Survivalism

[Freester]

WTF?

[brf]

This was a forum for Rocky.....

He's still quite shy.

[rockymtnway]

Not quite sure where to start. Perhaps with how I got started and now where I'm going with prepping and building a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

I guess it all started in 1985 in my Freshman year of college when I was looking at my roommate's books in our dormroom and picked up his copy of Nuclear War: what's in it for you. It was typical peacenic propaganda about why we'd all suffer gravely if there was every a full nuclear exchange with the Soviets; like anyone didn't already know that. But what hooked me was the facts that it stated that even with a full exchange, with the US population at 235 million at the time, the book estimated that 135 million would survive. That seemed bizarre to me and led me down a path of research and eventually into prepping. Things went even more in that direction in 1988 when I met Staci, my first wife because her extended family was in Utah and LDS. The Mormon church tells church members to store one year's worth of food each, which made a lot of sense to me, so I followed the lead.

Fast forward a few decades and by the time Y2K came and went, I could care less, but I still had a half ton of preps stored. My ears perked up around 9/11, but other than pulling the gas masks out of the shed and bringing one to work "just in case" I didn't change much. That said, I've always been a bit over prepared, even in my least prepared days. Pre-9/11 I had a 165' repel rope, harness and webbing in my office so I could get out of my fourth floor office even if the stairs were blocked. I kept three days worth of food in the car, along with a sleeping bag and everything else I'd need if my car slid off the road in an ice storm or I became stranded on some backcountry road. As Ben said on our drive down to Taos, if you look at the idea from the UK, where there's service stations every few miles along the way, it seems completely loony, but in the context of the United States, where it can be 200 miles between towns on some roads, it makes a bit more sense.

So it's March or April 2008 and Angel (mtymtb) and I are having this banter and conversation about global warming. I was trying to make a point that even if things progress slowly, without the feedback loops that are predicted, human infrastructure cannot adapt quickly enough to prevent catastrophe. While doing my research and trying to find some data on the fact that most of the world's oil refineries are within 6 meters of sea level, I made this shocking discovery that I guess I shouldn't have been shocked about; we're running out of oil. All this bickering about drilling off shore for oil in the US or the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge oil… it’s all just a friggin’ drop in the bucket. The reality is that the US hit peak oil production between 1965 and 1970 and ever since then the US output has gradually declined, even with the development of the Alaskan oil fields. What I discovered was that the world Peak Oil production, optimistically, will be reached in 2025, but many industry experts are saying that we’re already there. Some of those that have previously worked at the big oil companies argue that we hit peak production between 2004 and 2007.

That discovery rocked my world. The fact that regardless of who you believe, we are at or near the point where the stuff that our entire society over the last 100 years has been built upon is going to become less and less available is frightening. Demand has never been higher, there are forces to push it even higher (the development and modernization of India and China), yet we won’t be able to produce significantly more oil than we do right now and gradually, we will begin to produce less.

That led the course of my planning and preparations down a whole new path with even more vigor and energy than before. No longer was I thinking about the possibility of something highly unlikely, but catastrophic. Now I was looking at something that was inevitable and global. When I put two and two together to reveal just how important oil is in global food production, manufacturing, and distribution, the issue becomes more than just about expensive petrol; it’s about billions competing for food resources that simply won’t be possible at even three times the current price.

Over time my preparations have gone from short term self-sufficiency toward a more sustainable lifestyle with long term independence in mind. The global economic crisis has just reinforced my beliefs. The fact is that the economy can’t fully recover because every time it starts to recover, demand for oil rises, which drives up the price of oil, which means people have to spend more on basic energy needs, which means they spend less on consumables, which slows the economy. If we weren’t at peak oil, the price would drop much lower and wouldn’t immediately rebound.

So amongst my long-term goals is to build a homestead: a piece of land that produces for me rather than consumes from me. It must be rural agriculturally zoned property so taxes are low (the US has annual property taxes on all land, but agricultural land is taxed at roughly 1/3 the rate). It should be 2-5 acres; enough land for Suz’s horses, some chickens for eggs, a couple goats for milk and butter, a stand of fruit trees, grape vines, and raspberry bushes, along with a set of raised beds for gardening. I’ll eventually go solar for my electrical and most of my hot water needs, with wood for at least a secondary source of heat.

The fact is this makes a hell of a lot more sense for retirement planning, too. The conventional wisdom is that you save 10-15% a year toward retirement with the hope that the stock market’s compounding will do the work for you. At the age of 65 or 70 you quit working and you do things you’ve never done before, like run on the beach, buy a golden retriever that chases sticks, and take a lot of cruises (ok, that’s what the ads show). Well, the average American male lives to be about 72.5, the average female about 78. What the hell is that all about? And you expect me to trust the stock market for my retirement? Are you nuts? Did you experience the last 18 months when I lost 60% of my retirement, which came back 40%, but I’m still down 40% (that whole math thing never did make much sense to me)?

There’s another way. Get out of debt, stay out of debt, pay off your home as fast as you can, and become as self-sufficient as you are comfortable with (the goal isn’t 100%, but even meeting 50% of your food needs, 75% of your energy needs, and not having any debt will afford a pretty amazingly cheap lifestyle. Suddenly, at 52 I’ll be in the position to work and little as I want, maybe just 10 or 20 hours a week to cover my expenses. I’ve also created a healthier lifestyle with organic foods available at no cost other than my sweat equity and initial investment. I can create a surplus that will bring in a second income.

Now how is this survivalism? Does it really matter if the oil stops flowing, the dollar crashes, or there’s a severe storm that knocks out the power for a few weeks? Nope. While I may miss some of those things, I’m not completely dependent on those things any more to the same extent that I am today. As the podcast I listen to says, I’m looking for that better life, if times get tough or even if they don’t.

[Freester]

Woh some heavy stuff there. A lot of it I would I would say reinforces the stereotypical view of midwesterners from this side of the pond.

Sorry Mark not having a go. Just speaking my mind.

As for the homestead idea. I like it. We call it a 'small holding' over here. It's one of mine and Vicki's dreams. A house, a couple of acres. Some animals, horses for Vicki (she's an excellent Horsewoman), Donkeys for me (just 'cos I like them - I wouldn't ride them), ducks / geese that type of thing and a well stocked vegetable garden. One day it will happen...

[Freester]

Oh did I say we won't be getting a small holding too near the coast or on low lying land. I DO believe in Global Warming and Sea Level rise. Is that survivalism?

[rockymtnway]

I completely understand the response; it is kind of an 'only in America' kind of thing. Then again, only in America do we live lives that are so dependent on the grid and infrastructure that if the very slightest thing went wrong, we'd be completely fo'oked. While I know you guys have grown used to electricity and petrol, too, most of your cities and towns did most of their development before petrol. As a result, most people live in isolated suburbs with no services within walking distance and low population density to develop useful public transit.

I used to be much more of an oddball, but the movement to become more self-sufficient has really taken on new roots since the economy went to hell and people are scratching their heads wondering, now what? Some have put up solar panels because they want to fight global warming, some are doing it in fear of rising energy prices, and some just want to give the finger to "The Man". It all has the same result, less stress on the infrastructure, greater independence, and less dependence on fossil fuels. In many ways, it's a win-win.

It's cool to hear that you're looking at small holding. Sounds like we probably have more in common than we thought. Suzannah has a 10 year old mare and her offspring, a 2 year old colt. Both are Hannoverian dressage horses. Lately I've been trying to talk her into breeding Zizi with a donkey so we can have a mule for work around the homestead. Not sure she'll ever go for it, but it's fun getting her reaction that I'm going to breed some lowly donkey with her precious papered (and pampered) purebred.

This was my first year growing a garden and between June and August, nearly 100% of my veggies were home grown. It was great fun, a tremendous learning experience, and something I only want to expand. I have some more affluent friends who have some interest and the way I've been trying to sell them on the idea is telling them about this great investment strategy: If you give me $40 I'm going to invest it, but you can't have a dollar of it back for the first five years. I may even ask for a few dollars more. However, after five years, I'll give you your $40 back. In fact, for the next five years, I'll give you back $40 every year. After that I'll give you $80 back for the next five years and after that, $120-180 a year. Would you take that investment? Sound a bit too much like a Ponzi scheme? It's called buying a fruit tree. Food isn't going to get any cheaper. Food producing trees need years in the ground before they become productive, so I'm hoping to get started now so in a decade, most of my food production is permaculture and I can enjoy my semi-retirement in my 50s.

[Orange Al]

Never fear Rocky the technology is out there its just the oil companies that are holding it back, not that being self sufficent isn't a great idea. Just think how long solar power has been around and its still not in major use and I'm routing for the Hydrogen fuel cell cause in energy providing and on a personal level.