblity of peak oil and "energy upheaval" but don't fear the changes either - the world will keep on turning.
Do what you can to prepare - you'll be making changes that are good for the environment in any case.
If it's any consolation most people here passed THROUGH the early nasty stages of PO awareness and emerged with renewed vigor and clarity.
Keep posting here, there is lots of information to be gained and to share.
If we end up seeing massive change in the next few years it can come as a shock to us as a generation that has known only stability but only a generation before (like our parents') there was just as much european instability with (probably) much worse dislocation and suffering.
You say you are originally fron the netherlands? Nazi occupation must have seemed pretty bad to that generation of dutch - it's just that we have known only glorious prosperous stability.
The massive changes that are really needed to work in a less-energy world are not actually THAT bad, they are just different. And there is a lot an individual can do prepare for that, even if a huge slice of the public get taken by surprise.
Don't deny the possiblity of peak oil and "energy upheaval" but don't fear the changes either - the world will keep on turning.
Do what you can to prepare - you'll be making changes that are good for the environment in any case.
If it's any consolation most people here passed THROUGH the early nasty stages of PO awareness and emerged with renewed vigor and clarity.
Keep posting here, there is lots of information to be gained and to share.
Our society is not going to collapse overnight. No-one in this country will die of starvation in the next 20 years. Prices rises will help to change people's behaviour and there'll be less waste. The experts predict 3-5% decline each year.
I think that you and your partner should take months to talk about your plans (please share your discussions on these boards) and seriously re-consider such a drastic change in your life. Moving to another country if you know little about it is difficult enough without trying to grow stuff, find employment, make new friends, learn the language, etc
Why not make a few small steps first - like pay down your debt and get an allotment while you weigh up a range of options for the longer term?
I think that you and your partner should take months to talk about your plans (please share your discussions on these boards) and seriously re-consider such a drastic change in your life. Moving to another country if you know little about it is difficult enough without trying to grow stuff, find employment, make new friends, learn the language, etc
Why not make a few small steps first - like pay down your debt and get an allotment while you weigh up a range of options for the longer term?
"If the complexity of our economies is impossible to sustain [with likely future oil supply], our best hope is to start to dismantle them before they collapse." George Monbiot
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SherryMayo
- Posts: 235
- Joined: 24 Nov 2005, 11:09
- Location: Melbourne, Australia
"Our society is not going to collapse overnight. No-one in this country will die of starvation in the next 20 years."
Damian, I very much hope you are right.
But as you know we can't predict the future especially when something that has never happened before is about to happen. In worst case scenarios, I feel that things could go belly-up much quicker than you expect. In my opinion there is a definate chance that things could get pretty nasty in large population centres especially in winter, when lack of affordable fuel will impact people's ability to heat themselves, spiralling prices of electricity will leave people in the dark, lack of commercial transport will leave supermarkets bare, lack of work will leave people with no money. Lack of money will leave people on the streets - evicted from their homes.....
No offense my friend, but it is not hard to see how things could spiral out of control quite quickly. Our society really is at a stage where it is like a deck of cards based on complex interrelationships with cheap and ever-lasting energy at the bottom.
I hope I am wrong, but I am still pretty scared about what is about to happen. We must be aware that this has never happened before and we have no mechanisms in place for dealing with the collapse that will ensue.
Damian, I very much hope you are right.
But as you know we can't predict the future especially when something that has never happened before is about to happen. In worst case scenarios, I feel that things could go belly-up much quicker than you expect. In my opinion there is a definate chance that things could get pretty nasty in large population centres especially in winter, when lack of affordable fuel will impact people's ability to heat themselves, spiralling prices of electricity will leave people in the dark, lack of commercial transport will leave supermarkets bare, lack of work will leave people with no money. Lack of money will leave people on the streets - evicted from their homes..... No offense my friend, but it is not hard to see how things could spiral out of control quite quickly. Our society really is at a stage where it is like a deck of cards based on complex interrelationships with cheap and ever-lasting energy at the bottom.
I hope I am wrong, but I am still pretty scared about what is about to happen. We must be aware that this has never happened before and we have no mechanisms in place for dealing with the collapse that will ensue.
Real money is gold and silver
can you really see this happening? i mean, think about it for a second, you're talking of tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of people being evicted...england would melt down in a matter of months, complete anarchy...no government is gonna let that happen, there'd be more homeless people on the streets then police!snow hope wrote:Lack of money will leave people on the streets - evicted from their homes.....
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[URL=http://roorboADVERT DELETED
Last edited by hatchelt on 06 Mar 2011, 12:00, edited 1 time in total.
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fishertrop
- Posts: 859
- Joined: 24 Nov 2005, 11:09
- Location: Sheffield
This is the perinial PO discussion subject "fast crash, slow crash", it has more miles than any other!
Since this is a thread aimed at not depressing fromthemiddleofnowhere, I'll kick off a new thread with snow's post.
We have done this subject for at least a couple of months and it's always intersting....
Since this is a thread aimed at not depressing fromthemiddleofnowhere, I'll kick off a new thread with snow's post.
We have done this subject for at least a couple of months and it's always intersting....
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fishertrop
- Posts: 859
- Joined: 24 Nov 2005, 11:09
- Location: Sheffield
New crash thread started at http://www.powerswitch.org.uk/forum/vie ... php?p=2536
Sorry for taking the thread the wrong way.... 
I agree with others who say it seems more sensible to stay in an environment where you know people, the language, the geography, etc. Maybe your partner is also trying to escape his recent past?
I would also say that a lot of us are SCARED of the impending situation - I certainly am and it is consuming a lot of my time and is the biggest thing in my life and has been since I first discovered the issue back in April.
So you are not alone there. Reading and posting in here should help. It takes quite a while to get over the shock of all of this. Chin up
I agree with others who say it seems more sensible to stay in an environment where you know people, the language, the geography, etc. Maybe your partner is also trying to escape his recent past?
I would also say that a lot of us are SCARED of the impending situation - I certainly am and it is consuming a lot of my time and is the biggest thing in my life and has been since I first discovered the issue back in April.
So you are not alone there. Reading and posting in here should help. It takes quite a while to get over the shock of all of this. Chin up Real money is gold and silver
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fromthemiddleofnowhere
- Posts: 5
- Joined: 24 Nov 2005, 11:09
thanks for all your replies... I am in the fortunate position that we can (and do) grow our own vegetables as we live in the countryside at the moment albeit not on the large scale due to time... We are discussing our future a lot, you have given me some more to think about I think my partner just hates the weather here as well and hence he wants to move LOL
I do try to keep things in perspective, the possible changes due to peakoil could be very positive as well. Today I was with my inlaws who have a house in France and moving there this year. They think exactly the same about the oil situation as I do and want to get out of the UK as soon as possible...
Don't worry about depressing me by the way LOL
I ought to have a good look at myself and the way I am living and what is really important to me... I think I have been indoctrinated by consumerism LOL
I just cannot believe by the way that in the Independent of Yesterday (the headline scared me to death, but then again I thought, finally it is on the front page) it was only mentioned that it was the fault of terrorism driving up the oil prices. Terrorism isn't the biggest threat to society. It's consumerism.
I think my partner just hates the weather here as well and hence he wants to move LOL I do try to keep things in perspective, the possible changes due to peakoil could be very positive as well. Today I was with my inlaws who have a house in France and moving there this year. They think exactly the same about the oil situation as I do and want to get out of the UK as soon as possible...
Don't worry about depressing me by the way LOL
I ought to have a good look at myself and the way I am living and what is really important to me... I think I have been indoctrinated by consumerism LOL
I just cannot believe by the way that in the Independent of Yesterday (the headline scared me to death, but then again I thought, finally it is on the front page) it was only mentioned that it was the fault of terrorism driving up the oil prices. Terrorism isn't the biggest threat to society. It's consumerism.
'Until lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter.'
I agree with what most people have said: don't panic, it won't be like a disaster movie. Most people agree that there are at least a few years until the peak happens or is realised, so you can take that time to enjoy cheap flights and luxuries, and still plan for your future before it's too late.
My plan is basically to emigrate to southern Australia in 2010-2012 and take it from there. I'm only 19, so I have to finish my degree and work for 3 years before I have a good chance of being accepted for permanent residence.
When I think about my future I'm not scared, it makes me really value the lifestyle I have now, which is just piss-easy. I'm an optimist like that
I think Europe's a complete death-trap in the long term, Britain especially. It's just so overpopulated; so reliant on the exporters. If any serious climate change were to happen, it'd also be the worst affected! Maybe I'm not an optimist for Britain haha!
My plan is basically to emigrate to southern Australia in 2010-2012 and take it from there. I'm only 19, so I have to finish my degree and work for 3 years before I have a good chance of being accepted for permanent residence.
When I think about my future I'm not scared, it makes me really value the lifestyle I have now, which is just piss-easy. I'm an optimist like that
I think Europe's a complete death-trap in the long term, Britain especially. It's just so overpopulated; so reliant on the exporters. If any serious climate change were to happen, it'd also be the worst affected! Maybe I'm not an optimist for Britain haha!