Posted on 04/03/2012 11:13:52 AM PDT by blam
Read This First Before You Decide That Preppers Are Crazy
April 2, 2012
Michael Snyder
Do you believe that preppers are a few cards short of a full deck? Do you assume that anyone that is "preparing for doomsday" does not have their elevator going all the way to the top floor? Well, you might want to read this first before you make a final decision that all preppers are crazy. The information that you are about to read shook me up a bit when I first looked it over. To be honest, I had no idea how incredibly vulnerable our economic system is to a transportation disruption. I am continually getting emails and comments on my websites asking "how to prepare" for what is coming, so when I came across this information I knew that I had to share it with all of you. Hopefully what you are about to read will motivate you to prepare like never before, and hopefully you will share this information with others.
Originally, I was going to write an article about the rising unemployment in Europe today. Did you know that unemployment in the eurozone is now at a 15 year high? It has risen for 10 months in a row with no end in sight.
But I have written dozens of articles about the economic crisis in Europe already. So before starting on that article I started thinking of all the "preparation" questions I have been getting lately and I went over and checked out one of my favorite preparation websites: shtfplan.com.
Well, an article had just been posted over there about a report put out by the American Trucker Associations entitled "When Trucks Stop, America Stops".
I went and found that original report and I was stunned as I read it.
The truth is that our "just in time" inventory and delivery systems leave us incredibly vulnerable to a nationwide disaster.
You see, it is very expensive to hold and store inventory, so most manufacturers and retailers rely on a continual flow of deliveries that are scheduled to arrive "just in time", and this significantly reduces their operating expenses.
This is considered to be good business practice for manufacturers and retailers, but it also means that if there was a major nationwide transportation disruption that our economic system would grind to a halt almost immediately.
Once store shelves are picked clean, they would not be able to be replenished until trucks could get back on the road. In the event of a major nationwide disaster, that could be quite a while.
So what could potentially cause a nationwide transportation shutdown?
Well, it is easy to imagine a lot of potential scenarios - a volcanic eruption, a historic earthquake, an EMP attack, a solar megastorm, a war, a major terror attack, an asteroid strike, a killer pandemic, mass rioting in U.S. cities, or even martial law.
If something caused the trucks to stop running, life in America would immediately start changing.
So exactly what would that look like?
The following is an excerpt from the report mentioned above put out by the American Trucker Associations entitled "When Trucks Stop, America Stops"....
*****
A Timeline Showing the Deterioration of Major Industries Following a Truck Stoppage
The first 24 hours
• Delivery of medical supplies to the affected area will cease.
• Hospitals will run out of basic supplies such as syringes and catheters within hours. Radiopharmaceuticals will deteriorate and become unusable.
• Service stations will begin to run out of fuel.
• Manufacturers using just-in-time manufacturing will develop component shortages.
• U.S. mail and other package delivery will cease.
Within one day
• Food shortages will begin to develop.
• Automobile fuel availability and delivery will dwindle, leading to skyrocketing prices and long lines at the gas pumps.
• Without manufacturing components and trucks for product delivery, assembly lines will shut down, putting thousands out of work.
Within two to three days
• Food shortages will escalate, especially in the face of hoarding and consumer panic.
• Supplies of essentials—such as bottled water, powdered milk, and canned meat—at major retailers will disappear.
• ATMs will run out of cash and banks will be unable to process transactions.
• Service stations will completely run out of fuel for autos and trucks.
• Garbage will start piling up in urban and suburban areas.
• Container ships will sit idle in ports and rail transport will be disrupted, eventually coming to a standstill.
Within a week
• Automobile travel will cease due to the lack of fuel. Without autos and busses, many people will not be able to get to work, shop for groceries, or access medical care.
• Hospitals will begin to exhaust oxygen supplies.
Within two weeks
• The nation’s clean water supply will begin to run dry.
Within four weeks
• The nation will exhaust its clean water supply and water will be safe for drinking only after boiling. As a result gastrointestinal illnesses will increase, further taxing an already weakened health care system.
This timeline presents only the primary effects of a freeze on truck travel. Secondary effects must be considered as well, such as inability to maintain telecommunications service, reduced law enforcement, increased crime, increased illness and injury, higher death rates, and likely, civil unrest.
*****
Earlier in the report, the reasons why America's water supply would be in such jeopardy are described in greater detail....
According to the American Water Works Association, Americans drink more than one billion glasses of tap water per day. For safety and security reasons, most water supply plants maintain a larger inventory of supplies than the typical business. However, the amount of chemical storage varies significantly and is site specific. According to the Chlorine Institute, most water treatment facilities receive chlorine in cylinders (150 pounds and one ton cylinders) that are delivered by motor carriers. On average, trucks deliver purification chemicals to water supply plants every seven to 14 days. Without these chemicals, water cannot be purified and made safe for drinking.
Without truck deliveries of purification chemicals, water supply plants will run out of drinkable water in 14 to 28 days. Once the water supply is drained, water will be deemed safe for drinking only when boiled. Lack of clean drinking water will lead to increased gastrointestinal and other illnesses, further taxing an already weakened healthcare system.
Can you see why I always recommend that you make sure that you and your family have access to fresh water and a way to purify it?
This report should be very sobering for all of us.
What would you and your family do if you had no food, no clean water and the stores were shut down because their supplies were gone?
An article by Tess Pennington entitled "Emergency Items: What Will Disappear First" contains a list of 100 things that are likely to disappear from store shelves first. The following are the first 10 things on her list....
1. Generators (Good ones cost dearly. Gas storage, risky. Noisy…target of thieves; maintenance etc.)
2. Water Filters/Purifiers
3. Portable Toilets
4. Seasoned Firewood. Wood takes about 6 – 12 months to become dried, for home uses.
5. Lamp Oil, Wicks, Lamps (First Choice: Buy CLEAR oil. If scarce, stockpile ANY!)
6. Coleman Fuel. Impossible to stockpile too much.
7. Guns, Ammunition, Pepper Spray, Knives, Clubs, Bats & Slingshots.
8. Hand-can openers, & hand egg beaters, whisks.
9. Honey/Syrups/white, brown sugar
10. Rice – Beans – Wheat
You can find the rest of the list right here.
Most Americans just assume that they will always be able to run out to the supermarket or to Wal-Mart and buy anything that they need.
But if the trucks stop running that will change almost overnight.
After reading the information above, does anyone out there still believe that preppers are crazy?
The truth is that there are good, solid reasons why millions of Americans have been storing up food, water filters and other supplies.
Our world is becoming increasingly unstable, and all of us need to get educated about how to prepare for the difficult years that are coming.
One nightmarish event can change everything that we take for granted in a single moment.
Just remember what happened after Hurricane Katrina. Even though that was only a regional disaster, millions of people had their lives completely turned upside down by that tragedy.
Don't make the mistake of assuming that just because the U.S. has always known tremendous peace and prosperity since World War II that things will always be that way.
Our lives will only continue to be "normal" as long as the trucks continue running.
When the trucks stop running in America, there will be mass chaos.
Are you prepared for that?
” And target practice! ;-) “
That, too... ;)
In post 21 above, I give a link to an examination of what you just posted about.
“Prepping” was just common sense up until recently.
It’s the historical norm, not an oddity.
>> Are they also prepping to turn away relatives who didn’t prep? <<
YES!
I know it’s cold-hearted, but I have NO PATIENCE with willful ignorance.
Our group will be inundated with ‘friends’ who chose not to prepare. They WILL be turned away - using force if necessary.
So? How can you possibly help anyone when you are dead from starvation or an act of violence? The Lord’s work? You shouldn’t take his name in vain.
Me, I'm not so comfortable paying the storage premium and not having ready access to something my life depends on.
/johnny
We don't need or want your comments. This is a serious discussion. Just go away.
Take some time and educate yourself before you make such stupid statments. For starters, if you are a type 1 or have a type 1 child you BETTER be thinking ahead of the game.
Yes - prepper doctors have many blogs and websites that offer information on how to prep for the worst. for example
http://www.doomandbloom.net/2011/10/the-formula-for-making-insulin.html
This is just one of many. I can't prep for YOUR insulin needs - only YOU can do that.
As for all of these nincompoops on here talking about the unwashed urban masses invading them in their rural shangri-la’s, I have never seen so much mean-spirited - and I mean truly evil - thinking when people start talking about this. I have a hunch that the city folks most people are referring to will implode before they ever get out to the country.
Read up on some of the events surrounding Katrina PP as well as other historical events. If a situation hits where lawlessness is unchecked, people can and will do those things.
The very presence and abundance of information encouraging people to become prepared is the very example of loving one's neighbor. If you choose to ignore those warnings - then it is on you, as in a crisis/disaster MY RESOURCES will be stretched and will be relying upon MY preparations to get through. I will help where I can, but to impune our efforts by some misaligned slur that we don't love our neighbor jumps the shark.
>> We have a propane generator. <<
So do we. What are you going to do when the propane runs out and you cannot get more?
Generators are noisy. Everyone will know you have it and wonder what you need it for.
I’m planning for solar with batteries to store enough for basic use.
Another good point. They will attract unwanted attention.
Cook fires may also attract unwanted attention as well. Not sure how to get around that one. We need to cook to made bread. Any ideas on how to get around that one. Cook at night?
If this is really a concern,
you should look into rocket stove “technology”.
Minimal wood, minimal smoke, maximum efficiency (due to very high draft).
As for the generator fuel question, you’d best be experimenting with wood gasifiers if you plan on using a generator after fuel supplies are kaput.
As for cooking bread without a fire, fergetit. Bread was my major in culinary school. ;)
Everything is going to draw attention. My buddy that lived 1/4 mile away from me in the mountains in New Mexico could detect when I was baking bread or roasting coffee, and always managed to show up just in time, even without visible smoke or flame.
Only thing for it is to unwant the unwanted attraction. Give gifts of lead and copper and send them on their way.
/johnny
Best be careful while doing that. I have burn scars down my neck and back after one barfed its charcoal out the top like a volcano.
Fastest I EVER shed a shirt and jacket and rolled in the snow.
/johnny
I find it more prudent to remove the free-lance socialists when possible. I intend to live well, or die trying.
/johnny
Industrial and commercial space is cheap right now. Heck, just store the inventory in a now empty manufacturing space next door to the existing, running facility.
One benefit of the freeze dried foods is they only require boiling water. Any real cooking is going to generate smell. I supposed propane would create less cooking smell than a wood fire, also less smoke.
Maybe break into components. The cooking source smell and the food smell. Not much you can do about the latter.
It's not necessary to run it continuously and most events would only last a short time.
For the major disasters/calamities where there's no end in sight, who knows what will happen.
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