The Fragile Grid: How Infrastructure Failure Risks a Modern American Revolt

[fwki]

This is why preppers are not misguided. In fact to have all the resources available to us before an event, it's misguided to ignore the facts and expected impacts cited here.

[ArMaP]

This is why preppers are not misguided.

Some may be.

In fact to have all the resources available to us before an event, it's misguided to ignore the facts and expected impacts cited here.

The problem is that not everyone can be fully prepared for a long lasting event. Living in a city area with around 1.5 million people, it's not easy to be as prepared as someone living in the country.

[SteamyAmerican]

Exceptional and prescient thread here OP.

I think TPTB are willing to give it a whirl honestly, if only as a test, and maybe more critically as a means to attempt to consolidate power through the chaos of the event.

As someone that works in utilities in California, I appreciate the nod to the material and societal aspects of how such an event would unfold over time. 

Pro tip: If such an event occurs and you have one, fill your bathtub sooner than later.

[GENERAL EYES]

[REDACTED]

[fwki]

The problem is that not everyone can be fully prepared for a long lasting event. Living in a city area with around 1.5 million people, it's not easy to be as prepared as someone living in the country.

You have to own land, a patch dirt. Then survival is not that different from rural, except for the self defense aspects. We live dead center of a sprawling city of 4 million and have off grid power, fresh and potable water cisterns, productive garden and fish pond, satellite communications and stores of critical supplies. It didn't seem onerous building to this point because we did it over decades. You just have to get started.

[ArMaP]

You have to own land, a patch dirt. Then survival is not that different from rural, except for the self defense aspects. We live dead center of a sprawling city of 4 million and have off grid power, fresh and potable water cisterns, productive garden and fish pond, satellite communications and stores of critical supplies. It didn't seem onerous building to this point because we did it over decades. You just have to get started.

I live in the 4th floor of an apartment building, no luck there.

[quintessentone]

I live in the 4th floor of an apartment building, no luck there.

If I lived in an apartment I'd still find a way to grow food, store water and other necessities, which could also double as barter items.

----

"Mushrooms and sprouts/microgreens are the primary food sources that can be grown in a dark apartment with little to no sunlight. 

• Mushrooms: Saprotrophic fungi like button, oyster, and shiitake mushrooms thrive in cool, dark, and humid conditions. They derive nutrition from a substrate (such as sawdust, straw, or grain) rather than sunlight, making them ideal for windowless spaces. Starter kits are widely available and affordable. 
  
• Sprouts and Microgreens: Seeds such as peas, beans, and radishes can be germinated in jars with water in absolute darkness. These sprouts remain white and do not require light to grow, though they can be exposed to light briefly at the end to "green up" if desired. 
  
• Forced Root Vegetables: Certain crops like rhubarb and white asparagus can be grown in darkness through a process called forcing.  This involves chilling the crowns or roots and then growing them in a dark, warm environment to produce tender, pale stalks. (LLM)
  
  ----
  
  I would think keeping warm would be #1 on the list depending if your climate has cold to freezing Winters. There is a prepper instruction for that.
  

[fwki]

I live in the 4th floor of an apartment building, no luck there.

That's an interesting situation...how to survive in multi-family housing. The likely solution would involve joining with others in the same situation facing the same threats. Find leaders or become one.  Build relationships early, divide and conquer preparation, be clear about values, objectives and constraints. That truly is a completely different path than the lone wolf prepper.

[ArMaP]

If I lived in an apartment I'd still find a way to grow food, store water and other necessities, which could also double as barter items.

The quantity of the food we can grow in an apartment is very small, and water availability depends on the water system being active (although during that blackout we always had water, as there's a large deposit on a high location, no electricity needed.

PS: no freezing temperatures, the lowest I have seen here was 0.5º C, so it's not that difficult to fight the cold.

[Toad of Toad Hall]

This is why preppers are not misguided. In fact to have all the resources available to us before an event, it's misguided to ignore the facts and expected impacts cited here.

The more I see of the world… the more I regret not buying that house in outback Australia when I had the chance.