An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
It’s Happened Before…..
In 1859, a solar flare hit the earth. At the time, telegraphs were in common use, and were pretty much thing only thing that was affected. That was then. Now days, we live electronically. Lights, computers, anything battery operated…. ZAP! That’s all she wrote! How would we survive? Well, I would suppose we would have no choice but to learn how to live as our forefathers did…by self reliance! Food, clothing, anything and everything you would need to survive, we would HAVE to get on our own. Many wouldn’t survive. Those who do will be the ones who are prepared for such an event, be it solar or nuclear. It’s quite obvious to me, that those who depend on the government for their livelihood would be totally SOL!
“Unfortunately, many in the media have dismissed the idea.” This doesn’t surprise me. Many in the media also think Obama is a messiah….proof they are bloomin’ idiots anyway!
If you want a possible scenario of the outcome of such an event, read One Second After. Yes, it’s a work of fiction that could very well become fact. No, I’m not a conspiracy type, but I’d rather be aware of the possibilities, and be as informed and ready as possible, than to stand around with my thumb up my butt like a good 90% of the country.
This Threat Seems Fictional, but It’s a Real Danger
The Foundry
What happens to our society if we lose all electricity? A new TV show premiering next month, Revolution, will explore that question. It will be set in a world “where every single piece of technology—computers, planes, cars, phones, even lights—has mysteriously blacked out forever.”
Eric Kripke, one of the show’s executive producers, said, “We did our homework and came up with something that’s actually plausible.” He’s right.
Though the cause of Revolution’s blackout will be revealed in the course of the show, it certainly points to an electromagnetic pulse (EMP)—a threat that is, in fact, plausible and for which the United States is unprepared.
On August 15, 2003, a major blackout occurred throughout the northeastern U.S. and Canada, offering more than 55 million people a glimpse of what life could be like after a large-scale EMP. In that case, most services were restored within a day, but that would not be the case after an EMP. Damage to lives and property would be immense, and the ensuing devastation would continue for years, if not decades. Unfortunately, many in the media have dismissed the idea.
The good news is that the U.S. can do a lot to protect itself from the effects of a deliberate EMP attack by an enemy or an EMP caused by space weather, such as a large solar flare. But local, state, and federal governments have a lot of work to do. The Heritage Foundation has urged Congress to establish August 15 as National EMP Awareness Day, to educate the public and lawmakers on the threat and the need for action.
Where Would an EMP Come From?
An EMP affecting the U.S. could come from two sources: the detonation of a nuclear weapon at a high altitude, or a naturally occurring space weather event, such as a large solar flare.
A rogue state would not need a long-range ballistic missile to deliver a nuclear warhead. Even short-range ballistic missiles carrying an EMP device or a nuclear warhead launched from a ship off the U.S. coast could impact millions. Today, more than 30 countries, including Iran and North Korea, possess ballistic missile capabilities.
What Would Happen?
Heritage’s Michaela Bendikova and Jessica Zuckerman have written about the impact of an EMP:
A successful EMP attack – a high-intensity burst of electromagnetic energy caused by a rapid acceleration of charged particles – would fundamentally change the world. Airplanes would fall from the sky; most cars would be inoperable; electrical devices would fail. Water, sewer, and electrical networks would fail simultaneously. Systems of banking, energy, transportation, food production and delivery, water, emergency services, and even cyberspace would collapse.
It would take years – possibly decades – to restore the U.S. electricity supply. Recovery abilities would be critically limited, and the country would be challenged to support current population levels. Millions would likely die.
What Can We Do to Prevent It?
Interest in the EMP threat dropped after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and today, the Department of Homeland Security does not have a national recovery plan for the event of an EMP attack. There are a number of things the U.S. military and Homeland Security could do to protect our critical infrastructure from devastation. Bendikova and Zuckerman write that America should:
- Improve and restructure U.S. missile defense programs, including our ability to intercept ballistic missiles while in flight.
- Demand that the Administration develop a National Recovery Plan. The first focus should be improving the infrastructure on which all other sectors are dependent, such as electrical power and telecommunications.
- Determine which countries could attack. The U.S. should produce a national intelligence estimate on which countries are pursuing EMP weapons or are already capable of launching an EMP attack.
- Prepare and protect the nation’s infrastructure. Cyber infrastructure, for example, is dependent on the power grid—which makes it a unique challenge in an EMP scenario.
- Require more research. In addition to raising national awareness, more research is needed on the risk associated with an EMP attack to ensure that the nation understands the full scope of the threat and how to close critical vulnerability gaps.
To learn more about the EMP threat and what the U.S. needs to do to prevent it, see Preventing Catastrophe: Time for a National EMP Awareness Day.
I’ve studied the EMP thing, if it happens there are a few things you can do to improve your chances of survival.
Stay away from or leave cities, they will be the first ‘dead zones’. Our ‘just in time’ inventory system has ensured that they will starve first. The water stopping will make it even worse.
If you have an old vehicle, hide it. That will be the first thing that people with guns will try to steal. Newer vehicles with their EPA mandated computer controls will become bricks.
Never show a light. That will attract bad people.
Don’t use your toilet, dig a latrine in a hidden spot downhill and downwind from the house.
Spread old clothing and other unneeded items from the front door to the street, most scavengers won’t loot an already looted house.
If you have no water at your house and none nearby, you must move to water, check maps to see where it is. You will probably be on foot so pick one nearby. You have a tent don’t ya, if not get one.
There are many thing you can do to prepare, but nobody in the middle of the affected area can horde enough to survive in place till power is restored. The best advice is to stay put for as long as you can and let some of the initial chaos to subside.
A few things to stock up on not mentioned by others:
A Boy Scout Field Handbook.
A few Bic lighters, they are waterproof and good for a thousand lights.
A spare hat and an extra pair of hiking shoes.
Duct tape, good for so many things.
Plastic bags, good for getting water, a poncho in the rain, water tight seal for a sucking chest wound, sack for carrying things, etc.
Sinsodyne toothpaste or generic, there will be no dentists, ever had a toothache?
Tylenol, a good pain reliever that’s OTC and cheap.
Antiseptic soap, an infection from a scratch can kill you.
If you are on a medication or recieve a treatment that you need to stay alive, insulin or dialysis, well, I’ll say a prayer for you.
Don’t expect the government to help you, they won’t share what they have and reduce their chances of survival, they’ll wait until the population is smaller and more manageable. When the dust settles they will still need people to loot, just like in the good ol’ days.
Remember the scouts motto: ‘Be Prepared’!
Oh, you’d be surprised what I’ve managed to accumulate.
My biggest problem will be …. drum roll please … my pace maker. sigh… Other than that… LOL
Been trying to find a decent pair of boots. I have short chubby feet, so it’s a problem.
Some of us prepare for events like a coronal mass ejection, (or solar flare as it is sometimes called) and an EMP (among other things) that could take down the entire grid. Depending on the severity, it could be anything from minor problems, to total electrical breakdown.
Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
A pacemaker malfunction could from bad to benign depending on why you have one. With an EMP it might stop working immediately. If it keeps working it will run out of power eventually or the pulse might mess up it’s programming. If it’s programming gets altered, my guess is that it would go to its default hard code but still there would be the power thing. Not much you can do about it except hope for the best.
Yup Patrick…that’s what I keep tellin’ the Mr when he asks…”why are you buying that?” Heh.
Crap A&L….I’m already old….so if I go toes up…more resources left for my grandkids! LOL I have an irregular heartbeat, so they decided to insert the mp3 player. I’ve got about 3 years or so left on it, and if nothing happens between now and then, I’ll have an additional five…IF it doesn’t zap the crap outta me.
There was also an EMP effect during an airborne nuke test in the Pacific, it knocked out a lot of electronics in Hawaii.
Hmmm… Reckon I hadn’t heard about that one.
The EMP that hot Hawaii was called Starfish Prime: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish_Prime
Oooooh…. y’know… I think I do vaguely remember something about that. Were you even born yet? LOL