I caught the premiere of the new show Jericho a couple nights ago - it's about a small town in Kansas, and what happens to the people there following a series of nuclear explosions in major cities (is it full-scale nuclear war? dunno yet).
It's a fairly well-done show, (so far that is - this was the first episode). There wasn't much melodrama, and overall the reactions of the people seemed pretty realistic.
I think biological warfare is a lot more likely at this point than full-scale nuclear war (though a single nuclear device hidden in a trunk to take out the capitol seems pretty credible) but no matter what the catastrophe is - be it nuclear or biological war, meteor impact, or supervolcano, 99.999% of us are wholly unprepared to survive more than a few weeks after such a disaster.
Some people would say "I don't want to live after something like that." and they're welcome to assume the fetal position and wait to die. I would want to live. So what would I do after such an event?
Well, in our house, we have water for about a week - two weeks if we only use it for drinking, and probably two weeks worth of food. (It's more important to have solid methods for purifying water and preparing the food that you'll hunt and gather, since you will run out of rations eventually). Can your area sustain life? In Los Angeles, I would say hell no. Here in Florida, where water and wild animals are everywhere, yes. But is your homestead defensible against looters? We have a big patio door and far too many windows.
I think biological warfare is a lot more likely at this point than full-scale nuclear war (though a single nuclear device hidden in a trunk to take out the capitol seems pretty credible) but no matter what the catastrophe is - be it nuclear or biological war, meteor impact, or supervolcano, 99.999% of us are wholly unprepared to survive more than a few weeks after such a disaster.
Some people would say "I don't want to live after something like that." and they're welcome to assume the fetal position and wait to die. I would want to live. So what would I do after such an event?
Well, in our house, we have water for about a week - two weeks if we only use it for drinking, and probably two weeks worth of food. (It's more important to have solid methods for purifying water and preparing the food that you'll hunt and gather, since you will run out of rations eventually). Can your area sustain life? In Los Angeles, I would say hell no. Here in Florida, where water and wild animals are everywhere, yes. But is your homestead defensible against looters? We have a big patio door and far too many windows.
If you have to get to a better area, you can't assume that your car and/or the freeways will be usable, which means walking with whatever you can carry. Walk to where? If you get little or no rain in your area, the most important thing is a good source of fresh water, the nearest large river.
The Department of Homeland Security has a list of what to do, most of which involves hunkering in a public shelter, and then returning home later, waiting and listening to your radio for instructions. Not very helpful advice if the radio stations have been knocked out by an EMP.
In the event of something major, millions of people would need help - We should expect to be on our own for months on end if something drastic happens. Fun thought, I know. To be truly prepared, you would have to take some pretty drastic steps. But what to do - live in a bunker? I've always liked the Hobbit style houses. I'd want a bit more headroom though.
I caught Jericho as well. I thought about posting about it, but I just couldn't find the time or motivation (which is a shame since it was, as you said, well done--There's a nuclear holocaust joke in there somewhere).
ReplyDeletePeople ho didn't watch Jericho yet may want to skip this paragraph. The realization of the second explosion in Atlanta was a pretty big thing. It's interesting in that it is not about nuclear war, but what happens when we have to deal with things like that. Some people want to help, some to take things from everyone else to make sure they are the ones who survive, others just want to take it as a chance to gain an advantage. (Do you wonder what's up with the "prodigal son" character who has returned, but tells everyone a different story about where he's been?)
In the event of some sort of huge catastrophe, I have a pretty good plan. People will be looting all sorts of things that they don't need, while I will loot a great big vehicle to run them all over so that I can hoard all the water and food for myself. Or perhaps save the food for later and just feast on the lip-smacking goodness of my fallen enemies. What? Too weird? It's every man for himself here.
Unfortunately, there's pretty much only one thing you need to know how to do during a nuclear attack:
ReplyDeleteStick your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye.
I caught the repeat last night. I'm thinking I am no where near ready and I am also thinking dumb asses for not covering their name on the police car. But maybe that is just me?
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