Okay, not really, but I liked the headline. It’s a line from this interview with Bart Anderson of Energy Bulletin, who says that the post-oil world is likely to be ‘more Amish than Mad Max’, which is suppose is good news.
In other words, the world of peak oil could be one of conflict over what remains of the oil, and increasingly desperate efforts to prop up our unsustainable lifestyles – like the Mad Max movies. Or it could be characterised by a re-discovery of community and self-reliance, like the Amish.
Anderson suggests that an low-energy world will require a return to “old fashioned virtues”, such as:
- Being able to be happy with few material possessions.
- Self-reliance and do-it-yourself skills.
- Loyalty to family, community and place.
- Relationships rather than The Market.
- Prudence and thrift.
- Honesty, hard work and sobriety.
- Some belief system, whether it be religious or political.
There’s room for the hi-tech in a sustainable future, no need for a new luddite movement, but it’s not the technology that will save us. Much more important is reconnecting – with each other, with the earth, with ourselves. It’s this community-building approach that make the transition towns movement so compelling,
Anyway, lots of insightful comments in the interview, which is from the French magazine La Spirale. And if you’re not familiar with Energy Bulletin, it’s a site well worth a browse.
The Earthbound Report 
🙂
Good article