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Energy fears looming, new survivalists prepare
By Samantha Gross
Associated Press
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BUSKIRK, N.Y. -- 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 panic-stricken,” the 50-year-old recalled, her voice shaking. “Devastated. Depressed. Afraid. Vulnerable. Weak. Alone. Just terrible.”

Convinced the planet’s oil supply is dwindling 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.

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.

On the PeakOil.com Web site, where upward of 800 people gathered on recent evenings, believers engage in a debate about what kind of world awaits.

Some members 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.

Take a look
Peter Laskowski feeds his chickens and sheep at his remote home in Waitsfield, Vt., Friday, April 11, 2008. Convinced that the planet's oil supply is dwindling and the world's economies are heading for a crash, 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. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
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Reader comments on this story - 15 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

Rivers wrote on May 27, 2008 12:31 PM:

" It's good to see that when the going gets a little tough, Americans run for bunkers in the hills. Oh wait, looking out for me, mine, and only mine is pretty much the 21st century way. So I guess nothing will really change. "

Annienap wrote on May 25, 2008 10:57 PM:

" I had no fear of the Millenium and I have no fear of what is to come. I still agree with cats55ire and all his comments. There will be a day when all folks will wish they had grown and canned some food as well as wishing they had kept a gun or two and some ammo. Many young people have never had to 'do without'. I'm thankful that I have had the experiences I've had (such as no job and no food) because if I have to, I can get by should those circumstances occur again. "

Burns wrote on May 25, 2008 6:02 PM:

" cats55ire: We can all be living in caves tomorrow and it will be because everything before that point led up to it, not because someone decided "let's start over". No second chances. "

Dave wrote on May 25, 2008 4:26 PM:

" I don't believe in peak oil but even if oil was to run out in 10 or 20 years I don't think we'd miss a beat because there are alternate fuels available, especially nuclear and solar.
But I do believe in self sufficiency as much as possible. I have a 12 by 24 garden in my back yard plus bushes and vines that produce fruit. Plus I have a shop to build things in that I need plus tools to do home repair and car repair if I have to.
We all need to wean ourselves from dependency of others all we can. "

cats55ire wrote on May 25, 2008 3:17 PM:

" Burns - "societies never move backwards" . .. keep your eyes open, you may "eat your words" in 10 years! "

protohooman wrote on May 25, 2008 2:10 PM:

" You can always convert and become Amish. "

protohooman wrote on May 25, 2008 2:09 PM:

" remember the "Millenium" hysteria, stocking up on water and K rations. Same thing. "

Burns wrote on May 25, 2008 1:20 PM:

" Societies never move 'backwards'. They may have similar traits as past communities, but they all have their own unique identifiers. This 'movement' tends toward self-reliance in the wake of present circumstances. Comparing it to lifestyles of the nineteenth century would be inaccurate as that was self-preservation. The people in the story made a choice; 180 years ago, there was no choice. "

The Irascible Fachna wrote on May 25, 2008 10:46 AM:

" Oh, c'mon! The electricity winks out for a couple of hours due to a kamikaze squirrel, and survivalist wannabes light their hair on fire like everybody else. We're a century or more past any hope of learning how to live like people who only went to town for "salt n'nails". Our only chance is to cling to whatever remains of the social compact ..... there aren't enough shotgun shells and cartridges if we don't. "

Rivers wrote on May 25, 2008 10:39 AM:

" Making your life simpler is always a good thing, but I'm not seeing what having a TV has to do with anything these people are preparing for. "

Rocket Man wrote on May 25, 2008 7:15 AM:

" I wonder if these are the same people that thought the world would come to an end during the Y2K thing. "

HAPPY ONE wrote on May 25, 2008 6:50 AM:

" Things will change, and people who aren't ready will suffer. I think with the changing economy this is the beginning. Look at food and gas prices now.We as a society have forgotten how to live with just the basics.Noone has gardens, cans food, or know how to raise animals like they used to. Esp. people living in large cities, only supplies come from outside. I'm teaching my kids, and grandkids how to can/store garden foods. And we raise small flock of chickens-meat, eggs, and droppings go to garden to build soil.We also put in fruit trees ( takes 5-10 yrs to produce any fruit), grapes, and berries. People need to plan long term for future just to have basic food. These skills are no longer passed down generation to generation. "

Annienap wrote on May 25, 2008 12:48 AM:

" I'm in total agreement with 'cats55ire' and I am almost 60. My daughter and her husband have been trying re-start a farm that belongs to her inlaws. She is 30, so it's not just 'older' people who are feeling this way. Our society is moving backwards - not forwards and those of us who stop and pay attention are very aware of this. More should do the same. "

OGS wrote on May 24, 2008 10:41 PM:

" Good reason for the citizens to be able to keep and bear arms! "

cats55ire wrote on May 24, 2008 9:43 PM:

" I think these people are absolutely correct and one of these days (in MY lifetime and I'm 61), our entire US society will be a very challenging place to live!!!!

Too many greedy people who think "society" owes them and they're not willing to come down from their high horses to live a more conservative life style will be screaming/yelling/whining and wanting others to provide for them . . . .!!!!

And those who prepare will be in danger because they were smart enough to "see the future" and be ready for it! The "have nots" will be using whatever means they can to get what the "haves" stored up/went without!!!!

What a mess! "
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