I have mixed feelings about what an EMP or CME would do but if it fried solid telegraph wire, surely it would fry unshielded Cat5 cable and guess what the modern world runs on?
We've all been to a store when the "system" was down. If you're lucky and have cash, you might be able to buy something, but not fuel. Imagine the system being down for months. Half the population relies on cashless EBT to eat well.
Doesn't have to be an EMP/CME. The dems will cause a collapse eventually as that is their goal.
Good luck with this.
I'm quite sure the cattlemen around here will supply people with beef to prevent neighbors from turning violent on each other or on them. They won't be able to manage their herd with no fuel anyway. Can't put up hay for Winter with no tractor. Everyone knows how to process a four legged critter. Everyone will be relying on deer prior to that. My meat goats are probably 300 lbs of meat.
This area is loaded with springs that pump out a gazillion gallons of potable water. I have one of the bigger ones 1/4 mile away. Certified by the state for a bottled spring water business that they never followed through with.
Some people around here had no electricity as recent as 100 years ago. This was Little House on the Prairie land 200 years ago.
Field corn and wheat will become big staple items and grain mills will have to be built but it's been done before. This is down the road and could be put back to use.
The Amish wagons will replace delivery trucks and more wagons would be built. Cows might not be as fast as a horse but can pull. All the horse/oxen pulled implements decorating people's yards or sitting in fields will be put back to use. There's a reason country people hang on to that stuff.
Most non-white collar working men around here work at the factories, of which there are surprisingly many, mostly making plastic products. I work maintenance at one of these places. They are all able bodied and most have general hands on skills that will be put to good use and they can definitely handle the heat. Gets kinda warm in summer in a factory that's constantly melting plastic resin to turn it into products.
Ain't nothin' but a thing.
Instant hard life but survivable well away from the cities.
That big spring is down a big hill from me. When we lived off grid, we did our share of hauling water up a hill. Kids each carried a gallon and the wife and I two gallons each. Laundry day was a few trips. We were younger then and I wouldn't be able to do it now but I'll figure something out.
