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One would have to factor in the rising cost of all energy, plus food to obtain an accurate picture of what life will look like in a year from now (August 2023).
According to predictions, we’re conservatively looking at a doubling of the general cost of living over the next twelve months, beginning in mid September, and in 2024 we will see most commodities (food, in particular) priced out of the reach of most people. Got preps?
I don't buy a lot of actual gasoline, so not a lot of change there, but the price of everything would double or triple, on top of the 30% that groceries have already gone up. The utilities for my house are already up over 20% and if that doubled or tripled, it would hurt.
I get the impression that the current administration is trying their best to get gas prices up over $10 and to remove sources of electricity without replacing them first, so if they get their way, it is going to get ugly.
The cost of most things would go up but not massively. Gas prices (or diesel etc.) are a significant but not overwhelming component of most products or services.
Personally...transit agencies would have a hurdle and I'd pay a bit more for groceries. The price shock would probably make stock prices go down, so that would be an issue. Inner-city property values near jobs could grow.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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It wouldn't affect us at all as far as our own gas buying. I am only commuting to work 2 days a week now, but in a year I'll be retired, so any driving will be recreational, shopping, medical and with three vehicles, the two of us can go a long time between fill-ups. My wife is already retired but her commute was only a few blocks, anyway. What would affect us, along with everyone else, is the cost of everything that's delivered by truck, such as groceries, clothing, appliances, etc. We would probably not fly anywhere for vacations, because the jet fuel would be more than double, so air fares would go way up.
States sitting on a lot of solar or hydroelectric power would be sitting pretty. In Seattle we actually have decent solar production in the summers and our electricity is 90%+ hydroelectric. Our winters are also mild which is easy on the batteries. So electric cars make a lot of sense. With our mild winters, electric heat pumps also make more sense than gas furnaces.
Long distance travel including air travel will tank hard.
States sitting on a lot of solar or hydroelectric power would be sitting pretty. In Seattle we actually have decent solar production in the summers and our electricity is 90%+ hydroelectric. Our winters are also mild which is easy on the batteries. So electric cars make a lot of sense. With our mild winters, electric heat pumps also make more sense than gas furnaces.
Long distance travel including air travel will tank hard.
Two points to consider:
1. There are multiple reasons why the grid will fail shortly, and one of them is the increasing likelihood of a strong EMP event. It won’t matter whether it comes from an air burst weapon, or a strong CME from the sun, everything electronic in our homes (and cars etc) will be rendered useless, unless, of course, they are protected by a faraday cage.
2. Seattle is on the ‘top five’ list of targets that enemies of the U.S. plan to strike, which will affect everyone within a 100-mile radius of Bangor (a major military base near Seattle). This will cripple the grid irreparably for decades, and if any other targets are hit, we’ll lose the N. American grid completely, and we won’t be able to reconstruct it for multiple decades, if at all.
In a ‘grid down’ scenario, fewer than one person in ten will survive for longer than six months. The majority will either starve or freeze to death, and those who rely on medication(s) to live won’t last long. Those who are hospitalized or who require treatment of any kind (surgery, dialyses, chemotherapy, etc) will die off quickly, and without the mercy of pain medication. Without antibiotics even a paper cut would be potentially lethal, not to mention all other infections that we currently treat with antibiotics without a second thought.
For a comprehensive view of what life without the grid would be like, I highly recommend the novel ‘One Second After’ by William R. Forstchen. If you live in Canada, or anywhere else with brutal winters, you won’t survive the first one without a large wood stove and the tools to harvest wood.
Blessings!
Last edited by Mahrie; 08-03-2022 at 02:56 PM..
Reason: Mistake.
I rent a car whenever I need to travel long distances as it is, which isn't very often. I have most of the essentials I need within a half mile radius of my Jersey City condo. Jersey also has a pretty extensive public transit system, so I'm always just a a quick light right away from the Hoboken terminal which can take me to vast areas of the state, let alone NYC or Philly. I guess the reasons we pay so much in taxes here would start to make more sense after while, assuming $10/gal gas is a long term reality. (knowing much of the rest of the country would be forced to sell their homes and move closer to their jobs)
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Guineas
States sitting on a lot of solar or hydroelectric power would be sitting pretty. In Seattle we actually have decent solar production in the summers and our electricity is 90%+ hydroelectric. Our winters are also mild which is easy on the batteries. So electric cars make a lot of sense. With our mild winters, electric heat pumps also make more sense than gas furnaces.
Long distance travel including air travel will tank hard.
I have to disagree on this one. I had a business for 16 years in Bellevue, at a total of 3 different locations, all with heat pumps. Every winter, when it got below 20F I would have to use a space heater to keep from freezing to death when the heat pumps iced up and stopped working.
Depending upon the source, Washington State gets 3/4 or 2/3 of its electricity from hydro power, not 90+%, and there is a strong Greenie movement to remove dams, so there goes your hydro power if they get their way.
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