And more and more, people are regarding PO as crackpot. The geology profs at the University where I work seem indifferent. I don't know, maybe they're just being like me, biding their time, keeping their mouths shut, staying out of debt, keeping their old cars and motorcycles tuned up, replacing all incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents, cooking their own food and not eating out, planning a bigger garden next year.

As a tiny farmer (a few cows and horses, chickens and turkeys), I can attest to skyrocketing grain prices. I can't imagine trying to raise a large batch of turkeys. I'm becoming mostly self-sufficient, with an eye toward a future community supported farm. If things don't implode too rapidly.

The Brick Wall Simmons talks about will have a lot of toothy smiles embedded in it.

I usually Buy cheese and eggs, and cat food.  I try to slap my hand at other things, Because I know the Shiny NEW things are just an Illusion.  This is the Make Believe World where Nothing Is Going Wrong.

I recently had a Trip with other Elder's in My "Lutheran" Church.  Most of them are business owners who have houses that mine could fit in the garage's of, Have weekly budgets that make my Monthly budget look sick.  They know something is up, but they couldn't get a handle on it.  They knew that the housing bubble just can't last, They knew that something is going to fail, just not what.  I told some of them privately that the "something" was energy.  Only to get that look of "Technology will save us", but being Christians they also knew that even if the troubles ahead are going to be dire, that we as a group had to help the helpless.  It did bother me that "they" knew something was up, but were still planning on a status quo future, just like in years past.

I don't worry about many things, including this.  I just warn who I can, and get prepared to help the folks that will need it sooner or later.

But the weekly visits to the shiny world of Tomorrow Land, is a good free vacation every week, You all should TRY IT!! Great Fun, Free Samples and Lots of Toys for the Kids to play on while you Dream of a new Tool for the Tool box.

Basically, if chemical costs go up, it affects both farmers and toy manufacturers, to choose just two examples.  Both sectors raise their prices.  When consumers have to choose, which product will they buy?

If US farmers cannot raise the price of their products to at least cover rising costs, and moreover they are receiving the lowest price in history, the only explanation I can find is that there is excess worldwide supply and much of the non-US part of that supply is not being affected by rising costs.  You should find out what other countries export the products in question and whether they subsidize their internal energy prices.

The good news is that, in the long run, that cannot be sustained, as all competing countries will feel the energy squeeze.  The bad news is that in the long run you will be bankrupt if you do not get a government subsidy now.

BTW, learning about peak oil made me see the wisdom behind governments subsidizing agriculture particularly in Europe.  Hadn't they done that, foreign competition would have driven farmers out of business and turned their land into golf courses.  And after peak oil, when that land  had to be put again into farming, the skills would not longer be there.  (Of course, I very much doubt that politicians did that out of that level of foresight.)

It certainly makes for interesting thoughts during long planning and budget meetings at work.  I look at the rest of the people in the room and wonder how many of them have any clue.  I all seems so unreal - flying around the world for 1day meetings, sales projections based on the assumption that the future will be like the past.  Some of the engineers I manage seem to understand that something is wrong, but have different ideas about what it is.  I try not to preach to a captive audience.  Sadly, my main focus at work is trying to maintain my salary and that of my team, so that all of us can have as much time to prepare as possible.  Meanwhile I'm looking for a job doing design work again, and thinking hard about how to earn money closer to home, and without a company backing me up.  I hope I can get my kid's teeth fixed while I still have dental benefits.  

I know the weather can be beautiful right before the storm hits, and sometimes I wonder if my tinfoil hat might not be a bit too tight.  Very few of the people I know take this seriously, and even those that I suspect do are unwilling to discuss it much - I suspect they are unsure.  

I am still purchasing things, of course, but they're of a different nature.  The wood stove is in, and the garden will be planned this winter - I'll need some additional tools and supplies for that.  I try not to purchase anything that does not look like it will last, or that does not appear to be repairable (quite a challenge now).  

I know that I am looking at the same things all the people around me are - it's just increasingly obvious that I seeing something different.

I wish I knew more about the timing of all this - I'll post separately about that.  I have to get out and split some more wood - I don't have nearly enough and it should have been stacked months ago.

But, everyone I work with is living as if there are no problems.  ...  One lady talks of her son applying to Ivy League schools.  The other guy's wife is expecting a second child.  My immediate boss wants to upgrade to digital cable.

Imagine ---heaven forbid--- that you just saw your doctor, and he said you had cancer; 6 months to live.

As you walk out of the office stunned, you look about at the sidewalks, the stores. Commerce is humming. People are going about same as always, "living their lives" so to speak. They do not have in their heads, the thoughts running through yours. You are both in the same physical space, and yet living in two parallel universes. What is wrong with those people? Do they not understand that the end is near?

Well, no they don't. They have their whole lives in front of them. You have 6 months.

Everything is changed once you have the new information implanted in your head. Just a moment before meeting with your doctor, you were one of them. Now you are in a different world.

For those who think I am being insensitive about the cancer thing, I apologize. I personally had a tumor removed recently. Luckily for me, it was clear margins. But I very much empathize with those for whom results are less optimistic. It is a horrible thing to go through, whether directly or if happening to a loved one.

OK. It's crudely the same when you became Peak Oil Aware. Suddenly the world is not the same for you. But it is for all the others. They go on living their lives, just as before.

I personally do not think Peak Oil is going to be as traumatic as some make out here on this site. We still have coal. Why do you think Hollywood is putting out these new coal miner's daughter movies now, North Country? They are getting the rest of the people acclimated to the concept of returning to the mines. Well, at least it's a job. At least we will go on working and living.