Friday, June 09, 2006

 

http://www.crudeawakening.org/Preparing.htm

I was searching in google for something related to the Post Peak Preparation topic we were talking about in class. The website was credible with a more deepened list of suggestions for preparation to Post Peak. (The link is above)

What I thought was a little bogus was when this article started off saying, "We must all do our part as citizens and also persuade government and industry to begin to prepare for these changing times in an energy constrained future." We all know the government, multi-billionare oil companies, baby faced celebrities, or even the average joe would most likely not leave their Ferrai's, Mercedes, Bmw's or empty out our pockets to support the preparation to a scientific prediction based on evidential logic. (it might sound dumb not to believe in the obvious, but some people just can't let go of the wealth they have, "its their only advantage in the world"). Instead oil companies and we the people continue to invest in critically using fossil fuels and continue to produce new technology advancing our use in this finite resource. No matter how logically correct post peak may sound, for instance the truth that oil is finite, many oil companies and the people are "optimitic". They believe technology and good faith will ensure the continuation of our american civilization. We are the core reasons to why our country is still manufactuering these thirsty "fossil fuel burning machines". The article is right about persuading the government and industry in changing our countries ways, but mutal effort and the threat of financial equality might shatter this thought of preparation.

Next the article introduces the question, What should individuals and families be considering now? First preparation idea was to reduce yours or your families reliance on infrastructure from central community services. They described examples of things to avoid using like electricity, running water, stove gas, transportation, anything that can be vulnerable to a oil shortage situation. I find this bull, because first of all, my family will not fetch reeked water from the dirty Hudson river or at Seaport, and spark rocks to make a fire and boil the damn water, just to get a "feel" in how post peak would feel like. Families would find this activity hard to accomplish because of the simplicity of things when it comes to running water, home lighting, or gas when fossil fuels are still in stock. Stopping their use of all these things would just make their lives more complicated than they already are, they might as well enjoy their lives for as long as they can before this destructive lifestyle actually begins to happen. They also mentioned that practising this might help save our family a lot of money, but if we compare to a rich man's capital to Whoopy the Irish hobo who lamps around on wall street with whiskey in his right hand, it might be best for Whoopy to practice these routines, but for the rich man, he doesn't have to give in these money problems because MONEY AINT A THANG! for him.

What I agree with in the article was their preparation by relying less on individual transportation, and instead use a type of transportation that carries masses instead of one person. (This usually happens in Suburbs where cars are needed to bring one or two persons from place to place, usually to work or the super market..."I learned this in class"). Unlike the suburbs, we live in New York City, where the MTA can almost take us anywhere in the city, as well as public buses or ferrys which all unfortunately consumes finite oil, but on the bright side travelling on buses and trains more often is a step closer in transforming ourselves from burning larger amounts of fossil fuels. Suggestions like relying on your fan instead of your AC plays a big role in the amount of energy consumption, especially in the summer, and also for winter where putting on more clothes can help in warming the body than clicking your thermostate nob higher. This will actually help us realize how cold winter really is, or hot global warming is really making our summers hotter.

The rest of the preparation suggestions I've already learned in Social Science, where building our own roof gardens or food should be learned, due to the lack of transportation of foods and goods in a post peak scenario. Also they mentioned simple repairs and "getting to know your neighbors" which the class also went over in deep discussions on Personal preparations for a post peak scenario.

What I want to know more about this article is, information on non-profit programs that are willing to train people who are interested in preparing for a Post Peak scenario, and provide them with real life experience. I personally wouldn't mind learning how to grow my own food, just in case there was a crazy potatoe disease that spread all over American farms, I would be able to grow my own delicacey of curry potatoes with rice.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

 

Barry Comment

What's good my homie,
I agree how cocky people can be when they have hold of wealth and how optimistic they seem when there's bad news. I feel you on your comment about how the rich are too complexed and cannot adapt as easily as the poor where as we live a more simple life where we don't need as many things as they do. Remember the time when we was playing cards upstairs white crane, Tommy did not want to listen to us at all, he just hated the bad news we was telling him and it just seemed as if life was all good. Even though we feel the same way, where was there's not much impact immenent peak oil has on our daily routined life, we are aware of what's going to happen when we run out of supplies. Its just hard for us to actually believe if peak oil is really going to happen, and dedicate our lives preparing for something not as logical. Like you said, people dont seem to believe in things that aren't "as logical" meaning not seen with their own common sense, then they wouldn't be likely to believe that this prediction is overall true. Therefore our home boy Tommy had a hard time understanding us, as well as taking the presented problem seriously.

We came upon a situation where the U.S economy would most likely drop when peak oil happens and our wealthy friend would lose a lot of his capital due to economic deflation. We stumble upon something that seemed true, to where the lost of his wealth would still insure a well life even in the age of peak oil, and this is because of the wealth he has already started. Comparing to a lowered income family, when the scenario of peak oil actually happens, they would have the least chance of surviving because of the high costs of maintaining an average living lifestyle. Costs will rise up, the poor will not be able to afford the rent to the homes they live in, or electricity. Tommy on the other hand, can still afford a decent apartment, with lighting and eat well.

 

Convincing my parents.

Today I tried convincing my dad in believing Peak Oil and he doesn't seem to be really into it. My mom seemed to be cooperative but as I kept explaining peak oil to her in Cantonese, the ideas I bring up slowly gets weaker and weaker, and I end up repeating myself. The reason why I didn't continue to engage in convincing my mom to change her habits or change the way she lives because she doesn't have capital. She doesn't have time to learn how to wipe her ass in the forest using leaves, or light the stove with rocks and sticks while others get a flame with just a turn of a knob. I didn't want to talk to them anymore about peak oil, because I noticed that change was nearly impossible for them both. First of all, they dont have money like those "tea sippers" who has the option to "not work", and are they seriously going to invest their money on a freaking windmill or take care of worms that rely on imported vegetables transported
by vehicle and plantations that use oil? Lets say we start growing crops and worms on our roof, our land lord's going to force us to tear everything down and there goes our alternative adaptive skill. Life in society is like the flow in the river, those who go against the flow will have a hard time living in the society, and as of now, changing the ways my parents routinely live can't be done. Because they don't know much english, and was raised in a poor family when they were young, they won't engage much in changing their ways.

Like I mentioned to most of my friends, my phrase in life is, "Money means more options." We can't change anything. I have a lack of faith in changing my parents, because life is hard as of now, I just don't want to make things even harder for my parents. My mom and dad believe that if it was meant to be, to die because of human ignorance and procrastination, then so be it. Let the few that survive either learn or repeat their stupid mistakes and probably start a new civilization where people don't seperate themselves from the rest of the world that intensively. In life there will always be an asshole that will ruin your day, steal the girl of your dreams, or revving their lamborghini while you ride your bike. In order for my parents to survive this peak oil situation, I have to find a way to get a resourceful job so my family wouldn't be at the bottom of the work pyramid. I would like the option to do everything a rich man can do, and I would like everyone else to have the same options also.

Analysis: Convincing my parents into changing their ways was unsuccesful, due to the reality issue of money and the amount of time they can actually spend revisting some of the adaptive skills they learned in China. Also to practise adaptive skills in New York wouldn't be the best place to be, because of the complexity of this place. It was nice for my father and mother to know that the end of most of the lower income families will be very soon. Now my mom's going to work harder in her dust filled factory hoping she can make extra money so our family has the option of surviving a economic collpase. With the money she plans to save for any emergency use, but she started doing this way before I mentioned peak oil. In my family there was always money saved in case of any emergency, like a law suit, a new house etc. With this money we just hope we can survive peak oil, having enough to survive for an extra month or so if it gets really serious. Thats all my parents have planned, using the amount of emergency money we have saved up to push our family's prosperity for the longest we possibily can. Life is unfair, and the poor beats the rich from a ratio to 100,000:1 (estimate).

 

Response to Andy's Peak Oil Adaptive Methods

"What is good" Andy,I just finished reading your interesting Post Peak Adaptive skills, and I find these ideas significant and thoughtful but I can't imagine myself growing potatoes in my apartment. We require large amounts of organic fertilizer and water to nurture our potatoes. In order for us to create organic fertilizer we need to research more about the worms that farmers used in Cuba that made these fertilzers, and ways to ensure a healthy life for the crops. New York City's weather isn't the greatest place to be planting crops, due to the air, cold seasons, and probably hungry insects or mice. Also, if we just imagine ourselves in the Peak Oil situation, there would probably be no faucet water, and we would have to haul our tired bodies to the east rive with the "swimming dolphins," and try to get water from there. As we bring back the reeking smell of East River water, this is where learning to build a fire without gasoline comes in handy when facing a Peak Oil situation. I believe this is the first crutial thing we all should learn when Peak Oil does happen. Fire is a source of energy, we can use it to boil water, cook food, or even scare away hungry coyotes in the forest. I find it hard starting all these exercises like entering the wood and learn how to wipe my buttocks with a leaf instead of toliet paper, or take care of myself with nothing but a two rocks that spark everytime I strike them together or learning another language when I'm struggling to eloquently fashion my English speaking and writing skills. I have a question for you Andy. Maybe you feel the same way as me. Like we talked about in class, when we were laughing at the comments in class, we all looked at each other to see other people's reaction. Right now, I think everyone is aware that this serious, life or death situation is going to happen but their reaction and implementations I see is more like, "wow this is really going to happen, but everythings going so smoothly. We learn that oil is being depleted in an overwhelmingly rate and the consequences of rising prices on oil pumps. But our friends are still driving and hanging out blasting their music, we see people drinking wine dining on the outside of little italy. New movies are coming out, like X-men Three, and The Omen (06/06/06) and it gives people the impression that we are still "moving on," we're still growing as a civilization, sorta providing us the message to live on with our lives, screw the thought of peak oil. Get high off this last drop of oil before you disappear on this earth entirely. But again, the messages from these movies can also give us a negative message that we aren't really looking at as closely. For X-men 3, the movie makers call this "THE LAST STAND", giving the message about our civilization (the mutants) struggling to survive life after peak oil (angry humans who's temper has reached its peak) where as in THE OMEN, evil is born, and people start dying because of this "uncontrollable" evil threat that walks the earth.As long as everything continues to grow, and people's lives continue without change in the way they live, then everyone's going to have the expression where life is good. Lets get bent drinking at bars, lets make love with your loved ones, lets sip on champagne on our oil powered cruise boat. I believe it's good practice to destroy our daily routine in life and see how it feels like not to depend on the power structures that shape our life. But there's consequences that we wouldn't like to face. If I decide not to use my computer or any type of electricty in the household, then I guess I wouldn't be able to type 2000 words by midnight, as well find my way to the bathroom and aim correctly at the toliet bowl.

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