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A doomer is a futurist who believes that global problems of ecological exhaustion — such as overpopulation, climate change, pollution, and especially peak oil — will cause the collapse of industrial civilization, and a significant human population die-off. Many doomers are also survivalists or 'preppers', that is, they are actively preparing themselves for the doom they anticipate.
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Peak oil doomers are alarmed that humanity's over-reliance on petroleum for agricultural and industrial productivity will cause severe problems on the downward slope of the peak. By contrast, a "peakist" would be one who takes a brighter view on the implications of peak oil, although this label has been dismissed from within the doomer's movement as vacuous. The opposite of a doomer is represented by a cornucopian, who takes the optimistic position that Earth — and outer space as well — will provide an abundance of resources for mankind to thrive on forever. The middle ground between the doomer and the cornucopian is occupied by the environmental skeptic, who believes that claims made by environmentalists may be exaggerated.
Common themes
A convinced doomer believes that the Green Revolution will collapse at the end of cheap oil. According to doomers, humanity will be in a state of overshoot after oil depletion makes modern farming methods economically non-viable.
Doomers also hold a wide range of theories about the collapse of complex societies and systems. The influences of Paul R. Ehrlich and the Club of Rome are present in the doomer movement, as are some of the more recent works by Joseph Tainter who wrote The Collapse of Complex Societies in 1988, and Richard C. Duncan who presented his Ph.d. The Peak of World Oil Production and the Road to the Olduvai Gorge in 1989 (now known as the Olduvai theory). The lectures and DVD by Prof. Albert Allen Bartlett, Arithmetic, Population and Energy are also highly influential. (See below for online video streaming of the lecture he has been presenting and refining for over 30 years.)
The common concerns are that of overpopulation leading to resource and energy depletion, soil degradation and environmental destruction, all culminating in agricultural collapse and famine.
Survivalist mindset
One common doomer response to peak oil and the collapse of the industrial system is to “ignore civilization to death” by setting up a permaculture village. This survivalist mindset is what distinguishes the doomer from the peakist. The peakist may spend many hours campaigning for peak oil awareness, societal change and changes in government policy, while doomers would generally see this as a waste of valuable time. Meanwhile, the doomer focus is more geared toward preparing the family and local community for the imminent collapse of civilization.
Influence in peak oil
Some doomers concentrate on their "lifeboat" survivalist permaculture farm. If the such people raises awareness at all, it is to selectively encourage necessary tradespeople to join their eco-village, sharing their vital skills with the village to add to their security. Some doomers call for making active survivalist preparations to be ready to survive a protracted societal collapse.
This tension between optimism and pessimism is appreciated by author Richard Heinberg in his book, Powerdown, who argues that local communities should immediately learn how to provide for their own power, water, and food security, while also campaigning for awareness on a State, Federal, and international level. Richard Heinberg admits that the ideal situation would be for the United Nations and governments around the world to step in and institute a massive "war-time economy", shifting the industrial world away from oil dependency. However, he argues that there is the strong possibility that societal awareness is too little and too late to prevent the die-off. As the future is so uncertain, Heinberg argues that the wisest course of action for the local community is to prepare for the implosion of modern infrastructure while also campaigning to prevent this disaster.