Very interesting and important discussion!

I must admit that I´m a car junkie also. I´ve been restoring and rodding cars for 20 years and as you can understand, I feel quite depressed about peak oil and global warming . Most of you might think also that my carbon footprint is very large due to my interest, but the truth is that I don´t drive much with my oldies.

Alan said the important thing “I think a key is VMT (vehicle miles traveled). Cut that significantly !”

I have been thinking about to convert my latest project to electricity but the price for batteries vs range is not favourable at the moment. I am also very interested in wood gas, as we have plenty of wood over here!

We will also build a couple of electric bicycles during this winter. I also use my ordinary bike regularly and walk whenever possibly.

If and when, the collapse arrives, we need simple solutions to ensure that our basic logistical system works. Wood gas worked during WWII and it will probably work also in the future…

Hitch-hiking used to be very common in the US up until about the mid '70s or so. During WWII it was actually encouraged by the government. Then, in the mid '70s, things started to go kinda crazy, and the perception developed (rightly or wrongly) that picking up hitchhikers was a very dangerous thing to do. It was around that time that we started to hear a lot of news about stalkers and mass murderers, and it seemed like the US had become a more dangerous place.

I think that a part of it is that one must admit that a very large number of people one sees hitchhiking today do seem vaguely dangerous in their personal appearance. Back in the earlier days, you used to see lots of young men hitchhiking. They would all be well groomed and clean shaven, and wearing clothes that didn't look too bad. Many would be college students, or one would sometimes even see a young soldier hitchhiking home on leave, in uniform; such would be offered a ride instantly. You just don't see that now, and because what few hitchhikers one does see appear to be so threatening, people simply are just out of the habit of offering hitchhikers rides.

The way I hitchhike is I go into a truck stop or a diner and introduce myself to someone working there. That person can often connect me with a regular customer who would be likely to give me a ride.