The oil crisis of the 1970’s had a huge negative impact: Gas lines, only getting fuel on specific days, higher energy costs and higher food costs were just the tip of the iceberg.

While it is highly unlikely we will run out of oil in our lifetimes, it is very possible the geopolitical situation could lead to another oil crisis = here is what you need to know to cope with that.

The Ability To Be In Community

Without a doubt, community is the #1 thing we’ll need to have when the oil crisis occurs. This is because we as humans are wired for connection – we are built to be in a relationship with other people, and long to be known, seen, and loved.

However, due to many petroleum-based products such as computers, tablets, and cell phones, the world is quickly losing its patience and adeptness for the community. The more that social media and cell phones rule our lives, the more our “communities” tend to be shallow-level friendships without much substance to build trust or a strong foundation on.

Once these technological luxuries are no longer here, many people are going to be in the deep end, lacking in many of the social skills needed to earn trust, respect, and friendship with their fellow man.

By forming deep, trusting relationships with those around us, we will not only have lasting friendships which can enhance our lives, but we’ll also have access to others’ survival skills and abilities that we wouldn’t have otherwise.

Hunting, Fishing, and Dressing

Without plastic and a lot of other petroleum-based products, the way that food is now prepared and stored in grocery stores will become vastly different.

As such, it’s my opinion that if you want to eat, you’re always better off killing, skinning and dressing your own food.

It’s also crucial to use every element of the animal – especially in a survival situation.

For example, you can wash out and sanitize the intestines, and use them as water bladders. The intestines, as well as the other organs and animal parts, have a variety of other survival uses as well.

Preserving Food

Once you’ve killed and dressed your game, you’re going to want to make use of every bit of that meat – which means you’re going to have to store it and preserve it effectively.

And, since many refrigerators utilize propane, this can be a real conundrum for a lot of people.

As such, we can turn to processes like canning, fermentation, salting, curing, and dehydrating food in order to make our food last.

Knowing Your Way Around a First-Aid Kit

It’s scary to think about how many medicines and medical conveniences we use today are made from petroleum. And, when the oil is all gone, you can bet the medical community will be clamoring for a substitute for all the medication and medical supplies they won’t be able to restock.

As such, it’s crucial that you know your way around a first-aid kit (and that you have a well-stocked first-aid kit in the first place). These medical supplies, such as abdominal pads, compression bandages, splints, burn cream and eye wash, can easily save your life in a crisis.

However, these supplies can’t save you if you don’t own a well-stocked first-aid kit. And when SHTF and the oil is gone, it’s going to be MUCH more expensive to buy the petroleum-based medical products you need at that point – that is, if you can get them at all.

Gardening The Old School Way

Gardening without petroleum products will involve a new reality of using manure and compost instead of petroleum-based fertilizers, and hand-powered/animal-powered tools rather than gas-powered or petroleum-powered devices.

Seed saving will also become a vital process, as preppers will need to salvage every last one of these seeds to grow their own food.

Get To Know Your Powerless Tools

There’s not many things I love more than my power tools; after all, they make my job WAY easier and faster, giving me more free time at the end of a project. However, when there’s no more petroleum-based power tools to use, it’s important to consider other alternatives.

That’s why it’s a great idea to start getting reacquainted with your old powerless tools. Although far less glamorous, these tools have gotten the job done for years, and will continue to do so even when SHTF.

And it’s not just powerless tools like screwdrivers and hammers we need to worry about – it’s also our petroleum-based washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, and dishwashers, as well as many others.

Not to mention you’ll have to get used to living without the store-bought fabric softeners and laundry detergents, since those are made with petroleum too.

If you look around the world, at all the “hotspots,” it is very likely that an oil crisis could erupt as an offshoot of some other geopolitical turmoil and if that were long or severe enough, it could greatly, negatively affect our lives.

That is why you have to master the skills above if for no other reason than to be able to cope if oil suddenly becomes scarce.

To read more on coping with an oil crisis, check out the Survival Frog.