Even a limited nuclear exchange would
destroy everything for potentially hundreds of miles, sending up enough dust
into the atmosphere to partially block the sun for years, causing drastically
cooler conditions. Earth could enter a man-made Ice Age or a Nuclear Winter which may be more severe than
an Asteroid Impact Winter. The EMP from a nuclear exchange could destroy
all electronics that are not shielded by a Faraday cage or metal enclosure. A solar flare could do the same.
Humans have survived an Ice Age
before, but not during a time when our survival skills and preparations were so
low. The good news is that survival after a nuclear exchange is possible with a few preparations.
Such Preparations would fall in two
categories:
1)
Surviving a 3-10 year winter, tidal
waves, fire storms and acid rain. Within 20 days, the global average temperature would drop from 58
degrees (F) Fahrenheit to 35 F, recovering about 10 degrees after a year or
two. By this time, 1/3 or more of the northern hemisphere (all of Canada
and Northern US) would be covered year-round by snow. The entire earth
would experience freezing in the winter,
and only the darkest red areas would not be frozen year-round.
2) Surviving the "break out" after the sky clears, and the weather warms enough to begin
life outside again. The risk of unusually high ultraviolet exposure
exists as the skies clear after being scorched. Disease from the fatalities
decaying is a serious risk.
1) Surviving a 3-10 year winter
It could happen without any warning with only a matter of days
to react. So a high level of preparation and readiness is important. What
should we prepare for?
- Living underground where the earths
temperature is more constant may be required. If not, a well-insulated
shelter with a large supply of firewood,
diesel or propane would be required making an "Event" like this,
one of the most difficult to be prepared for. Note that an
underground shelter also protects from radiation as well as severe storms
and cold. See: Concrete Bunkers
- A ten year supply of long shelf life foods, water &
warm clothing. See the post:
Identifying nearby food warehouses, school cafeterias and
other such places that feed large numbers might be a place to salvage
food. Animals that survive will likely be underground, underwater or able
to withstand cold and eat grasses under the snow or bark and twigs of trees
like goats, rabbits & deer.
- Green House to maintain your seed supply
over such a long time and provide a small amount of food.
- Security
plans with a large supply of Ammo to
protect what you have. Here a few links:
2) Surviving the break out
Nothing would be worse than
surviving the extended winter and then not being prepared to survive the new
world. Here is what you might need and some of this could be
salvaged from hardware and farm supply stores.
- Extensive Farming and Ranching supplies, including
seeds, plants, livestock, feed, tillers, seeders, garden tools like
shovels, hoes, and rakes. Chickens, dogs, goats, pigeons, and rabbits are good animals to
have.
- Green House to grow foods year-round.
- Hand tools like saws, axes, drills, nails, water pumps
& barrels.
- Farming and Ranching Skills
- Security is still important as it will be easy to let
your guard down at this point and be caught unprepared.
- Reproductive age adults for human re-population.
- Substantial loss of land based animals; large bodies of
water may be a key source of natural food supply.
- Snow melting will cause flooding, even in normally dry
places.
- Decaying animals may result in high amounts of airborne
disease.
At this point, common long-term survival preparations are needed in
addition to those to handle cooler and more erratic weather and shorter growing
seasons. There is a tremendous amount of detail regarding a long-term sustainable meal plan that is
important. How much do I need to plant and how many animals do I need to
raise. The Prepper Handbook by JR Ray on Amazon covers all of this in great detail, so we
will not duplicate it here.
For additional information click on
the link below: