On soul searching, moving & politics

As I mentioned a month or so ago, recent gas prices has left me bummed (thus the gap in posting). Sure it's a great oil-buying opportunity (you have a little over a week left to buy until the election!), but the evil and stupidity behind it is terribly discouraging.

Further dismaying me is the notion that the survivalist lifestyle will not be a happy one - Going it alone can't be as good as working out a solution as a society.

This leaves me in a conundrum - All I feel I can do with any effectiveness is to prepare myself (and family & friends), but there's no way I can change how society thinks. And that's what I'd fundamentally need to do to prepare for peak.

So here are some options:

- Move. Find a place that won't get anhililated from global warming, and a place that is aware of peak oil. Portland still comes to mind. Or perhaps some place in Europe. But moving is a big deal, especially if it's out of the country (BTW - if you're serious about leaving the country, here's a book:
http://processmediainc.com/press/mini_sites/getting_out/ )

- Get involved in the political process. I hate it too, but think about it - if a politician is smart enough to be peak oil aware, he/she can't be a total dumbass - Maybe there's even a small chance that they'll be able to change things. So why not do what you can to help that person advance?
(BTW if anyone has any suggestions about peak oil aware politicians, let me know)

- Become a local politician. As Kunstler has noted many times, everything is going to get intensely local. That means that local politicians will become more meaningful in the bigger scheme of things post-peak. If you really want to impact society, perhaps the most impactful way is to become a local politician. I should ask a buddy of mine about this (he's a mayor)...