Survivalists get ready for global meltdown

Deborah Feyerick, CNN

Tools

By Tiffany Griffin

With oil prices soaring, a small but growing number of Americans are bracing for a global meltdown.

They say they're ready for it and plan to ride it out.

Iver Lofving is convinced the world is running out of oil. He's spent the last ten years getting ready for that day — a mainstream survivalist, chopping his own wood, installing solar panels, growing vegetables, even driving a solar-powered-car — all of it geared to becoming self-sufficient.

"Call me crazy, but I'm crazy like a fox. This house makes half its own energy, two thirds the hot water, half the heat, a small part of the electricity, half the gasoline," said Lofving.

Lofving is a high school teacher who lives in Skowhegan, Maine, roughly two hours north of Portland.

He believes a world driven by cheap oil is coming to an end and peak oil is playing a large role.

"Well, peak oil has everything to do with it,” said Lofving.

Peak oil is the point when global oil production peaks and then goes down. The remaining oil supply is limited and will be harder to get at. That means fewer barrels a day.

Some oil experts say that day is here, others predict it's 20 to 30 years away. But as gas prices rise, websites like PeakOil.com and SurvivalBlog.com are getting more and more visitors — talking about the end of cheap oil and the possible threat of political and economic instability around the world.

Peak oil groups, like Lofving's, have seen a spike in members.

"I think things can have the potential to get very, very bad if we don't do anything. I really do," said Lofving.

Unlike some survivalists, Lofving has not started raising chickens or stockpiling a years-worth of food and ammunition, but he is thinking of a bigger garden and maybe a small boat … just in case.

Monday, Oct 13 at 5:16 AM Prepare wrote ...

Pump 700 billion additional dollars into the money supply and LOOK OUT. Inflation is on the way. Be prepared or keep watching the "won't tell you how bad it really is" news media.

Wednesday, Jun 11 at 4:32 PM Uncle B wrote ...

Now that the likes of Messrs. Abramson and Tom Delay have successfully hijacked our Democracy into the service of the large multi-national corporations through powerful lobbies, we must look to our literary history for survival on 'Waldon Pond' The original American Way. This time however, technology is on our side, and we can make it without the corporations or big government thanks to solar cells, good house design, geothermal heating/cooling, windmills, transistorized electronics, etc.

Wednesday, Jun 11 at 8:35 AM JP wrote ...

After having spent about 6-8 hours per day for the last 5 days researching "Peak Oil" and given my background in the mineral extraction industry, it is indeed some sobering times ahead

Tuesday, Jun 10 at 5:24 PM wally wrote ...

start preparing now folks or it will be painful later on...

Add a comment

Name:

Comment: 500 Characters Left

Comments are moderated and will not appear on this story until after they have been reviewed and deemed appropriate for posting.

WSBT and its affiliated companies are not responsible for the content of comments posted or for anything arising out of use of the above comments or other interaction among the users. We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit user-generated content at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice, although we have no duty to do so or to monitor any Public Forum.

WSBT Weather

icon
Current Temp 35
°
More Weather
More On Demand

Stock Quotes

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

Tonight On WSBTFull Schedule

7.00
Wheel of Fortune
7.30
Jeopardy!
8.00
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
9.00
Grammy Nominations Concert Live
10.00
Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
11.00
WSBT News
11.35
Late Show with David Letterman

Question of The Day

Do you agree with Notre Dame’s decision to keep Charlie Weis?

E-mail your comments. We'll pick some to read during WSBT News at 5.

  • Yes
  • No