The New Survivalists

OK, this is a bit weird, and I'm not in this camp at all, but I find it interesting that there's a movement of survivalists, a growing group, sort of spontaniously appearing, across the country.

I think it's related to de-materialism, but more extreme.

This article from the Associated Press, titled Energy fears looming, new survivalists prepare outlines it.

An excerpt:

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 panic-stricken," the 50-year-old recalled, her voice shaking. "Devastated. Depressed. Afraid. Vulnerable. Weak. Alone. Just terrible."

I get where she's coming from, but I don't have the same belief that society will crumble and fall that a survivalist has. I think we're heading toward a time of less available resources (due to higher costs, not availability; the rich will always be able to get what they want by virtue of being rich). It'll be a slow grind down for the middle class.

I think these folks are, as noted above, being driven more by a sense of fear and 'how do I protect myself' than anything. I get it, really. I'm just not sure that's the best way to focus things.

De-materializing, for me, is more about freedom than fear. It's also more about doing a tiny bit of good by being aware that one human doesn't really need to be consuming so much space, energy, housing, fuel and food as well as expelling so much waste (carbon, trash and wastewater, as a start).

I have read that we, as Americans, are about 3% of the worlds population, but consume 23% of the worlds resources and expell about 27% of it's carbon waste. (not 100% on those numbers... but I believe they are close).

Think about that. 3% of the worlds population chewing up One Fourth of everything, and spitting out an equivalent pile of waste.

I don't want to disappear, I just want to get more in balance with what a person needs to be happy and comfortable vs. what a person wants (or thinks they want) as taught to us by future generations of rich.

The rich I know from my silicon valley (and to a degree, here in Boulder) technology company days seem to believe in multiple cars, multiple homes, frequent air travel via commercial or even private jets, huge 3rd houses in the form of boats, used, at most, 4 weeks a year... you get the idea). The amount of wasteful use of resources that a tech geek with too much money can create is almost unimaginable.

I just no longer get the value of that way of living. The overhead and cost to the person maintaining it is huge, the return of being owned by all that stuff is questionable and the impact on the planet of consuming the resources of a small village in China, all by yourself is, well, more than a little selfish.

I know this is just my own opinion on this, and I know a fair number of people that live this lifestyle, some I consider good friends. It doesn't make it OK though.

I just wish people would stop more often and think about what they need, really need, to live a happy life.

I doubt all the excess stuff they own really does much to answer that question.

Gadgets

This dematerializing has been going on for me for about 9 months now and going well.

What I'm finding is I really do need alot less than I thought I did. It wasn't just an experiment, it was, and is, a true simplification.

I have one primary weakness: Hardware. in particular, gadgets. I love gadgets and there's always a new one. that means if I'm playing with new stuff all the time, the old stuff accumulates. And I'm loath to get rid of the old stuff because there's a sense of history there (sort of like books), but in a shorter timescale.

So, I'm going to start getting rid of the gadgets as well once I don't use them anymore. I think I'd like to see how few things I can get it down to and still feel like I'm not limiting myself. I just gave my OPLC (the One Laptop Per Child linux PC for kids in poor countries) to an old friend for her kids. I'll be giving (and in some cases selling) things to folks that need them as they flow through my life. Most gadgets are good for 6 months (for me... I've learned all I can in about that time) so, like books, I can pass them on to someone else who can use them for their pure functionality (recording audio, video, media. Creating art. Whatever is is they do with it).

When I was about 20 or so a friend came over to my apartment and checked out my computer room which was full of Apple II's running BBS software and (at the time) advanced graphics software. He said: "What that hell do you need all this gear for?" (he was a gear freak himself, so this was both damning and great praise, at the teim).

I didn't have a good answer then, and I still don't. I really don't need all this gear. Some of it, yes, but not so much all of it.

One of each of the things I regularly use is plenty. For now, I'll still buy the new as it comes out, but I'll recycle the old to places it'll do good.