(Mods, I would like to have a discussion of the issues in this book relating to finances, rather than a literary discussion.)
Are other mamas here familiar with this book by James Kunstler? (There's an article that very briefly recaps the material in the book here, bear in mind the numbers given in that article are from 2005 and the price of oil is already more than double the value cited there.) I read it a couple years ago and it seriously scared the pants off me. I was horribly depressed for like a month. Then I guess I became resigned, like, whatever's going to happen will happen regardless of how much I fret about it.
We're now IMO well into the beginning stage of the scenario Kunstler outlined, where food prices have skyrocketed partly because of the increased cost of oil, and partly because a large amount of food crop has been diverted into "alternative energy".
When I read some of the other threads on this forum, I'm a little shocked at how a lot of people are perceiving the increased food and energy costs as merely an inflation problem, or signs of a recession. In other words, something that will be tough for a while, but will pass or we'll somehow adjust to. I see threads about what kind of car would be a good purchase, or if increasing gas costs would encourage one to move closer to work, with the pros and cons kind of coming down to budget and lifestyle preferences.
I hate to be all chicken little about it, but under Kunstler's scenario, private vehicles wil become obsolete. Subdivisions located beyond reasonable biking distance (or accessible public transport) from employment centers are predicted to become slums. It just seems like by the point the majority of people realize the severity of the crisis, they are not going to have the availability of choices in housing and transportation they are expecting to have.
We have done what we can. We have chickens, and a garden, and live within walking/biking distance of virtually anywhere we need to go. I still have a car, but only because being that it's paid off and I drive very little, there's no financial gain in giving it up. Might as well hang on to the convenience as long as gas can still be bought.
Just wondering where other MDC families are at on this issue. Do you know about it? Have you made lifestyle choices/changes in anticipation? Do you think we're really now IN "The Long Emergency"? Or do you think the predictions are exaggerated and things will somehow work out?
Are other mamas here familiar with this book by James Kunstler? (There's an article that very briefly recaps the material in the book here, bear in mind the numbers given in that article are from 2005 and the price of oil is already more than double the value cited there.) I read it a couple years ago and it seriously scared the pants off me. I was horribly depressed for like a month. Then I guess I became resigned, like, whatever's going to happen will happen regardless of how much I fret about it.
We're now IMO well into the beginning stage of the scenario Kunstler outlined, where food prices have skyrocketed partly because of the increased cost of oil, and partly because a large amount of food crop has been diverted into "alternative energy".
When I read some of the other threads on this forum, I'm a little shocked at how a lot of people are perceiving the increased food and energy costs as merely an inflation problem, or signs of a recession. In other words, something that will be tough for a while, but will pass or we'll somehow adjust to. I see threads about what kind of car would be a good purchase, or if increasing gas costs would encourage one to move closer to work, with the pros and cons kind of coming down to budget and lifestyle preferences.
I hate to be all chicken little about it, but under Kunstler's scenario, private vehicles wil become obsolete. Subdivisions located beyond reasonable biking distance (or accessible public transport) from employment centers are predicted to become slums. It just seems like by the point the majority of people realize the severity of the crisis, they are not going to have the availability of choices in housing and transportation they are expecting to have.
We have done what we can. We have chickens, and a garden, and live within walking/biking distance of virtually anywhere we need to go. I still have a car, but only because being that it's paid off and I drive very little, there's no financial gain in giving it up. Might as well hang on to the convenience as long as gas can still be bought.
Just wondering where other MDC families are at on this issue. Do you know about it? Have you made lifestyle choices/changes in anticipation? Do you think we're really now IN "The Long Emergency"? Or do you think the predictions are exaggerated and things will somehow work out?