How would your daily activities change if the planet ceased to have oil or natural gas ?

Question

How would your daily activities change if the planet ceased to have oil or natural gas ?

Answer 1

i'd get my big muscles back sawing wood.

Answer 2

Although this scenario is highly unlikely to happen, it would be catastrophic for nearly everyone.(unless a backup was already in place.)

While I'm glad for 'Happy Girl' and her current situation, unless she and her family were totally 'self sufficient' (meaning that they never had  to ever go to the market), then she and her family would find how much they really are dependent on conventional energy sources.

The produce that you still rely on has to get to the shops in the first place!

This doesn't just drop out of thin air, but requires vehicles to transport those goods.

Without the fuel required to transport those goods, you would not have your local shops being supplied, and it is highly unlikely that even you would be able to survive the disaster.

Also, even if you were able to be in a position of not having to rely on your local shops, would you be able to live without the conveniences we have today?

Simple things that we now take for granted like, electricity and water. I see that 'Happy Girl' has their own well as do I, but I still have the convenience of using electricity to pump it to the house.

These are the simple and basic things that are always overlooked.

If you can live without electricity, then you are only half way to self sufficiency!

You then would have to learn how to forage for your food, and possibly slaughter and prepare animals for food.(the part that I hope I will never have to deal with)

Actually, people who are most self sufficient(were this 'worst case' scenario to occur) would also wind up being the most vulnerable from people raiding your home and garden just to try to survive!

While I want to see the end of the large oil companies constantly ripping us off, and would like to see a viable alternative also, we are not currently at that stage yet!

I think it is way past time to start letting someone else start ripping us off!

Because no matter who comes up with the next alternative, they will be ripping you off!

Answer 3

All civilization would have to completely reorganize

the way things are done. All things.

The change would be drastic and complete.

Just think about it.....

Answer 4

Your question implies that oil and natural gas would suddenly disapear.  Since this is not going to happen, the question is moot.  The actual depletion of these, and other fossil fuels, is a slow process which will give all of us a chance to gradually adapt to the declining supply.

Answer 5

Likely starve to death, unless I could get a small amount of land to substance farm *and* have weapons to fend off rioters and thieves. The world would loose over 2 billion people to famine, disease, and pestilence... Not a pretty place to be... But that's reality... sucks sometimes, and it is never "fair"... but that's the way it is. You didn't mention coal in the question, but I'm assuming that you are including that with the other "evil" products... thus the results: the death of huamanity

Answer 6

well we would sink into a depression because we are so dependent on foreign oil for everything that we do. just look at one product... lets say a loaf of bread for example... The people who work in the factory have to get to work by driving which uses gas, then the machinery that make the bread use electricity also the makers of all the ingriedents such as flour which is made from wheat which is farmed by a gas powered mower.... the cycle goes on and on.

Answer 7

we all have to mack changes but the human beings always manage to find ways . and later refined his self to a deferred product ,as solar or ear,charcoal.or water.all this product producing energy.the next energy will be fusion energy, Europe is working the last 15 year to this tip of technology,lets hop and pray.

Answer 8

no food could be grown, no way to transport or distribute the little that's left from areas where its produced to population centers.

no water, because of no power to pump it & no one to repair water lines.

no hospitals or medicine.

no lights at night or gas for heat.

local outlaw gangs would control resources in every area & would war with other gangs to get resources from other area at first but would begin trade with each other after most of the population had died from starvation or freezing to death.

above the 35 parallel most people would freeze to death in the first winter. some isolated familys & small groups would survive in rural areas.

no jobs or money. goods would be exchanged by the barter system,bullets & ammunition would be used as money .

developed countrys would lose 90% of their population within a year. more primitive subsistance societys would only lose 30% to 40%.

Answer 9

I would have to teach my 3 year old how to ride a bike sooner.

Answer 10

Being raised in a small town and coming from a very hard working family My family and I would adjust and find a way to survive. Hopefully people would come together and find ways to help one another and stop blaming one another.

Answer 11

I would have less visitors from far away

Personally i hardly leave my garden

Maybe i would get a horse and buggy

to go shopping

Answer 12

changes will be not that much. there will be nuclear energy, solar energy, water energy, all cars will run by hydrogen, bio fuel or battery. biofuel trial already started on airplanes. people will go back to far better natural thing rather than artificial.

Answer 13

if oil and gas ran out tomorrow the world would pretty much end. we would no longer be able to make plastics or fertilizers. we would not have any long range transportation we would have no more medicines or preservatives and we would not be able to refrigerate foods unless we can find new refrigerants. basicly we would be back to the dark ages.

Answer 14

No doubt I would have to find a ew way to cook and do simple things like heat the water.

Answer 15

Suprisingly, not that much.  Since both my husband and I work on the same street we live on, and walk or ride our bikes to work, it won't affect us there.  We are 3 blocks from a small supermarket, and 1/2 mile from the liquor store, butcher and fish market, so we can walk there and bring a wagon to bring home the groceries.  Everythign we need, pretty much, is only a bike ride away, so driving would not be too much of an issue.  As for the home?  We have a wood stove for heat and solar panels for hot water, so oil consumption is not a big issue.  We have our own well.  We also grow a lot of of our own produce and have a solar heated greenhouse.  So, no big change there.  So, if the planet ceased to have natural gas or oil, we would not have much change in our daily lives, since we are pretty self-sufficient to begin with.  :)

And, we are building a root cellar, so if no power, we can still keep the perishables cool.  We would get a few goats for milk, a cow and a pig for meat and we already have chickens.  I can grow the grains I need for making breads and pastas.  If the power ebcame an issue, we can go to wind power, which we are considering anyway for electric.