Follow up letter------Hello John :-) What you say is true. We have been fortunate to have lived so far, in a great, amazing time, of plenty. But it has come at a great cost to earth's overall environment, and to the poorer people of the planet. And now, in the coming years, there will be a multitude of hard choices to be faced, in order to cope, with the loss of the energy sources of Oil and Natural Gas, that drove all of this mind boggling development, and population growth. I think this unprecedented transition period will be highly tumultous, on a whole host of fronts. It is a daunting prospect, to try and decide for oneself, just what we should do, to prepare for what looks to be, the coming of very challenging times. Just what are the solutions, that can put a person, and thier family, in a relatively safe place, in hopes of avoiding the hardship, of not having what you need to survive. I think the beginning of this task, is trying to develop for oneself, a lifestyle that could be sustained, on a very basic level, water, heat, food, clothing, etc, then things could be added, if, they were sustainable. But, the idea of a family sustaining itself, without the world of jobs, and money, is completely foriegn to what we have lived. People are inclined to want to preserve the status quo, until they reach a crisis point, that forces the issue of change. And also very important to consider, is the social unrest that will occur, if the infrastructures of the large societies of the world collapse, because of the disappearing energy supplies that ran everything. You might be capable of setting up a sustainable situation, in some given environment, most likely in a small community situation, in a forested area with good water sources. But whose to say that roving bands of, politely put, " ill mannered folks ", might not come along to take what you have, just like it was through past history, over and over. Loot and pillage, is the name of the game, when social order breaks down, and the law of the jungle returns. Well John, we will just have to do the best we can, to meet whats coming in our future. I think it is helpful to try and keep abreast of the landscape of whats happening. Maybe, the process of transformation won't be as bleak as what I've discussed above, but from my perspective, it looks like trouble is coming. Well, we shall see how all of this actually plays out, and plan as best we can. Good to hear from you my friend. I have always enjoyed greatly the person you are, your pleasing manner, and considerate mind. Besides these problems of the world, I always remember and appreciate, the wonderful things of this life, and will continue enjoying them, hopefully to the end of my days :-)
