Hello Neuroil,

Good for you for cluing your son into his future. I am really curious:  what happens when he talks Peakoil to his friends and cousins?  Is he considered a nutcase, or taken seriously?  Has his friends' parents told you to stop your child from scaring their kids, or do they ask you for more info, books, and websites?  I am starving for info on how many kids are Peakoil informed.  Thxs for any reply.

Bob Shaw in Phx,AZ  Are Humans Smarter than Yeast? [my signoff tagline]

I don't have kids of my own, but I'm quite close to my 14,16, & 18 y.o. niece and nephews.  On a recent visit, I made a point of spending an evening discussing peak oil with them.  I'd talked briefly with the oldest on an earlier visit.  I was suprised at how receptive they were.  I think youngsters' receptivity, & response can't be stereotyped.  These kids all have cell phones & TV's in their rooms, but don't have internet at home.  (Can you believe that!?)  My brother is an odd sort of Luddite.  His acceptance of technology stops before you get to computers.  Anyway, they've grown up being required to do dishes, stack firewood, help with laundry, etc...  They also went through divorce and bankruptcy, so know a little bit about loss.  I think all that contributed to their receptivity.  I think it's a fine line between living in this world of constant consumption and our innate human connection to the land.  My theory is that if you grow up with at least a modicum of that connection nourished, and aren't completely isolated by techno-consumer society, then peak oil and other limiting factors make intuitive sense and can be embraced rather than ignored as some whacko attempt to keep me from getting mine.  Contrasted to my niece & nephews is my 13 y.o. step-daughter, who has also obviously been through divorce, and while not bankruptcy, both her parents live pretty simply, both before and after they split.  In our household, we burn wood, have partial passive solar, grow a garden, etc...  But she thinks we're nuts.  I think our mistake has been in allowing her to not participate in these activities, other than raising/lowering the shade on her window appropriately.  Our solar DHW unit arrived this week.  Her reaction was, "People won't be able to see it, will they!?"  We're hoping that eventually our example will rub off on her.  But, again, I don't think we can paint all youth with a single brush stroke.  My only advice is to talk to the young people in your life about what's coming, and set the best example you possibly can.

My 12 year old son did his school speech on peak oil this year, to a reception of polite disbelief. He was slightly disappointed, but not surprised.

All my children have known about peak oil and its implications, as well as deflation and economic depression, for a long time. All of them have real skills in addition to what they learn in school and know that those skills are likely to be extremely important. They have farm chores to do and see the value in helping to provide for the necessities of their own existence. No time is wasted watching TV or playing computer games as these options are not available (and not missed). The link with the consumer society, and the path of least resistance, has been broken for them.

One might think that making young children aware of a difficult future would amount to wallowing in doom and gloom, but in fact the opposite is true. Teaching children real skills and imparting to them how important these are likely to be is very empowering. Children who are aware and prepared now can become the leaders of the future when leadership will be crucial.