Most of us have no idea how dependent we are on oil.

Case in point: disposable diapers.

Almost all disposable diapers use petroleum-based components. Disposable wipes, which come pre-wetted, aren't made directly from oil—but they must be packaged in plastic.

And we take access to these products for granted when we make decisions about whether or not to have children.

We've experienced a few retail shortages in our lives: baby formula, toilet paper, backorders on new and popular items. But we have never seen anything like the fallout from Trump's war on Iran. It's massively disrupted the global oil supply chain, which is tied to all supply chains. And the US is selling our oil reserves to the highest bidder.

Sharon Astyk has been writing extensively on how and why the coming shortages will be so severe. She has some helpful predictions and lots of great resources about how to prepare as much as possible, including regular Zoom meetups and workbooks that are all offered on a sliding scale.

The war and its effect on the Strait of Hormuz are intersecting with many other offshoots of fascism, including our failure to address climate change, to create a massive shitstorm that will strike soon and strike hard.

Farmers around the globe depend on a steady supply of fertilizer that wasn't available this year. 2026 will also be a Super El Niño year, which will destroy many crops. And many farmers who do successfully raise decent yields won't be able to harvest them because diesel will be too expensive.

So we are facing the largest food shortage of our lifetimes—and that's just one of the supply chains fatally affected by the oil crisis.

The easiest solutions for most of us are to either:

1) Catastrophize and give up because it's all too much

2) Downplay the coming crises and hope for the best.

If you have kids in diapers, you probably don't want to think about what to do if diapers aren't available anymore.

But here's the thing: We are not meant to do this alone.

You do NOT have to figure everything out by yourself.

We need community. We need mutual, reciprocal support. We need to prepare—not just by accumulating important items, but by connecting with the people around us to figure out how to support each other.

Do you have a local Buy Nothing group? A spiritual community? A friend group that meets weekly? Start conversations with your closest, most local connections. Talk about what you'll need individually and collectively. Maybe that means figuring out the switch to cloth diapers or learning about elimination communication to reduce dependence on disposables. Or planting a garden together. Or starting a carpool for regular errands. Making targeted changes as a team will be far more sustainable than moving to the woods tomorrow and trying to independently start an off-grid homestead.

Find your people. Talk to them. Help each other. Make plans.

Life as we know it will be vastly different a year from now. So this is the time to lean into our communities, and make sure we're sustaining and supporting each other. We can't escape the shitstorm, but we can make it bearable. (And maybe even occasionally fun!)

Remember when lockdown seemed like the most terrifying thing ever, and then many of us rediscovered old hobbies, enjoyed freedom from our commutes, and learned what was most important to us?

What's coming isn't "good"—it will be hard as fuck. Yet with the right mindset, and consistent, intentional community-building, our lives can still change in positive ways. And like I said the other day... the systems we build now have the potential to overturn our dependence on capitalism and other systems of oppression.

Let's do this.

Much love,

Nat

PS. THANK YOU for the outpouring of financial support this week! I was able to cover the legal and credit card bills, and a couple other necessities. The next legal bill will be issued Monday & is due on receipt, and other donations will help my toddler & me with housing and transportation. I'm so grateful that you're here 💞