American Blackout....

[protective measures]

Maybe I am a little too optimistic in my assessment.

Katrina was much more than just a power outage. Clearly that contributed to the problems greatly. But the flooding, destruction, and isolation played a big role in that. Had it just been power, they would not have had to evacuate anyone. There still would have been deaths attributable to the lack of power, of course, but nothing like what happened.

What things do you see as the killers from power loss? The biggest I see is the panic. Back in Y2K, I was not worried at all about the predicted collapse, but the reaction people would have to it.

Depends on the scale. A temporary localized outage, kind of cool/ fun... lots of babies conceived & hangovers from some unexpected time off drinking with the neighbors or family (for some).
On a large scale our ability to transport & pump fuel along with preserving food is big. Communication for emergency services as well.
On a macro scale (nationwide) I know of almost no ones' business who could run if there was a lengthy power interruption... so there goes the economy, from Wall Street to mainstreet usa.
It just goes on & on.

 

[protective measures]

I have to disagree that Katrina was a good example of what might happen during a catastrophic event. Manhattan went underwater and they faired 1000 times better than the fourth ward, and all of their (NY) infrastructure is underground.

Totally different scale & national importance/ priority.

 

[givejunkfree]

Knowing how to obtain & insure clean potable water other than turning a faucet
Knowing how to garden
Knowing how to make a fire w/o 2 gallons of gas
Knowing how to start a stubborn engine
Knowing how to preserve food
Knowing how to dispose of waste

Man, that is like THE LIST of things you must know how to do. Especially the gas on fire thing. Never give the throw rope to the guy with the gas can.

 

[givejunkfree]

Totally different scale & national importance/ priority.

Which is why there is a Chattahoochee River between Atlanta and North Georgia. The last ice storm saw people from the rurals coming south to look for shelve items. More recently, with all the flooding this summer, I have found myself at the RC distribution center loading trucks up for, guess who? Rurals. Most likely to run out, most likely to be unprepared, and most likely to get hit with a disaster.

 

[protective measures]

Which is why there is a Chattahoochee River between Atlanta and North Georgia. The last ice storm saw people from the rurals coming south to look for shelve items. More recently, with all the flooding this summer, I have found myself at the RC distribution center loading trucks up for, guess who? Rurals. Most likely to run out, most likely to be unprepared, and most likely to get hit with a disaster.

I don't believe that a lack of preparedness is specific to any particular subculture. I think it is specific to the individual... urban, rural, whatever. Unprepared is unprepared.
Mindset along with skillsets including the ability to improvise, adapt, & overcome to obstacles/ challenges make all the difference... along with a bit of luck & help from above.

Urban environments are hard due to a lack of natural resources, a dependence on a steady supply from the trucking industry, and LOTS of people competing for a finite amount of resources in a crisis.

 

[givejunkfree]

Rurals is not a subculture. It's a locator. We all live by the same basic cultural needs. A lack of natural resources has never stopped the current culture from developing in the most unlikely or unnatural places (well, except the Salton Sea).

I completely understand where you are speaking from and completely agree. A family of four should invest (invest) in a bail out scenario back up plan. It does not cost much, it's repeatable, and invaluable if the chance happens. Having said that, I wish *** **** Georgia Power would fix the bugs in their RF drone dead beat power meters!!! Our power has gone out more times in the last year than it has in my entire lifetime!

 

[protective measures]

Which is why there is a Chattahoochee River between Atlanta and North Georgia. The last ice storm saw people from the rurals coming south to look for shelve items. More recently, with all the flooding this summer, I have found myself at the RC distribution center loading trucks up for, guess who? Rurals. Most likely to run out, most likely to be unprepared, and most likely to get hit with a disaster.

I don't believe your generalization about "rurals" is accurate across the board, just as saying that all city dwellers are mindless victims isn't accurate either.

I know quite a few folks that have come through my classes who are Advanced preppers or own working farms that buy very few foodstuffs from stores... ar at the least do not depend on them other than for convenience. Many have years of basic day to day supplies & sustainable systems in place for water, power, food, etc.

 

[protective measures]

Rurals is not a subculture. It's a locator. We all live by the same basic cultural needs. A lack of natural resources has never stopped the current culture from developing in the most unlikely or unnatural places (well, except the Salton Sea).

I completely understand where you are speaking from and completely agree. A family of four should invest (invest) in a bail out scenario back up plan. It does not cost much, it's repeatable, and invaluable if the chance happens. Having said that, I wish *** **** Georgia Power would fix the bugs in their RF drone dead beat power meters!!! Our power has gone out more times in the last year than it has in my entire lifetime!

"Rurals is not a subculture. It's a locator."

You've apparently not spent time in the remote hills of eastern Kentucky.
Some (not all) may be a sub-species or at least just a separate species....

 

[givejunkfree]

I don't believe your generalization about "rurals" is accurate across the board, just as saying that all city dwellers are mindless victims isn't accurate either.

I know quite a few folks that have come through my classes who are Advanced preppers or own working farms that buy very few foodstuffs from stores... ar at the least do not depend on them other than for convenience. Many have years of basic day to day supplies & sustainable systems in place for water, power, food, etc.

They have been doing it in the lower Mississippi valley for 2 centuries. And people have been screaming end-of-times since Christ. I believe the one thing the "Advanced" preppers lack is the ability to connect the dots. Surely, it is believeable, that everyone should perish except you and yours because you have food and water for a year, however, as you pointed out. What would be left in such an idealistic world? It's a very Essenes science, but even the volcano dribbles the most unlikely of survivors who ultimately colonize the left overs.

 

[givejunkfree]

"Rurals is not a subculture. It's a locator."

You've apparently not spent time in the remote hills of eastern Kentucky.
Some (not all) may be a sub-species or at least just a separate species....

No, I have not. Western Kentucky is about as far north as I ever wanted to be. LOL! That scared me enough to go back to Atlanta.