Limiting yourself to one type of catastrophe.

Where do you put your resources?

There is a saying in prepping/survivalism circles that if you prepare for any type of catastrophe, you prepare for none.

The flip-side of that, though, is that if you prepare for one type of catastrophe, it's one of the ones that you aren't ready for that is going to get you.

I've been reading some rather alarming things about the possibility of Yellowstone erupting - the park itself is situated in the caldera (that is - the mouth) of a mega-volcano. The potential is for so much damage that the world as we know it will be wiped out, to a possible global mass extinction... Sulfur compounds choking the air, sulfuric acid devastating plant and sea life, spewing enough dust into the air to freeze non-equatorial regions.

How can you prepare for that?

Apart from completely isolating yourself for decades in an artificial biosphere? Could you maintain the systems to keep everything functional?

I do see a future for vaults, although I think people are limited in their scope, and how they go about designing them - that's if they design them at all. Most of the time, they are re-using old missile silos, rather than starting from the bottom; they design around what they already have, rather than what is actually needed. Not that the basic principle isn't valid for emergencies, but if you are planning on something which can support people for periods longer than a week or two, then you need to be smart.

What we have here is a failure of understanding...

Although I don't necessarily agree with some of the viewpoints, I do keep an eye on writings and opinions of other people preparing for SHTF. Quite a few are reactionary, racist, and paranoid, but might have some interesting ideas worth thinking further about.

Sometimes, though, you just have to wonder. One writer talked about the possibility of the electrical grid being taken down by a deliberate EMP blast. Not that this isn't a concern. But his point was that grid power was vulnerable to this sort of attack, ergo you should invest in (his book about) solar panels.

"His book about" being the operative term. Actually, his book about making your own panels from individual cells... Never mind that, all in all, it's only worth doing if you can get the individual cells much cheaper than a panel - and you know about the extras that aren't always obvious, that you can connect them in a way that is going to be effective in the long-term.

And - the reason that electronics fail in an EMP blast is that bits of wires act as antennae, and the voltage difference creates a current which can quickly burn out delicate components.

In short - if an EMP pulse hits you, it doesn't matter that you're not connected to the grid, your solar panels could fry, the charge controller will die, and you're in the same boat as everyone else. About the only way to protect things is to have them locked away in a metal cabinet, not in use, without any wires to the outside world - keep them in storage until after everything has happened. If you're relying on power to keep your refrigerator going, you'll have a problem.

It's this sort of information that really annoys me. The situation is one that makes me prefer non-electronic solutions to problems. Evaporation systems, that rely on only the evaporation of water, aren't as efficient or capable as a household fridge, but I'd rather have a few of them sitting away than relying on a complex system that you couldn't repair easily...

The stuff of life...

Water... it would be nice to see more water. Fortunately, the trees that I have in the ground are going well - which is surprising considering the heat and lack of rain. They must have gotten roots down to the water table long enough ago to keep them going. There are two which are struggling, I have to give them a drink every few days. Otherwise, the grass is brown, but the trees are green - and bearing fruit. I have to get a few things out of their pots, and into the ground - do I do that now, encourage them to get themselves going (and hopefully bearing fruit quicker), or do I wait for rain that might be a long time coming?

The trick seems to be to concentrate on those trees from drier climates, particularly the Middle East. Even the roses, apparently very tricky to grow, seem to be thriving - even with all the neglect that I give them...

Water is the essential... I have found some nice solar water stills - pricey, but would well worth it. I appreciate that solar heating and distillation is slow, but you don't have to supply fuel... Less fuel requirements means you can allocate fuel resources better. You don't have to go out to collect firewood - and you have to chop down fewer trees. More than one ecological disaster has been made worse by people cutting down all the trees to provide themselves with firewood. As much as some survivalists might not believe that a working knowledge of environmentalism and ecology isn't essential - you have to manage your resources... And trees are more vital to survival and prepping than you might realise.