The Collapse of Society.

[John]

The Collapse of Society.
I see that like one discussion on communications, Post TU Comms / Groups and Villages and in other discussions some want to keep or get back to our modern technological way of life as soon after SHTF as they can. Mainly I suspect because they can’t see a life without it. Some want to use it, while they can so that future generations might have a better life than just reverting to the Stone Age. This is admirable and I agree. Others hope that ‘normality will return’ and we can carry on as we were, but may be with less people. And some just hope it all got to pot and never come back. Mind you they appear to mainly have the thought that whatever happens it will be a rosy lovely life.
Let try to consider some facts, may be unpalatable ones. But before I do, I want to say that I really do appreciate how difficult it is to believe this and many, even though they say not, are really in denial, and please no stupid comments about the river in Egypt. That will just prove my point but I doubt some will see it that way.

OK, back to the facts.
In a SHTF situation be it a slow or quick collapse one thing is certain, if it starts slowly it will get quicker. Electricity is the king pin to our beloved way of life. If it goes then everything else will surely go.
There are three main things that keep our way of life going.
(1) Power, that is electric, gas, fuel etc.
(2) Finance, that is banks, mortgages, credit cards, stock market, even cash, etc. etc.
(3) Communications, that is the Internet, telephones, mobile phones, emails, electronic bank transfers etc.

Now consider if any one of three fails.
First let’s take electricity, which as I said is the king pin.
Firstly, if the electric stops so does your finance. No more holes in wall, no more credit cards working, no more wages or pensions into your bank account. Etc.
Next, no more communications. No more mobile phones, no more battery recharging, except for a little solar, no more Internet or emails, no telephone, no more dialling 999.

Lastly, no power means no electric to pump the fuel, run the many processing plants, no more pumped water or sewage, no lights, no heat, no traffic lights, no TV, etc.
No more medical services or hospitals.
No more food at the shops/supermarket, no more jobs, no more income.

Now we come to another consideration.
That of the number of people.
Let us assume that this is a slow collapse. As the collapse proceeds the number of people reporting for work will decrease, this means that at some time the electric will stop, the banks will not open, the phones will stop because there is no one to work or man them. And so it will get worse and worse.

The problem will be that with the massive die-off, (I know you won’t be one) (You hope), there will be a major loss of the skill base to do any of the jobs that are done. Beside facts like if you don’t get food you don’t even feel like working.

What about drinking water, think of all that disease and the dead not being buried.

OK, you and your little domain may have solar panels, mini hydro or mini wind power. Not only would this be problematic for a long term future in that you will at some time run out of spares but that supposes that you will have the skill to repair the part that has gone bust. On top of this any light that could be seen, in the darkness would be like a beacon saying ‘free food here’.

The thing is, an you can research it for yourself if you wish, don’t take my word for it, but as this society goes down the pan then there will be no way we can go back to anywhere near what we have now.
How can I be sure of this? The current state of civilization is dependent on resources that are now so depleted, that they require an industrial infrastructure already in place to gather those resources.

When coal was first used as a fuel, it could simply be picked off the ground. Those surface deposits were quickly used up. When those were gone, coal mining began. It was more costly, but as coal became a necessary fuel, the cost was justified. The shallowest mines were exploited first. As they ran out, miners turned to deeper and deeper mines. Today's mines are often hundreds of feet below ground, with access tunnels that must burrow through miles of earth. Mining so far below the earth is a dangerous job, made possible only by industrial machinery for ventilation, stabilization, and digging. We can fetch this fossil fuel only because we have fossil fuels to put to the task.

Again, the issue of peak oil leaves significant quantities of oil still in the ground. But it is deep in the earth, or under the sea, and often of a poorer quality, requiring more refinement. We can drill and refine this oil only because we have industrial equipment to build rigs and power.
We will no longer be able to access all this and more post SHTF and we will not have the people to do it. We cannot rebuild this society as it was, or anywhere as it was.

This time it will not be a return to the Dark Ages; it will be a return to the Stone Age.
So having said that, what are your informed views?