I Cannot Yet Skin A Deer
Are you prepared for the Big Collapse? Peak Oil? Rural life? Can you pickle meat and eat bark?
I am not at all ready for the big return to the agrarian life, as predicted by the most dire Peak Oil prognosticators. I am not at all ready to have the devastated cities plowed under, so that we may plant crops in the ravaged landscape in a desperate attempt to survive the onslaught of a world without home pizza delivery and without drive-thru dry cleaning and without instant and immediate access to supermarkets with their 47 kinds of pasta and 138 different brands of vodka, not to mention the meaty edible flesh of nearly any animal I wish to custom order from the Williams-Sonoma catalog and have FedExed to me within 24 hours in pretty decorated tins. Mmm, prosciutto.
I am not at all ready for the big return to the agrarian life, as predicted by the most dire Peak Oil prognosticators. I am not at all ready to have the devastated cities plowed under, so that we may plant crops in the ravaged landscape in a desperate attempt to survive the onslaught of a world without home pizza delivery and without drive-thru dry cleaning and without instant and immediate access to supermarkets with their 47 kinds of pasta and 138 different brands of vodka, not to mention the meaty edible flesh of nearly any animal I wish to custom order from the Williams-Sonoma catalog and have FedExed to me within 24 hours in pretty decorated tins. Mmm, prosciutto.
Well Pick up a Talking Heads CD.
They wrote a song for you.
Nothing But Flowers
Here we stand, Like an Adam and an Eve
Waterfalls, The Garden of Eden
Two fools in love, So beautiful and strong
The birds in the trees, Are smiling upon them
From the age of the dinosaurs, Cars have run on gasoline
Where, where have they gone?, Now, it's nothing but flowers
There was a factory, Now there are mountains and rivers
you got it, you got it, We caught a rattlesnake
Now we got something for dinner, we got it, we got it
There was a shopping mall, Now it's all covered with flowers
you've got it, you've got it
If this is paradise, I wish I had a lawnmower
you've got it, you've got it
Years ago, I was an angry young man
I'd pretend, That I was a billboard
Standing tall, By the side of the road
I fell in love, With a beautiful highway
This used to be real estate, Now it's only fields and trees
Where, where is the town, Now, it's nothing but flowers The highways and cars, Were sacrificed for agriculture
I thought that we'd start over, But I guess I was wrong
Once there were parking lots, Now it's a peaceful oasis
you got it, you got it, This was a Pizza Hut
Now it's all covered with daisies, you got it, you got it
I miss the honky tonks, Dairy Queens, and 7-Elevens
you got it, you got it, And as things fell apart
Nobody paid much attention, you got it, you got it
I dream of cherry pies,Candy bars, and chocolate chip cookies
you got it, you got it
We used to microwave, Now we just eat nuts and berries
you got it, you got it
This was a discount store,Now it's turned into a cornfield
you got it, you got it
Don't leave me stranded here, I can't get used to this lifestyle
So my question is, why would I want to survive if this is what life on earth will be like? I think I shall prefer to die with the unprepared.
I predict many, many will chose this alternative. Many will take a left turn off that bridge.
Everyone will chose their own way to... er... "Adjust" (or not) to the new reality.
I predict many, many will chose this alternative. Many will take a left turn off that bridge.
It's a pity that they'll also be filled with toxins and pharmaceuticals from modern life when they decide to give up... they would have made great sources of protein for those who choose to try to survive.
Seriously though, it is impossible to know how much a complex system as our modern world will react to the decrease in energy inputs that runs the show. If we want to look at movies for some possibilities, all three Mad Max movies showed different shades of a post-collapse civilization. There were shops and tourists in Road Warrior, pretty much all chaos in Thunderdome. Both were set in a time that appeared to be past some sort of collapse point.
If we don't end up with some technology miracle, my guess is things will slowly get more and more uncomfortable for a while, eventually reaching a snapping point when all hell breaks loose, and after a relatively short period (perhaps a decade), the survivors will be fatigued and try to settle into the new realities of life, building a civilization that isn't as easy as our current one [is for industrial nations] but much better than Thunderdome.
This is provided that no one decides to release the demons of NBC weapons which really could screw things up for centuries without doing much good for those who used them. If we can avoid that, it may be that current third world type cultures, especially the most primative ones, end up fareing the best.
I think you mean in Mad Max there were shops/tourists and in the Road Warrior all was chaos. In Beyond Thunderdome, there was Bartertown, a first faltering step toward reestablishing civilization, at least until Max came and fixed that. ;-)
Interesting perspective. Don't get me wrong, my interest in PO started out as a distaste for the modern american suburban, hyperconsumption culture. I grew up as a cul-de-sac imprisoned kid in suburban Columbus, OH.
I live in a small community of 15000 which I think is more sustainable than most PO.
I live on 1/2 my income.
I walk to work.
My 14 year old bike is in perfect working condition.
I'll be debt free at the end of the year (barring TEOTWAWKI before then) with only student loans left.
I buy as much as I can from the local farmer's market.
I average 1000 miles/ year on my truck.
My hope is that we can slowly transition to a more sustainable society that looks more like the 19th century than the 20th or 12th.
My hope is that we can slowly transition to a more sustainable society that looks more like the 19th century than the 20th or 12th.
That was my hope too. But then I started thinking (practically) about the effect of positive feedback loops:
Falling energy production due to depletion -> economic fall -> social chaos -> war and terrorism -> further disruptions in energy supply
Unfortnately you're small community, assumming it has a shot of being sustainable, will simply fall prey to the "law of attraction" which means it will attract people from less well-off areas. That is unless it is extremely geographically isolated.
All a "slow return" does is give radical ideologies a chance to spread/germinate. Witness America's slow-motion collpase the last 35 years and how it has coincided with the spread of radical militant Christianty. I doubt that to be a coincidence.
An ex-poacher suggested using the engine hoist to 'peel' the skin offa your deer.
Cut 'round the neck skin and pull down 6-12 inches of skin.
Place 3/4 inch nut on fur side and trap nut so you can create a bulge on the flesh side.
wrap robe 'bout the budge
Anchor rope to base of engine hoist
Jack up hoist and the deer peels right outta its skin.
I think a far better living in post PO would be learning how to grow food organically. Food will be wealth in a post-peak society and if you're an expert organic gardener you'll be the goose that lays the golden eggs that what's left of society will want to protect from being eaten.
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I Cannot Yet Skin A Deer
Are you prepared for the Big Collapse? Peak Oil? Rural life? Can you pickle meat and eat bark?
Well Pick up a Talking Heads CD.
They wrote a song for you.
Nothing But Flowers
Here we stand, Like an Adam and an Eve
Waterfalls, The Garden of Eden
Two fools in love, So beautiful and strong
The birds in the trees, Are smiling upon them
From the age of the dinosaurs, Cars have run on gasoline
Where, where have they gone?, Now, it's nothing but flowers
There was a factory, Now there are mountains and rivers
you got it, you got it, We caught a rattlesnake
Now we got something for dinner, we got it, we got it
There was a shopping mall, Now it's all covered with flowers
you've got it, you've got it
If this is paradise, I wish I had a lawnmower
you've got it, you've got it
Years ago, I was an angry young man
I'd pretend, That I was a billboard
Standing tall, By the side of the road
I fell in love, With a beautiful highway
This used to be real estate, Now it's only fields and trees
Where, where is the town, Now, it's nothing but flowers
The highways and cars, Were sacrificed for agriculture
I thought that we'd start over, But I guess I was wrong
Once there were parking lots, Now it's a peaceful oasis
you got it, you got it, This was a Pizza Hut
Now it's all covered with daisies, you got it, you got it
I miss the honky tonks, Dairy Queens, and 7-Elevens
you got it, you got it, And as things fell apart
Nobody paid much attention, you got it, you got it
I dream of cherry pies,Candy bars, and chocolate chip cookies
you got it, you got it
We used to microwave, Now we just eat nuts and berries
you got it, you got it
This was a discount store,Now it's turned into a cornfield
you got it, you got it
Don't leave me stranded here, I can't get used to this lifestyle
I predict many, many will chose this alternative. Many will take a left turn off that bridge.
Everyone will chose their own way to... er... "Adjust" (or not) to the new reality.
John
It's a pity that they'll also be filled with toxins and pharmaceuticals from modern life when they decide to give up... they would have made great sources of protein for those who choose to try to survive.
Seriously though, it is impossible to know how much a complex system as our modern world will react to the decrease in energy inputs that runs the show. If we want to look at movies for some possibilities, all three Mad Max movies showed different shades of a post-collapse civilization. There were shops and tourists in Road Warrior, pretty much all chaos in Thunderdome. Both were set in a time that appeared to be past some sort of collapse point.
If we don't end up with some technology miracle, my guess is things will slowly get more and more uncomfortable for a while, eventually reaching a snapping point when all hell breaks loose, and after a relatively short period (perhaps a decade), the survivors will be fatigued and try to settle into the new realities of life, building a civilization that isn't as easy as our current one [is for industrial nations] but much better than Thunderdome.
This is provided that no one decides to release the demons of NBC weapons which really could screw things up for centuries without doing much good for those who used them. If we can avoid that, it may be that current third world type cultures, especially the most primative ones, end up fareing the best.
"it may be that current third world type cultures, especially the most primative ones, end up fareing the best."
I recall reading somewhere one time, a rather shocking assertion that went "the meek shall inherit the earth."
...but not the mineral rights.
I think you mean in Mad Max there were shops/tourists and in the Road Warrior all was chaos. In Beyond Thunderdome, there was Bartertown, a first faltering step toward reestablishing civilization, at least until Max came and fixed that. ;-)
What a great song. There's a recent cover version by Gaetano Veloso you would like. On CD "A Foreign Sound"
Interesting perspective. Don't get me wrong, my interest in PO started out as a distaste for the modern american suburban, hyperconsumption culture. I grew up as a cul-de-sac imprisoned kid in suburban Columbus, OH.
I live in a small community of 15000 which I think is more sustainable than most PO.
I live on 1/2 my income.
I walk to work.
My 14 year old bike is in perfect working condition.
I'll be debt free at the end of the year (barring TEOTWAWKI before then) with only student loans left.
I buy as much as I can from the local farmer's market.
I average 1000 miles/ year on my truck.
My hope is that we can slowly transition to a more sustainable society that looks more like the 19th century than the 20th or 12th.
That was my hope too. But then I started thinking (practically) about the effect of positive feedback loops:
Falling energy production due to depletion -> economic fall -> social chaos -> war and terrorism -> further disruptions in energy supply
Unfortnately you're small community, assumming it has a shot of being sustainable, will simply fall prey to the "law of attraction" which means it will attract people from less well-off areas. That is unless it is extremely geographically isolated.
All a "slow return" does is give radical ideologies a chance to spread/germinate. Witness America's slow-motion collpase the last 35 years and how it has coincided with the spread of radical militant Christianty. I doubt that to be a coincidence.
I Cannot Yet Skin A Deer
An ex-poacher suggested using the engine hoist to 'peel' the skin offa your deer.
Cut 'round the neck skin and pull down 6-12 inches of skin.
Place 3/4 inch nut on fur side and trap nut so you can create a bulge on the flesh side.
wrap robe 'bout the budge
Anchor rope to base of engine hoist
Jack up hoist and the deer peels right outta its skin.
You get a mostly hairless corpse in bout 15 mins.
I think a far better living in post PO would be learning how to grow food organically. Food will be wealth in a post-peak society and if you're an expert organic gardener you'll be the goose that lays the golden eggs that what's left of society will want to protect from being eaten.