Survivalists prepare for the tough times ahead as costs of oil and food soar
Pastor Dale Morgan
Survivalists prepare for the tough times ahead as costs of oil and food
soar*
May 24, 2:12 PM (ET)
By SAMANTHA GROSS
(AP) Peter Laskowski stacks firewood at his remote home in Waitsfield,
Vt., Friday, April 11, 2008....
BUSKIRK, N.Y. (AP) - A few years ago, Kathleen Breault was just another
suburban grandma, driving countless hours every week, stopping for lunch
at McDonald's, buying clothes at the mall, watching TV in the evenings.
That was before Breault heard an author talk about the bleak future of
the world's oil supply. Now, she's preparing for the world as we know it
to disappear.
Breault cut her driving time in half. She switched to a diet of locally
grown foods near her upstate New York home and lost 70 pounds. She
sliced up her credit cards, banished her television and swore off plane
travel. She began relying on a wood-burning stove.
"I was deeply shaken" the 50-year-old recalled, her voice shaking.
"Devastated. Depressed. Vulnerable. Weak. Alone. Just terrible."
(AP) Peter Laskowski feeds his chickens and sheep at his remote home in
Waitsfield, Vt., Friday, April...
With rapidly rising oil and food costs and the world's economies are
heading for a crash, some people around the country are moving onto
homesteads, learning to live off their land, conserving fuel and, in
some cases, stocking up on guns they expect to use to defend themselves
and their supplies from desperate crowds of people who didn't prepare.
The exact number of people taking such steps is impossible to determine,
but anecdotal evidence suggests that the movement has been gaining
momentum in the last few years.
These energy survivalists are not leading some sort of green revolution
meant to save the planet. Many of them believe it is too late for that,
seeing signs in soaring fuel and food prices and a faltering U.S.
economy, and are largely focused on saving themselves.
Some are doing it quietly, giving few details of their preparations -
afraid that revealing such information as the location of their supplies
will endanger themselves and their loved ones. They envision a future in
which the nation's cities will be filled with hungry, desperate refugees
forced to go looking for food, shelter and water.
"There's going to be things that happen when people can't get things
that they need for themselves and their families," said Lynn-Marie, who
believes cities could see a rise in violence as early as 2012.
(AP) Peter Laskowski plants vegetables at his remote home in Waitsfield,
Vt., Friday, April 11, 2008....
Lynn-Marie asked to be identified by her first name to protect her
homestead in rural western Idaho. Many of these survivalists declined to
speak to The Associated Press for similar reasons.
These survivalists believe in "peak oil," the idea that world oil
production is set to hit a high point and then decline. Scientists who
support idea say the amount of oil produced in the world each year has
already or will soon begin a downward slide, even amid increased demand.
But many scientists say such a scenario will be avoided as other sources
of energy come in to fill the void.
Some people argue there will be no financial crash, but a slow slide
into harder times. Some believe the federal government will respond to
the loss of energy security with a clampdown on personal freedoms.
Others simply don't trust that the government can maintain basic
services in the face of an energy crisis.
The powers that be, they've determined, will be largely powerless to
stop what is to come.
Determined to guard themselves from potentially harsh times ahead,
Lynn-Marie and her husband have already planted an orchard of about 40
trees and built a greenhouse on their 7 1/2 acres. They have built their
own irrigation system. They've begun to raise chickens and pigs, and
they've learned to slaughter them.
The couple have gotten rid of their TV and instead have been reading
dusty old books published in their grandparents' era, books that explain
the simpler lifestyle they are trying to revive. Lynn-Marie has been
teaching herself how to make soap. Her husband, concerned about one day
being unable to get medications, has been training to become an herbalist.
By 2012, they expect to power their property with solar panels, and
produce their own meat, milk and vegetables. When things start to fall
apart, they expect their children and grandchildren will come back home
and help them work the land. She envisions a day when the family may
have to decide whether to turn needy people away from their door.
"People will be unprepared," she said. "And we can imagine marauding
hordes."
So can Peter Laskowski. Living in a woodsy area outside of Montpelier,
Vt., the 57-year-old retiree has become the local constable and a deputy
sheriff for his county, as well as an emergency medical technician.
"I decided there was nothing like getting the training myself to deal
with insurrections, if that's a possibility," said the former executive
recruiter.
Laskowski is taking steps similar to environmentalists: conserving fuel,
consuming less, studying global warming, and relying on local produce
and craftsmen. Laskowski is powering his home with solar panels and is
raising fish, geese, ducks and sheep. He has planted apple and pear
trees and is growing lettuce, spinach and corn.
Whenever possible, he uses his bicycle to get into town.
"I remember the oil crisis in '73; I remember waiting in line for gas,"
Laskowski said. "If there is a disruption in the oil supply it will be
very quickly elevated into a disaster."
Breault said she hopes to someday band together with her neighbors to
form a self-sufficient community. Women will always be having babies,
she notes, and she imagines her skills as a midwife will always be in
demand.
For now, she is readying for the more immediate work ahead: There's a
root cellar to dig, fruit trees and vegetable plots to plant. She has
put a bicycle on layaway, and soon she'll be able to bike to visit her
grandkids even if there is no oil at the pump.
Whatever the shape of things yet to come, she said, she's done what she
can to prepare.