End of the world plans ?

I guess most of have heard the increasing references to the 2012 prophecy thing on various media. Having just finished reading " One Second After " which is a novel based on the effects of an ElectroMagnetic Pulse weapon (EMP) being detonated over the USA. Essentially virtually everything electronic is destroyed with the loss of appliances, most modern vehicles, communications and pretty much all infrastructure of civilisation as we know it. Think being transported back 200 years, but without most of the survival skills that were commonly known back then. The result is pretty horrifying and tends to give one a whole different appreciation of everyday 'conveniences' [:0]

Anyway, it seems that National Geographic is screening a series, in the US at least, entitled ' Doomsday Preppers ' which focusses on people who are taking self sufficiency to extreme lengths. The ' Bug Out ' promo is pretty 'out there' [:0][:0]

So how many of us LSBers are moving in this direction?

sounds alot like the series ' survivers' where a virus whiped out most people...

2012, end of the world?.. well i am not saving for xmas pressies this year thats for sure!!

2012 had better not be the end of the world...2011 was a bad year and I am hoping 2012 will be an improvement. The world ending would not be an improvement. Anyway, I haven't built the goat shed yet....

We aim to be self-sufficient but in a post apocalyptic world I think we'll need co-operation and altruism, not selfishness and isolationism.

We aim to be self-sufficient but in a post apocalyptic world I think we'll need co-operation and altruism, not selfishness and isolationism.[/quote]

and there in lies the problem Kate.. one would hope that we could all pull together for mutual survival.. but humans dont seem to be able to work like that.. it would desolve into anarchy and chaos, with people just taking what they want regardless of who 'owns' it.. ie its soo much easier to take from someone elses garden than grow your own..
i dont have much faith in the human race at the best of times ...so i will be getting me a gun

Time to stock up on matches again....always ''keep'' and will never get cheaper.

I did that for the Y2K theory..

I'd rather work now to try to make the world a better place that can pull together than plan to protect myself with a gun. Besides, when I was growing up nobody ever told me that if I wanted to be able to shoot I'd have to be able to close my left eye without closing my right eye so I can't. Imagine dying in a post-apocalyptic battle all because I can only wink with my right eye......[]

I don't despair of the human race, despite the evidence. There were looters in Christchurch but also heroes. One young man raped and bashed a young visitor, hundreds if not thousands offered help to her family.

No man is an island and I don't want to be one...unless it's a small island which is part of a massive archipelago. Which may be a good description of lsb members

Kate and Steph, you are so right. People forget that civilization boils down to people agreeing to follow rules, and not just going with might is right.
Those who only follow rules because they feel they will get caught would be the second to follow that theory in any disaster.[}] The first would be those who don't believe they would get caught already.:rolleyes:

I've survived too many 'end-of-the-worlds' already. Funny that people are only ever interested in the end-of-the-world dates that lie in the future - never in the ones that lie in the past.

For many people here in Christchurch the end of the world was on February 22, 2011, and as far as I know noone predicted it.

There was so much hype about Nostradamus and his predictions in 1999, then Y2K, there was a prediction last May I think, the list could be extended.

Having been through a couple of unannounced disasters with the earthquakes here we have enough water for a week, a wind-up emergency radio with cell phone charger and torch plus food for us and the pets. Being prepared is the most important thing.

kate.. it was abit tongue in cheek re the gun comment.. i have some very personal reasons for not being within half a mile of a weapon... ( not as good as not being able to wink with the correct eye thow [] )

the homekill guy has to have the rifle locked in the boot of his car until i have driven up the road ..( ok i am weird.. )

i would hope you are right about the best of human nature will out in the end....

A book called "On The Beach" written by Nevil Shute ... bloody years a go goes through things a bit like this

you will need a gun Steph .. um humans when you think about it are soooooo simliar to the pig world .. i watch my 3 pigs Petie Pig ( the older boar) Bundy and Coke piggies ( almost year old girls and sisters ).. we all play nicely, and we all do the be nice to each other thing most of the time , comes to feed time on the days when we have bakery treats ( unsold bread, cakes, rolls ).. i put down 3 equal piles .. Petie pig has to have the first one , then has to bunt who ever is on the other piles off them 1 at a time , and who ever is bunted goes to the pile Petie just left .. ( moral here is biggest Bully takes control ) .. but the girls are cunning theu know i feed the sheep after the pigs and goats .. and they like multi nuts .. so usually Bundy will arrive at gate and start chatting to you .. so you give her some nuts .. does she tell the others ? Hell no lol lol .. Cokie isn't that slow either so she usually arrives a with in a few minutes to .. do they tell Petie pig there is extra food ? Hell no lol .. so Bundy chats again and sits and gets extra multi nuts again as Cokie is having some so she has to ( or we have world war's 3,4,5 and 9 )

the over all Lesson from this is Petie pig ( the stronger and most aggressive of the humans) may be a bully and shunt the lesser ones off their food ( like a dictator in power situation ) yet the first one to think outside the square ( Bundy piggy ) and is smart enough to watch , notice and learn .. scores extra food by just being sociable and friendly ( just like some of the humans ) the one that is helpful and cooperates and then joins in quietly and rocks no boats ( Cokie piggy ) gets extra as well .. just like in this human world and supporters and followers

So when you think about it .. the human world is very much the same as the piggy world .. the bullies and the strong men get in first ., flex their muscles and rule the world lol .. yet in the long run its cooperation and the communicative ones and the ones that lead and are happy for others to go equally with them .. that work things out and get the best of it all

Making doomsday predictions have always struck me as about the surest way of conclusively affirming that you are a fool.
The conundrum has always been that if your prediction is correct there is going to be absolutely no-one around to be impressed - and if you are wrong (which is always going to be an almost 100% certainty) everyone is going to dismiss you as a nutcase. How can these 'prophets' not see this absurdity?
For anyone who is still convinced that 2012 might possibly be the last year for mankind on Earth, I am now open to take 100:1 no-limit bets against it happening.
(I've also got Elvis Presley's re-incarnation at 50:1)
Ed

stephclark;409817 wrote: sounds alot like the series ' survivers' where a virus whiped out most people...
....

The difference in the EMP scenario is that there are very few direct human fatalities from the event (except those whose planes crash as the control systems fry) but human losses come in 'waves' that are well described as the novel progresses. First the critical care patients, then the pharmaceutical dependent and those of ill health, then the starvation progesses, etc, etc.

The loss of all electronics is hugely debilitating. Food storage and cooking, most vehicles (cars, trucks, planes), all but valve radios (so NO communication), cellphones, computer (controlled infrastructure), climate control for large buildings including hospitals, ....

The author Dr. William R. Forstchen despite having a clumsy novel writing style does explore a lot of philisophical issues that present themselves as events unfold. How best to apportion food supplies, and should private stashes and livestock (including pets) be commandeered? Who is most entitled to dwindling pharmaceutical supplies (able vs. aged)? The execution of looters, and who should be assigned the task? A lot of the problems have no 'right' answer!

Most of us on LSBs would cope better than most, especially city dwellers, but the effects of such an event would be far wider ranging than most people can ever imagine. The real lesson from this book however is how dependent our whole lifestyle has become on something that has so relatively recent in historical terms - electricity.

Look on the brightside, climate change, E numbers, atifical flavours, MSG, microwaves, obesity, heart disease, world financial crisis, the hole in the ozone layer, aging population, child abuse, and erectile dysfunction will no longer be a problem![8D]

No plans here - but it's one way to get rid of the mortgage .

I do however think that supply shortages of grocery store goods could become critical for a period (who knows how long) if the global finance system goes belly up for a spell.

In that regard, I recall once seeing a really good list of the sorts of consumable goods that are highly sought for barter. I think it was written by a chap who lived through Agentina's economic crisis. Some of the stuff was pretty commonsense - other items, I thought, gee never thought of that.

Wish I could find the list again as I reckon 2012 is definitely a good year to be prepared anyway!

The good news is that while many things will become unavailable without electricty, wine was being made for many years before the advent of electricty so should still be available...

I would miss the internet though.

I assume that even after a massive disaster things would start to revert to 'normal', new machines would be built and new ways found to make things happen. That is what is wonderful about the human species, we're adaptable and we'd be building from a base that has a lot of information, even if it is only in people's heads.