Some general points in response to the irate emailer;

1) the business-as-usual community failed to see some major events coming. I'd bet every real world development has been accurately predicted somewhere in TOD albeit with high noise-to-signal

2) quite a few TOD posters have a diversified knowledge base eg software/engineering/law/energy yet they still entertain dirty hippie ideas

3) the fact a core group is somewhat doomerish may reflect the wisdom of the crowds rather than groupthink.

The irate emailer should start his/her own peak oil blog and moderate out 'wrong' ideas.

For a long time my tag line was ,"Todd: A Realist." In my case, it doesn't have a thing to do with crowds or group think. Rather, I consider my negative views of the future to be rational and well considered.

I believe most TOD posters evaluate information from a variety of sources of which TOD is only one.

My response to the email would be, "If you don't like TOD, there are thousands of other forums that may be more to your liking."

Todd

and that's pretty much what was said. :)

To add some to what Todd stated.

I was raised on a farm. Bridged several cultural states(wood,kerosene,coal,n.gas,elec,oil....as energy sources) and very different lifestyles.

I migrated to the field of electronics and finally programming..programming mainly in the area Tele-Communications..which was just methods of using computers and earlier mechical-electrical devices to communicate first by businesses(railroard,stockmkt) and then by the masses.

I worked and lived in the very early forms of communications via computers. Many companies established networks far before the Internet came into being. I also was a Amateur Radio Operator since even before computers. Wrote code.yada.yada..etc.

So that being stated...I have long long followed forums and even created them.

I have discovered that the most important and successful one that I have ever become a member of or used the most is and was TOD.

I feel that reading TOD places me way way in the forefront of what might and perhaps will occur. Gives me a great advantage over my peers out here in the vast,ignorant?,rednecky FLYOVER.

I reside in a county that relies totally on farming as industry/livelhood. I see all the industrial ag activities and participate in most of them ,hands on. And I also commment on them here.

We are at the very edge of something very large lumbering our way and its seems to be gaining on us.

If we(collectively) cannot and do not become prepared then life as we know it may well cease to exist over time.

I read Cormac McCarty's book ...The Road some time ago.

I understand a movie based on it is due to be released perhaps next month(Nov). I suggest many read this excellent apocalyptic novel and see the movie.
It will likely galvanize many into action or terror. That is precisely what we need. To become afraid...become very afraid.

Thanks for the medium you have created. Long may it live but I suspect it will die early if chaos comes.

Airdale--the Key Post on Org/Indag was spot on. I am now becoming more familiar with 'compost tea' and expect to order one{brewer) for next year..if their is a next year(God willing)!(and yes I am a nitwitz as many here at home can attest but many naysayers are suddenly starting to get worried.)

People are terrified. There is good reason, we are in completely uncharted waters, financially, ecologically and politically.

I hear the 'living in a cave' line all the time, usually a lobbyist making excuses or looking for a bailout. It's denial ... and kind of funny.

I suspect the financial crisis is the first in a line of crises. We will default or Cantarell will poop out ... some war will start ... I suspect people will get by. We Americans are civilized, crises tend to pull people together. The conveniences will go, but there will be other things to replace them. Once the vested interests wash away, there is the routine of daily life that connects new threads to replace those that are broken.

What is most interesting is the exercise of trying to figure a way out of this mess. Recognizing that problems exists goes a long way toward crafting solutions. Along the way fo solutions, there will be errors. Fortunately, almost all the errors are survivable, even if seeing them made is aggravating.

Another thing is the diversity of ideas is valuable all by itself. Even if the 'living in a cave' cliche is overdone, it represents as useable idea that has a lot of currency. Even a self-absorbed commodities trader can come up with a brainstorm. If he's motivated by his appearance in a loin cloth, more power to him!

You do not qualify as an "econitwit" until you've bought yourself a scythe. Scythes will be essential to cut grass/hay to make compost, which in turn will help grow your food. No more ride-on mowers, Elmer.

I have the model pictured above from scythe supply. Recommend it highly.

Yup, I have several. Good people at Scythe Supply too. Recommended. Not just for hornweed in the ditch or cutting under the electric fences, but for general meadow grass or in the orchard. In my experience, these scythes are just as quick as lawnmowers (say about 1/2 acre all broken up with plantings) and far faster than a mower when you get into the ditches and puckerbrush. Might be the right tool for Congress too, cut them all off at the ankles.

cfm in Gray, ME

If you're accumulating scythes, remember to get 1/6 of them in the lefty model.

No. You don“t qualify as an econitwit until you have successfully sharpened a scythe. Any old fool can buy one, but it takes special skill to keep it in good working order.

got 2 community garden, desert ranch 30 miles from nearest town, several engineers, simple living, ecologists and computer geeks among other members ..

Hmmmm...looks like the 'Grim Reaper' model;-{)

Ah! So the Grim Reaper is just another "econitwit"...

Backbreaking work.

Mental-note-to-self: Cut the lawn before the peak. ;-)