There is the Blogosphere, and then there is the Doomosphere. I have just returned from a trip to the Doomosphere. I would like to say that it was an uplifting experience, but that would be a lie...you see, according to the "True Doomers", we're all dead, and there's nothing that we can do about it. Lately, the folks on the board in question have been picking apart the logic of installing solar panels and solar water heaters on a house--a waste of time, they say, because the panels won't hold up during a collapse (economic/energy/industrial collapse apparently puts extraordinary strain on solar components) and you'll be left starving and freezing in the dark, just like your neighbors, except you'll be worse off because you were under the delusion that you were gonna watch solar-powered movies while your neighbors huddled in the dark--the disappointment itself could kill you. Let me ask you: what choices do we have here? First, look around the house, or the yard and find your kids at play. Watch them for a while and allow yourself to smile. Now, is going quietly into the night, accepting imminent collapse-related demise an option? Aren't you, your values and ideals, and your children, worth saving? Should we surrender the planet to the very worst of humanity-- 'cause that is surely the part of humanity that will survive if decent people refuse to make a stand.
The angry, hardcore, militant despair that some in the Doomosphere exhibit is exasperating and disappointing. The goal of the writers seems to be nothing more than sapping the energy and the hope from every one else around them. Let me ask you, what is the point of writing post after post, year in, year out, telling the world that there is no hope and all preparations to transition to a future in which energy and money are scarcer are futile? Why bother? If we are all dead, sooner rather than later, why blog at all? Why not enjoy the time you have left and be a source of comfort and leadership, rather than a burr under the saddle of those who are working hard to provide a decent future for their children and humanity? I'll tell you why. Because shocking and scaring people is fun. The "all hope is lost, prepare to die folks", are bullies. They have accepted immediate, post-calamity death (they say, I have my doubts) and the people that they blog against are harboring hope. Just hammering away--"nope, you're dead", followed by, "nope, nothing can save you" and then, "FACE IT, you're dead" is usually enough to put the hopeful opposition to bed in four or five posts. You can almost hear them giggling as they type the scariest crap that they can think of--cannibals, nuclear war, unmanageable hordes that have, inexplicably, decided to walk out into the country side in search of "food that must be growing there."( Note to Mutant Zombie Bikers: There is WAY more food in town than in the country.)
Now, let me be clear. There is no hope of saving your automobile centered, petroleum based, paper money fueled, middle class lifestyle. We are in for some hard times. Be prepared to work really hard for a very small piece of hard scrabble pie. Major changes are happening right before our eyes-- an apocalypse (unveiling) is being written right here, right now, and we have no way to know how it's gonna turn out until it's over 15-20 years from now. Does all that sound pretty doomy? Good. But no way am I gonna tell you that all hope is lost. If I felt that way, I'd be recommending a couple of bottles of red wine and a handful of valium as the only preps that you need.
Connect with friends and family. Make friends. Be a friend. Find yourself a safe place to be, with good water, arable ground and firewood available on site. Put together a tool-sharing cooperative of five or six families and, if you can, connect that co-op to a couple of other co-ops for a total of fifteen families--thirty adults, with a variety of vocational and professional skills that they either know now, or are learning a fast as they can. Think fifteen families on ninety good acres, with gardens and space for stock, sharing tools, skills and the burdens of child rearing, education and defense. You'll die in L.A., period. Truth is, I pulled Pole Bridge, Montana out of my butt--I read about it in an advertisement a few years ago and have wanted to visit ever since. You, of course, can't just pull a safe spot out of your rear, unless you wait too late in the game and find yourself having to escape from L.A. Under those conditions, head for Pole Bridge, Montana, and drop me a line when you get there. I will be alive and well, a little lighter, and perhaps a bit haggard as, God willing, my wife and family raise our children to adulthood in whatever world has been left us.
Peace
