2p rise in fuel duty today

What can we do to change the minds of decision makers and people in general to actually do something about preparing for the forthcoming economic/energy crises (the ones after this one!)?

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Bandidoz
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Post by Bandidoz »

I have to say I find the whole thing quite amusing. There again, I have a sick sense of humour 8)
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RenewableCandy
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Post by RenewableCandy »

I think I'd find it hilarious if I didn't have a family. As it is I have to tell it like a 'bit of an adventure', put them on to as much practical/nature info as I can, and hope for the best...

SunnyJim I thought your point about disabled people was very tactfully put.
eatyourveg
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Post by eatyourveg »

9.54pm and Vince is still hanging in there with the hydrogen economy, the hysterical stuff has pretty much stopped.
I think this little episode is over.
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Bedrock Barney
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Post by Bedrock Barney »

Although I applaud the effort that the powerswitch peakers have made I afraid that we have been talking to a very large brick wall. I'm not at all surprised. People cannot deal with harsh reality. It's almost as if 99% of the population is on some sort of Brave New World soma drug that demands continual uninterrupted growth and rampant materialism.

There's a new mobile phone!!....my current one works perfectly well but I must buy that new shiny one because the ads are telling me to do so. It will help validate my life.

I'm off to drink a bottle of wine!
eatyourveg
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Post by eatyourveg »

Bedrock Barney wrote:Although I applaud the effort that the powerswitch peakers have made I afraid that we have been talking to a very large brick wall. I'm not at all surprised. People cannot deal with harsh reality. It's almost as if 99% of the population is on some sort of Brave New World soma drug that demands continual uninterrupted growth and rampant materialism.

There's a new mobile phone!!....my current one works perfectly well but I must buy that new shiny one because the ads are telling me to do so. It will help validate my life.

I'm off to drink a bottle of wine!
I think you are right. But the word Peak Oil got several airings, and everything has to start somewhere. Our friend Vince may well be being boneheaded about hydrogen, but then he has acknowledged, as have others that there is a problem, the full scale simply hasn't registered, nor could we expect it to having barged in there as we did. It took time to fully sink in with me, I am fairly sure no one grasps the entirety instantly. Perhaps we should be treating exercises like this as ad campaigns - drip feeding the sheeple with information.
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Andy Hunt
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Post by Andy Hunt »

greg wrote:I am fairly sure no one grasps the entirety instantly. Perhaps we should be treating exercises like this as ad campaigns - drip feeding the sheeple with information.
The best approach might be to 'target' marginal groups - people who aren't necessarily aware of PO but are more likely to be open to suggestion.

For example, the people on the INEBG forum are undoubtedly much more PO aware now than when it started, partly because a bunch of Powerswitchers went on there to spread the message. Because the INEBG lot are kind of open to suggestions along the 'green living' lines, they were that much more able to consider it.

I've had a lot of success on Psy Forum (UK), a psychedelic dance music forum. When I went on there, almost nobody had heard of PO, but because of me and a handful of others on there, it's now pretty much 'received wisdom'. But because they were already open to 'alternative' ways of looking at the world, they had the mental capacity to get their heads around it.

And of course this all has a knock-on effect with the friends and families of people who go on these forums.
Andy Hunt
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Eternal Sunshine wrote: I wouldn't want to worry you with the truth. :roll:
eatyourveg
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Post by eatyourveg »

I have thought a bit more about this. I am in business locally and am very reluctant to spout peak oil about too much because my credibility, and thus my business too, will definitely suffer, I don't want to be the local doomer nutter. It's the old thing, you can't be a prophet in your own land.
But I am of the opinion that the net, with the anonymity that goes with it presents opportunities to sew seeds, and having been erm, 'perturbed' at the petrol prices thread reactions most certainly think some movement has to be made, if only to mitigate the eventual backlash. If people at least have some inkling of what is coming they may feel a bit less inclined to lash out at those that are as ready as can be. Bring them to some kind of state of preparedness.
Your thoughts? I have to get back to work now.

Local Doomer Nutter.
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SunnyJim
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Post by SunnyJim »

Andy, I recon we should launch PO awareness on the River Cottage forum next. What say you?

Must say I was PO aware and on the INEBG forum when you alerted me to this web site. I now have a FAR deeper understanding of the subject.
Jim

For every complex problem, there is a simple answer, and it's wrong.

"Heaven and earth are ruthless, and treat the myriad creatures as straw dogs" (Lao Tzu V.i).
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RenewableCandy
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Post by RenewableCandy »

Looks as if anyone who fancies talking to the Women's Institute about PO will be pushing at an open door:

Womens Institute Agitprop

As for their day-to-day activities, now there's a repository of potentially very useful post-peak skills for you.
Last edited by RenewableCandy on 09 Oct 2007, 15:34, edited 2 times in total.
Vortex
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Post by Vortex »

I have thought a bit more about this. I am in business locally and am very reluctant to spout peak oil about too much because my credibility, and thus my business too, will definitely suffer, I don't want to be the local doomer nutter. It's the old thing, you can't be a prophet in your own land.
Dunno about that. I have Peak Oil articles on one wall of my office, but doubt I have lost any business due to them.

I steer away from being labelled a nutter by saying
"I saw about this Peak Oil thing on the Web. I thought that it was nonsense but then, just to make sure, I spent some of my hard earned money on visiting a proper oil industry conference on the topic ... and I was horrified to find real oil engineers agreeing with the Peak Oil idea too."
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jonny2mad
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Post by jonny2mad »

you could go to the alex jones forum hes one of the main people who disbelieve in peak oil and puts out videos saying its a new world order scam and he has the documents that its a fraud .

:D
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