Can we hope to 'subvert the dominant paradigm'?

It may be self-centered of me, but I thought you should know: tears are streaming down my face as I sit down to write this, the last Weekly Update for World Without Oil.

Out there things are calmer than they've been in a long time. Prices are down, availability is up. Inside this community, though, we recognize what this is: the calm between storms. Gail the Actuary summarizes the situation with this graph. As long as the way most people live pushes that demand line upward, we will live in stormy times.

Early on dessum9 spun out an analogy for me that I haven't been able to shake. We are all on this ship, a big ocean liner like the Titanic. And it's sinking, slowly. So what we've just seen is the water flooding the fourth class compartment. Some people scrambled out of there into third class, where we are. Some didn't make it. And some of the people in first class are largely unaware of what's going on, which is unfortunate, since they're the ones who actually own and operate this ship.

What we need to do is beach the ship. Then it will stop sinking. But that involves a change of course. And there's the problem, isn't it? It's not that the ship is going anywhere - it's just going. But it's a huge ship, and impossible for any one person to turn. And what would happen if it slowed down or - God forbid - stopped? We don't know. So the ship sails on...

WELCOME, NEW VISITOR

Just joining us? To catch up quick, listen to the podcasts. Or watch the kalwithoutoil videos (and maybe supplement with videos from Chuckles, Illiana, Gracesmom and me). Or even quicker: read the EXCELLENT web comic series by Anda. Best yet, get the A to Z from mPathytest. I'll try to get Rainey Wilson to create a one-podcast summary - check back here for that.

WHAT YOU ARE SAYING

WillWithoutOil sees the people around him slipping back into old habits. Our ever-vigilant lead-tag warns against preoccupation with "compromises with the now, not fixes for the future." The ever-eloquent Warnwood calls attention to our tendency to accept our baseline getting shifted downward, and passed off as the "new normal." Blueski puts it bluntly: "we have been warned."

People have their creative, rebellious acts. Like cycleboy helping to shape an independent Michigan community. And Warnwood doing the same in LA. And Flashmouth's dedication to bicycling in the face of a not-exactly-sympathetic community. And just by speaking the truth about limits to growth, like PrudentRVer, and thinking through ways to live on your own terms if our ship just stays on the course it's on, as seen by our ever-perceptive PeakProphet.

jwiv has a checklist of practical suggestions, and he's clear that a single person can make a difference. Such as Orangeforahead's plan to shape better (as in more efficient) driving habits early. Megiddo Tell sees the individual efforts all adding up - to force the oil shock as an agenda item in the upcoming Presidential debates, maybe?

MonkeyWithoutOil makes responding to the food challenge simple and sensical.

Like Blueski, MiaWithoutOil wants to subvert the dominant paradigm - force government to force consumer change, since we can't seem to say "no" on our own.

People do worry about the fragile. People like dmoisan. And our loyal FallingIntoSin points out that some of our most vulnerable citizens are also our most heroic.

Maybe the war is mostly in our heads. ceegee talks up making progress on the inside by mourning the passing of the 'happy motoring' mentality. Lucy1965 is using her overseas relocation to point up our potentially unhealthy preoccupation with stuff. Which Blueski puts out there even more bluntly: what are we hanging on so tight for? How do we get out of the box we've put ourselves in?

And these words really got through to me. We've been having a tough time, here, because we're trying to keep our house, and to keep Inky in her school, and to keep my husband's job, and to find some real work for me. So now my husband is in Sacramento, and we're imposing on a friend, and trying to rent our house, and... why am I hanging on so tight? How do I get out of the box I'm in? Like the monkey in a monkey-paw trap, I just have to let go. To paraphrase Dick Gregory, "Oil does not delight us so much with its presence, as torture us with its absence."

So Inky and I are with you, Anda. Here's to a new start in a World Without Oil.

THE FUTURE

Nobody knows what exactly is in store. Now that the price of oil is at a new level, will that open up oil sources that were previously uneconomical? Will it open up enough of them to offset the decline of current sources? Will the owners of that oil invest the money to bring that oil to market sooner rather than later? Will our country be able to compete effectively for it? A lot of unknowns loom large.

But thanks to you, and all who have told their stories through these 32 weeks, we also have some answers. Community. Localization. Family. Information. Conservation. Clear and unflinching vision of the problem ahead. And above all, Change.

NOW WHAT?

I don't know how much longer Yucky Muck is going to be able to keep this site live. Click on the "Tell Your Story" link, and if it still works: tell us how you survived the Great Oil Shock of 2007. Soon Yucky will create a permanent archive of the stories and wisdom we've received.

We've worked hard here, but you storytellers have worked harder. You've done all the heavy lifting. So it's fitting that one of you, PeakProphet, supplied the parting words for the 8 To Save Our Country: "Let's SOC. Let's SOW."

Gala_Teah

for
Chuckles
Dessum9
Gracesmom
Illiana_Speedster
Inky_Jewel
Localboy
mPathytest
Pachinko
Yucky Muck

and
Anna Matter
Bodi Lane
Rainey Wilson
Saint3milion

and
Nellie
Pippi
Sandra

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« Previous Week

	STORIES THIS WEEK	BY (Netizen Heroes)
	32 Weeks in under 11 Minutes!	pippi
	Vote Daily	blueski
	at the top of the mountain, just a few harmless flakes	phoebe
	fond and sad farewell	intwoworlds
	Prius Ex Machina	Flashmouth
	A to Z of a World Beyond Oil	mpathytest
	Tote your own water--save $ and environment	BrianEnigma
	The future	mia without oil
	Yes - We Are Open! (A Web Comic)	anda
	Holding Court at the Gas Station	perdition79
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	Week 32 Shout Without	pippi
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	Bohemian Burden	Flashmouth
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	An analyst looks at alternatives	GailTheActuary
	Letter to Lucie, Week 29	lucy1965
	Illumination	warnwood
	Final Changing Lanes Challenge: Week 32	FallingIntoSin
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	Gala_Teah's Farewell	Gala_Teah
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	Letter to Lucie, Week 32	lucy1965
	Acts of Resistance Come in Small Packages	ManicHalo
	The End, My Friends -	Cycleboy
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	Where Do We Go From Here?	RedHatty
	The End (semi-OOG)	FallingIntoSin
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	This is Brazil signing off...	David_Mattock