Hope

From several communities I have heard that it is crucial to remain optimistic and to focus on the positive. It should be struggle for something positive, rather than a fight against something negative.

Friends pointed out that it is better to hit peak oil earlier and that we should be happy to have peak oil. I saw this as a clear deduction a couple of weeks ago. Peak oil will avoid that we kill ourselves with pollution, CO2, global warming, etc. Once all oil and coal is gone we will have fresh air again! There is a silver lining.

I see that there is an opportunity (I say opportunity because I am not sure that we humans will take advantage of it, maybe we screw it up again) for several good things to happen. the obvious I see are: Peak oil gives us the opportunity to help us

• avoid that we kill ourselves with pollution, CO2, global warming
• make us live healthier thru exercise (see Cuba --> less car, more bike)
• make us eat healthier (no more mass production, but local food)
• form more community, reduce crime, have more friends, ...
• we might actually be happier with a simpler post-peak-oil life than with the current 2-jobs, 2-cars and 2-weeks-annual-vacation life we lead

An optimist might argue that all of the above good things will eventually happen. A pessimist will argue that most likely we screw it up again. I think that as usual humans will not take advantage of this opportunity. Politicians, stupidity and corporations will steer us into another dead-end-direction again. But we as individuals just for ourselves can try to partially realize and implement a few of these benefits at a very small scale. Keeping a positive personal attitude however will be important in order to live a happy life despite the global transformation.