Energy fears looming, new survivalists prepare

[Dover]

Energy fears looming, new survivalists prepare
By SAMANTHA GROSS
Associated Press Writer


Peter Laskowski plants vegetables 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)


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...cont'd

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/National/Environmental_Survivalists.html

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/05/25/energy_fears_looming_new_survivalists_prepare/

__________________________________________________________ Peter Laskowski stacks firewood 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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Feuds between French farmers and incomers forcet talks

By Henry Samuel in Galiax, south-west France
25/05/2008
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A growing number of bitter feuds between farmers and incomers hoping for an idyllic life in the French countryside has forced local authorities to organise crisis talks to bridge the cultural divide...cont'd

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml?xml=/global/2008/05/26/noindex/nfarmer.xml&CMP=EMC-expat2008