Comments on: The future may not be what you think: Light summer reading

By: Bruce Anderson

Bruce Anderson — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 02:15:26 +0000

Angel, Thanks for the comment. After seeing your remarks, I read Kunstler's "The Agenda Restated" on his website. You're right: it's short, precise, strident and motivating. I especially liked his repeated exhortation to "get busy" and his conclusion: "Quit wishing and start doing. The best way to feel hopeful about the future is to get off your ass and demonstrate to yourself that you are a capable, competent individual resolutely able to face new circumstances." Right on!

By: Angel Dobrow

Angel Dobrow — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 17:34:24 +0000

When Bruce conducted an energy audit of my home several months ago, we briefly discussed “current-state-of-affairs” issues; his thoughtfulness and breadth of vision was inspiring. So it is no surprise to me he is reading Kuntsler’s Long Emergency. That particular book is on my list of to-do’s. One of my oft-referred-to essays is Kuntsler’s The Agenda Restated. Short, precise, strident, motivating; exactly what I need when I feel like Alice in La-la-land.

By: Bruce Anderson

Bruce Anderson — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:46:46 +0000

Bright,
I think you are right to say that “the rest of us might have to scramble.” That is as true of communities as it is of individuals/families. I think the hour is getting VERY late to deal with the long-developing issues that James Kunstler talks about. The longer we fiddle, the more likely that the scramble might be extremely difficult, and the transition to a more sustainable way of living more chaotic and painful than we like to discuss in polite company.

By: Bright Spencer

Bright Spencer — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:14:45 +0000

For over ten years I have been following discussion on yahoo reguarding survival techniques after the SHTF. Many thousands of people are honing their medical, herbal, weapons crafting, canning, firemaking and otherwise self reliant skills, and have been doing so for decades.
You are right to bring up the fact that decisionmakers are not putting any thing to the side for the future that any series of natural or manmade catastrophies might bring upon us. The highest up ones have the escape/survival thing taken care of by taxdollars, so they don’t have to worry
about anything but getting to the destination. The rest of us might have to scramble. I can only place my faith in God at this point in my life because I am dependent on the health system for my survival…but, I have lived a darn good life and if I need to roll over and make way for others, I am ready already. I hope others will develop skills important to mankind’s survival in case of disasters, and just to have a good skill like that brings with it a lot of
good personal power.