Selfsufficientish.com

On one of my internet wanders I found something rather worrying.

It's a gun made in America, I think it's called the 'Home Defender' or something like that. It's advertised as being safe to use in-doors as it won't damage walls too much. It can easily kill a person but will only knock a small amound of plaster off the wall. Now that's reasuring to know isn't it? Maybe we should all have one to fight the Plastic People off when they come for me carrotts.

OK. Fair enough on the 'spread the word in the hope of saving others' front. I have been trying to convert a few friends, but they all think that I have turned into a crazed hippy

Martin - I don't believe that it will come to that, but you are entitled to your opinions. I think it is more likely that the government will install a 'grow your own' initiative... 'dig for victory' kind of thing.
Supermarkets will be bulldozed to grow more food

As for that crazy gun,

Hope I'm there with a camera when Tescos get bulldozed-

I guess a sudden crash would leave us out of food, that could cut the population a bit, and indutrious as man is we will find a way for the strongest to survive. Let's hope come the glorious day, WE are the strongest!

Oooo, would I love to see some supermarkets bulldozed. Tee, hee, hee.

Sorry, not a very Quakerly outburst of joy in destruction there.

The effect that peak oil has will depend on people's (read societiey's) responce to it (wow big surprize i hear you say!).
Whether there is a slow decline in oil use and a general addaption to a low energy society by the mundanes (Such as is happening in the transition town movement in the UK), or a technological maximisation that results in a steep decline or "crash" is one of the major factors.
In the event of a crash there will be no way for those who have 'converted' if you like to support those who continued to live in a centralised and unsustainable way.
If governments continue to subsidise crops to make bio-fules and such like - technological pipe dreams that people can cling to then the FF energy that the world has left will be squandered instead of being invested in a realatively sustianble future.
the USA, and indeed most western countrys, all big cities and most larger towns would fall appart and people would die if the oil dropped off too steeply.
It is used in the manufacutre of commercial pestacides and fertalisers and many other chemicals, to say nothing of the numerous oil based plastics that ssociety is addicted to.
Oil is key in the Agri-bussiness sector - enabeling a very few people to grow (grain in particular - either directly eaten or fed to animals for meat) for the vast number in cities. it allows the processing and many many, journys that are made by the food produects to take place and is central to the distribution of the finished highly refined food products that often come from miles away to make up the main part of many modern peoples diets.
I could go on but wont.
I STRONGLY suggest that everyone should got to "theoildrumdotcom" to read about peak oil, the many arguments relating to its potential effects, plausibility, proposed technilogical escapes and why they (largely) arnt feasible and a wealth of other infomation.
Alternatively, and perhaps better as consolidated fact opinion and a dramatic that relatively accurte wake up call, visit http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/ for the long and comprehensive summary.
(let it be noted i have no affiliation or investment in either of these two sites - they are mearly the best and most usefull imediate resources i have come accross on this topic)

I'll check the websites you've mentioned when I have a bit more time (at work now). Have you read George Monbiot's "Heat"? He offers some interesting solutions...

there's a scene at the end of "Dr Strangelove" with a nutter in a cowboy hat straddling a very large bomb heading for earth, cackling maniacally - could as well be George Dubya astride the juggernaut of capitalism, going "yeeeehhaaaaaaaaaa apocalypse, here we come"....................
I see no sign whatsoever of any government grasping the many nettles that need grasping to save life on earth........I agree with Private Fraser - "we're all DOOMED!"

i rather suspect you may be right martin. but a nice wee slice of doom is sooo refreshing in the morning dont you find? especialy when accompanied by organic home grown porridge and no car fumes or noise for as far as you can walk or cycle

I think we're all too interconnected to cut ourselves off from the world,
It wont matter if I could grow all the food i need if people down my street are going hungry, it just wont be a safe place to live.
I guess i think it has to be on a community level and whole communities need to be more sustainable (eg growing food closer to home.)

lol i would love to see Tescos buldozed Quakerbear :)

yupyup - communites changing to a new paradigem is the only real way to survive - the second link in my above (long) post - the one lit up in blue- provides a great (if idealistic) view of how things should/could/need to be

Despite all this I'm told that this 'shortage of oil' is 'being created' by the West until such time as the middle east runs out. Then they will reveal the stuff under the Antarctic and Falklands and hence have control of the Middle East.

Who knows what is actually true and this could all be a sick political game. If there really is enough oil and they just ration it enough to make us spend loads that won't help global warming much

frankly, I dont believe it!
As well as running out of oil, mankind is rapidly using all of the world's resources - the atmosphere and sea are being poisoned by our industrial societies. Add to that gross overpopulation and you have a world in deep doo-doo all round!
A light-hearted view on "climate dissenters" - http://c-zero.co.uk/e107_plugins/ytm_ga ... DlRdRQ&p=1

of course the breakdown in society scenario has another problem on top of the peple stealing and killing, who would make safe the power stations, or would we just leave them to go into meltdown.
also if it doesnt come to that then i would presume we would continue raping and scavenging the planet and poisoning our selves to extingsion, one thing i can predict though is that people will take everything with them the world will go on without us but not like you would think,most biological things as we know them will go to and perhaps some will adapt , but probably new forms of life will carry on