So what will you do if the oil runs out?

[diamond lil]

Gnole, you said on your own forum once that you were an officer and a gentleman. Please act like one.

[the-gnole]

Gnole, you said on your own forum once that you were an officer and a gentleman. Please act like one.

I am being Lil, you should see me when the hat is off.

[hobo]

Darwin?

Precisely!

[Technik]

I'm just worried if the oil runs out next week or so and I won't be able to get to work, but then again noone else would... that's quite scary actually

[the-gnole]

I'm just worried if the oil runs out next week or so and I won't be able to get to work, but then again noone else would... that's quite scary actually

Well its a good job I stored some spare diesel

when the firefighters, paramedics and other essential people are not able to get to work it might be scary for a lot of people.

[luxor]

I'm just worried if the oil runs out next week or so and I won't be able to get to work, but then again noone else would... that's quite scary actually

Well its a good job I stored some spare diesel

but how long will it last, a few days, a couple of weeks?
then your in the same boat as everyone else.
wouldn't it be better to save it for emergencies

[JohnRio]

So you're more into future new stuff than what we used in the past..? that's scarey to me because its largely untested no? I just try to work out how to do things without electricity or gas. But our lifestyle makes this possible, whereas for many it would be a hassle. Is interesting to hear other people's ideas.

I ran almost all of my electric needs (lights, radios, waterpump for shower in summer) when I lived in my narrowboat from one 68W photovoltaic panel. For three years. I worked out it paid for itself in diesel savings in one year. Alternate method of power generation was running the engine to turn the alternator.

[clearthedecks]

I'm not inclined to side with the semi tech solutions, its very hard to predicate all the scenarios, if oil were to run out in 40 years, just how much do you think its going to cost a barrel? and you can be sure that the supply to the public will be zero.
As such to be sure, you need to assume that the future lies in the past as most modern technology will be unsustainable. Its not an overly attractive proposition, but it is the bottom line - and the only one an individual can be sure would work and be sustainable. Trouble is -where do you start?
Can you manage without horse power? and if you had them can you sustain them through a collapse? I keep looking at the old horse drawn ploughs on ebay and ponder on their potential future values, ironically it wont be the lack of land that starves people but rather their inabilty to work it.

[preppingsu]

, ironically it wont be the lack of land that starves people but rather their inabilty to work it.

That is quite right. We need to start encouraging our young people to look at farming as a career and learning some old ways of doing things. We need to be passing on traditional skills and this has to start from a young age before they become caught up in the multi media life that is today.

This is an interesting site.
http://www.ukagriculture.com/index.cfm

[tommylongstocking]

Hi All,

I've come fairly late to this thread. I've read it through two or three times and it has raised some issues that I had not previously really thought about in any depth. I am pretty much 'Off Grid' with most of my electricity needs provided by PV's and a large generator run off bio-diesel. I am also very conscious of my energy usage and strive to be as efficient as possible.

However, my bio-diesel production is dependant upon my local chippy and pub for the waste oil which would probably dry up if TSHTF so I would be faced with a diminishing stock of fuel for the generator and a smallish PV output.

I do not believe that solar and wind power will ever provide anything more that a small fraction of our current energy needs. Tidal has more potential possibly but will again only ever provide a small proportion of current energy use.

This brings us to bio-fuels. I have done some rudimentary calculations based upon figures from various relevant bodies and sources. Given our current global oil usage (this is fuel oil only not other spin off oil products, plastics, fertilisers, rubber, etc. just the oil used to power internal combustion engines of any size and purpose from cars to power stations) and given the yield of oil producing plants (Palm Oil being the highest yielding plant) we simply do not have enough agricultural land to grow enough oil producing plants to even scratch the surface of total usage. This assumes that we have found an alternative food source so that we can divert food production to free up land, insects perhaps? - tasty and fun to catch.

I never thought that I would say this but unless I am mistaken nuclear, with its attendant problems, is the only viable answer.

Tommy