Hi Westy,
Thanks for the info, always useful.
Concerning POers being like cultists, I can understand why many believe and state that opinion. For the majority of my younger life I was deeply involved in a religious doomsday cult. One of those American ones that promised refuge to those who prayed, fasted, and especially tithed to the guru.
The difference with that cult is that it was especially targetted at the middle-class, educated person, not the seething emotion-driven masses. Many called it a 'thinking man's religion'.
The point is, many of the aspects of PO would have been foundational material for the movement - death, destruction, poverty, war: then the coming of the messiah (solar energy! nuclear!) to save us all and give those who truly believe eternal happy lives.
My experience has left me exceedingly sensitive to scams, religious idiocy (of all creeds, colours and political affiliations) and my attitude to PO and GW is heavily swayed by my previous experiences.
As an agnostic (atheism is the same as any other theism: we know the unknowable), cynical, opinionated, middle-aged Australian boomer, I can honestly say:
PO is no cult, it has (to me) no hallmarks of a cult (but if Prof Goose starts requesting tithes...), there is no guru (those some should be careful of their attitude toward their idols Deffreys and Simmons et al), and there is no salvation promised for the true believers (although I feel the many survivalists on here and elsewhere are moving in that diection).