How self sufficient are you ? Honestly ?

[Rob-D]

I think he means an EMP...Electro magnetic pulse created by a nuke at high altitude or a solar flare..

There's a lot of speculation about this and exactly how effective an EMP is. Faraday shields protect electronics, the most sensitive are semiconductors.

 

[brin]

There's a lot of speculation about this and exactly how effective an EMP is. Faraday shields protect electronics, the most sensitive are semiconductors.

I hope EMPs are not effective...I wish I had some Faraday shields or whatever would stop all my electronics, cars etc. from being fried....Imagine if we are hit again...like happened back in the early 1800's it fried all the telegraph lines...that was all since there were no electronics...but just think what would happen now...think hospitals, airplanes in flight...etc.

 

[Rob-D]

yep.. a single person just won't make it for long... you have to sleep some time.

and a HUGE group may not make it, as the resource needs may out tax the available renewable/sustainable resources of the area. need to have group sizes based upon resources available.

The way it worked it out here is each member of our relatively small group has a unique talent. I'm not the best with animals but one or two in the group is. One of us knows a lot about putting food aside and doubles with the organic gardens and knows a lot about medicinal herbs, spins yarn and makes winter clothes from our sheep. Some tasks we all work together at, fall harvest for example. I run the machine shop, the electronics lab and machine repair, energy production, etc. We recognize that the group functions as a whole with each member making it work. There is no hording, no, I'm more valuable than you, and we also all eat the same (vegetarians). We've all been friends for 20 years too which helps.

 

[Rob-D]

Don't know much about knives but as long as I have a safe full of guns and thousand if rounds of ammo ill get by.have a pond for water and fish plent of deer rabbits and squirrel . I'd survive for quite a while, have to get a little better at growing vegetables though.

Unfortunately meat is poor food for extended health. High protein diets are hard on organs. Fish is better, vegetables (deep green, colorful: Kale, collards, squash, carrots, etc.) along with whole grains best.

 

[Grumpy Old Man]

I think he means an EMP...Electro magnetic pulse created by a nuke at high altitude or a solar flare..

Something like that would give a good argument for the older non computer pieces of equipment and just buy a few condensors wrap them in lead and bury them for later use/need ,Would that work ?

 

[brin]

Something like that would give a good argument for the older non computer pieces of equipment and just buy a few condensors wrap them in lead and bury them for later use/need ,Would that work ?

I don't know enough about electronics ...but I would sure like to have my old 1953 chevy or 57 chevy sitting in the garage...no electronics there....anyone with older machines without the circuit boards, chips etc. will probably be fine..and those with bicycles...and oxen with a cart...

 

[Soundguy]

wire length is a big deal with big emp's. they act as a secondary of a transformer and like regular electrical generation theory.. when magnetic lines cut wire.. you have induced voltage. a HUGE emp can induce LOTS of voltage on a single strand of wire, not just those setup as a coil.. etc.

 

[tungularafishcamp]

So all our house wiring would go too as well as all vehicles, a quick trip to the stone age, better get busy whittling a bigger set of oars

 

[OldMcDonald]

I have been thinking along the lines of Fi-Q's scenario, and all the way down to large areas of the world, or the whole world, just running out of the means to either produce or pay for modern conveniences. There is an enormous difference in how quickly the event takes to impact on humanity, the after effects on those left alive, and, in different countries, the numbers that would be left. Somebody posted late in the thread that people from other countries do not realise how big the US is. A lot of people do though. I farmed/ranched in Australia and its population (I am not going to do any checking so no exact figures here) of about 20 million is a lot less than the US. Close to 300m? The area of both countries is quite similar if you take the mainland States without Alaska. I know Australia has a lot of forested land too, but I think it will be less than the US and Australia might have more desert. I think I would prefer to be in Australia if it really came to the crunch.

So, we have to decide which event is likely to happen. I choose the second because that would be my choice between the two. Whichever happens, and we have to assume we personally will survive a sudden catastrophe, when to we begin to stockpile all these things we are going to need? Now, next year, 10 years time? Who is stockpiling now?

I am not stockpiling anything and have no intentions of doing so. Instead I am continuing with producing as much of our own food as reasonably possible, but so long as the supermarkets are open and I have money I buy other things I want either by choice or necessity. We make soap, but washing powder is a lot easier to use, I make wine but other people make it better, I like bananas and cannot grow them. We are on the grid but can get around that if it fails. I presently buy fuel but am working towards some self-sufficiency - methane, ethanol, olive oil biodiesel, even possibly grape brandy.

I have a family/friend group of 4 couples worked out. Me, an electronics/mechanical bloke, two scientists with a wide range of experience outside their own field, a female medical doctor, a female vet, and the other two females with long experience of most domestic crafts. Everybody is "countryfied" and collectively have knowledge and experience of a wide array of skills. If the catastrophe happens suddenly we cannot all get together, but a slow downhill spiral has already been discussed. The choice of abode for that scenario is here in Portugal.

If my wife and I are stranded on our own, then we already know we can survive for several months without contact with the outside world, but I wonder how many of the other posters have experienced such isolation? What is the longest time that any poster has spent isolated from contact with all other humans? A single person or couple is the numbers limit. Family groups can probably go on forever.

 

[Grumpy Old Man]

I have been thinking along the lines of Fi-Q's scenario, and all the way down to large areas of the world, or the whole world, just running out of the means to either produce or pay for modern conveniences. There is an enormous difference in how quickly the event takes to impact on humanity, the after effects on those left alive, and, in different countries, the numbers that would be left. Somebody posted late in the thread that people from other countries do not realise how big the US is. A lot of people do though. I farmed/ranched in Australia and its population (I am not going to do any checking so no exact figures here) of about 20 million is a lot less than the US. Close to 300m? The area of both countries is quite similar if you take the mainland States without Alaska. I know Australia has a lot of forested land too, but I think it will be less than the US and Australia might have more desert. I think I would prefer to be in Australia if it really came to the crunch.

So, we have to decide which event is likely to happen. I choose the second because that would be my choice between the two. Whichever happens, and we have to assume we personally will survive a sudden catastrophe, when to we begin to stockpile all these things we are going to need? Now, next year, 10 years time? Who is stockpiling now?

I am not stockpiling anything and have no intentions of doing so. Instead I am continuing with producing as much of our own food as reasonably possible, but so long as the supermarkets are open and I have money I buy other things I want either by choice or necessity. We make soap, but washing powder is a lot easier to use, I make wine but other people make it better, I like bananas and cannot grow them. We are on the grid but can get around that if it fails. I presently buy fuel but am working towards some self-sufficiency - methane, ethanol, olive oil biodiesel, even possibly grape brandy.

I have a family/friend group of 4 couples worked out. Me, an electronics/mechanical bloke, two scientists with a wide range of experience outside their own field, a female medical doctor, a female vet, and the other two females with long experience of most domestic crafts. Everybody is "countryfied" and collectively have knowledge and experience of a wide array of skills. If the catastrophe happens suddenly we cannot all get together, but a slow downhill spiral has already been discussed. The choice of abode for that scenario is here in Portugal.

If my wife and I are stranded on our own, then we already know we can survive for several months without contact with the outside world, but I wonder how many of the other posters have experienced such isolation? What is the longest time that any poster has spent isolated from contact with all other humans? A single person or couple is the numbers limit. Family groups can probably go on forever.

Scientists ? a vet ? electronics ? Give me a couple good ol country boys and their wives" IF" I had to be in a group and we will stay right here in the woods of east TN and survive well !