It's too late to save the planet, the economy or government, so you better just worry about saving yourself. This is the view of an increasing number of survivalists around the world, who see the collapse of Western civilization as a given, so they are learning how to live independently of it now in order to get ready for the inevitable. Although survivalists might seem paranoid, they actually have a lot of practical lessons for eco-warriors to learn. 

Get Off The Grid

Survivalists are stereotyped for stockpiling weapons, canned goods and field guides. But this is limited thinking in the mind of modern survivalists. One day the bullets and the canned goods will run out. As eloquently put by "Meg" of an Australian survivalist site, AusSurvivalist.com:  

"Survivalists realize that modern society is a long and twisted chain of interdependency. Each link of this societal chain is dependent upon every other link to maintain its integrity. At various points within this chain are links that provide the rest of the chain with food, shelter, power, water, communications, transportation, and medical and physical protection. Should one or more links fail, those placed before and after the broken link(s) may find themselves without these necessary resources. Should enough of these links be suddenly broken, the entire chain may collapse."

Therefore, you are much better off in the long run learning such skills as growing your own vegetables, butchering your own livestock and getting as far away from non-renewable sources of energy as you can.

Survivalists are going solar, putting up windmills and collecting rainwater for later use. They not only hope to be independent from power and oil companies, but also from water companies, grocery stores and garden centers. Survivalist forums talk not only about gadgets and gear, herbal medicine and taking first aid courses, but also such matters as whether or not Jupiter will explode or the merits of inflatable churches so religions can survive the inevitable chaos to come.

Survivalist Mythology

We all live our lives according to a myth (not meant in any derogatory way here). Living a good life to get a reward in the afterlife would be a myth, for example. Working hard and getting a big house with a picket fence and a higher tax bracket is the myth of the American Dream. But the story shifts in the minds of modern survivalists. The story goes somewhat like this:

In the not too near future, we all run out of oil, energy, food and medicines. The economy goes under so that the only worth money has is in starting a fire for your kettle. Without any food or money, everything goes to heck in a hand basket either slowly or really fast. If you don't have the basic skills to find food, water, heat and shelter, you're screwed.

Practical Uses

We who hope to live in a more environmentally friendly way shouldn't scoff at survivalists, especially those who don't talk a lot and actually live by their beliefs. They are using renewable sources of energy, consuming less and becoming cast sources of knowledge. 

Although not all of us can just up and live on a farm with a windmill and a private well, we can learn to reuse and not buy so much. This principle can be seen in the Compact movement, which currently has 9,000 members who don't shop for brand new goods, dry clothes in the sun and only drive during emergencies.

And who can't love those rebels over at Guerrilla Gardening that dare to garden in urban spaces without permission, turning wasteland into little food hampers. 

Both the Compact and Guerilla Gardening act on some survivalist and ecological principals. Even if it's called by other words, the dream that we can live in better harmony with the planet is alive and well.