“A successful EMP would send the United States spiraling back to the 18th century”

From The Foundry:

U.S. Remains Vulnerable to an EMP
Bryan KimbellMay 12, 2012

An article recently published by the Los Angeles Times discusses how solar storms pose a grave threat to Earth. Mike Hapgood, a space weather scientist in England, says that the world is unprepared for such a storm, and one is likely to occur soon.  [Read that again.]
The Heritage Foundation has led a vital campaign aimed at informing the American public about the seriousness of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attacks. An EMP is typically described as occurring when a nuclear weapon is detonated at a high altitude, resulting in a high-intensity burst of electromagnetic energy caused by the rapid acceleration of charged particles. The second scenario involves massive explosions on the sun’s surface (“space weather”).
Society is becoming increasingly more dependent on electrical devices, and this leads to greater vulnerability to space weather and EMP attacks. These charged particles, if strong enough, cause the destruction of electrical circuits. This would affect cell phones, computers, vehicles, airplanes, and even the power grid. In the case of an EMP, from “space weather” or a high-altitude nuclear detonation, transportation systems would be halted, communications would be rendered useless, and grocery stores would be unable to preserve or restore food supplies. As observed in 33 Minutes, [NB] a successful EMP would send the United States spiraling back to the 18th century.
Despite the severe ramifications of such events, the U.S. is unprepared to deal with either. Fortunately, the United States can still make the necessary preparations to protect its vital infrastructure. Hardening provides resiliency and resistance to vital infrastructure against extreme space weather or EMP effects. Developing a national plan to respond effectively to EMP emergencies is a necessity. This would involve educating federal, state, and local officials along with the public about the risks and response options. Finally, the U.S. should continue to invest in missile defenses to protect against ballistic attacks aimed at achieving high-altitude nuclear detonation or EMP attack, especially against ship-launched missiles off the U.S. coast. The threat of space weather and EMP attack deserves proper planning and robust defenses.
Bryan Kimbell is currently a member of the Young Leaders Program at The Heritage Foundation. For more information on interning at Heritage, please visit HERE.

For those of you who are perhaps out of work, you might consider getting up to speed on all these issues and then starting a local cottage industry to help people in your area to prepare, to whatever level they are comfortable with, for such exigencies.  I get a lot of emails from people asking for my prayers because they are out of work.  Just an idea.

You might think about reading:

One Second After by William R. Forstchen.

Lights Out by David Crawford.

And not exactly an EMP scenario, but in the same line:

Patriots by James Wesley Rawles. (It’s sequel HERE)

Also,

Deep Winter by Thomas Sherry (1st of a trilogy)

Just for a start, in case you aren’t anxious enough already.

 

 

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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43 Comments

  1. AA Cunningham says:

    This might be of interest:

    One Second After

  2. Cathy says:

    In addition to electronic gadget devices, I am concerned about the nuclear power plants which require circulatory systems not only to keep the reactors safe, but the spent fuel pools. While the reactors apparently have containment apparatus sufficient to protect the surrounding community in the event of a meltdown of the core, the spent fuel pools apparently do not have such containment requirements.

  3. Andy Lucy says:

    “Lights Out” by David Crawford, is actually a better book about the after effect of an EMP event.

    And while I do not trust the federal government to adequately handle a disaster, the FEMA website has some good, solid independent study courses in emergency management and disaster preparedness. The independent study website is http://www.amazon.com/Lights-Out-David-Crawford/dp/0615427359/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336837795&sr=8-1

    Disaster preparedness and mitigation is an up and coming field. Even the densest American is getting the sense that all is not well, and they need somewhere to turn for help and advice.

  4. Andy Lucy says:

    Sorry, I forgot to copt the FEMA site… the address is

    http://training.fema.gov/IS/

    I really need to go to sleep. lol

  5. LisaP. says:

    A thought to for those with medical devices.

    Perversely, I think disaster preparedness is a bit of a luxury industry. I remember a lot of commerce based on anxiety before the latest bust — buying food storage, Amish tools, seeds, and on the high end investing in gold and oil. Maybe it’s just my circumstances that have changed, but I think people don’t have the resources to plan for the future as much — although maybe they do what they can do a little better (a bunch of beans in a dry spot is probably a better bet than hundreds of dollars of freeze dried gourmet meals). I always think of the metaphor of telling people on food stamps to save money by buying in bulk — if you’re at the point where you are that low, you don’t have the resources to buy in bulk, it’s those with more money that can afford to pay less.

    I like the idea of a cottage industry of that kind, I’ve often fantasized about buying a small store front in our rural community, providing food co-op services and selling disaster resources to tourists! But I think I’d just get a lot of window shoppers these days. I used to see a lot of catalogues for hand cranked radios and disaster backpacks for kids trapped in school during an emergency, but not much lately. I don’t think that’s a reflection of a safer future, just our weariness and shortness of resources. Sufficient unto the day will have to be sufficient. . . .

  6. rodin says:

    Thank you very much for the suggested reading.

    Do you, or does anyone, know if having either a generator or a solar energy system installed on one’s house able to deal with electrical needs for, say, refrigeration, lighting, heating and the like a good way to survive during an extended EMP outage?

  7. Supertradmum says:

    Some of us on life-giving medications, and I take two at the tune of 200 dollars per month out of my own pocket, would just die, as we would not be able to get our pills. [I good reason for us to make a daily examination of conscience and go to confession regularly. There is a petition in the Litany asking God to save us from an “unprovided” death. We help God help us to avoid that through discipline and honesty in the spiritual life.] My ancestors on one side of the family were on the Oregon Trail. They were a hardy lot. Those who are hardy and in communities who care for others, would survive. But, sadly, not all…Many older people would die. And, the very young. But, we should not be complacent, if we are in a position to plan, not hoard, but plan. During the run-up to Y2K, we had wonderful neighborhood organization in Iowa and us younger ones adopted older ones to look after in case of emergency. My little family adopted an older lady. Of course, nothing happened, but it was a moment of community based on care. That can happen, but it takes planning. We had the stuff. Christians should be able to do this, if an ordinary group of people in a town could.

  8. Do you, or does anyone, know if having either a generator or a solar energy system installed on one’s house able to deal with electrical needs for, say, refrigeration, lighting, heating and the like a good way to survive during an extended EMP outage?

    Based on my experience living for a year in an off-grid house, you can’t live business as usual on just solar energy and a generator. The stove and refrigerator ran on propane. There were a lot of things you couldn’t use, or could only use for very short periods, like incandescent bulbs and appliances with motors, because they suck up too much power. If you were going to run something like a vacuum cleaner, you needed to run the generator. Pumps for wells also drain the power. When there was little or no sun, you ended up using the generator a lot, and that takes gasoline. The amount of money for gas that it takes to run the generator gets to be staggering. The unsteady supply of electricity, and especially the surges that come with turning on the generator, can also fry sensitive electronic equipment like laptop computers. Yes, when the rubber meets the road, with the state of technology today, solar energy is really not “eco-friendly.” Nor, I think, would it be enough to make up for not having a grid.

    Yet all it takes is one squirrel to knock out power to thousands of homes and businesses. If we can’t even prevent that, still less are we going to be able to protect ourselves from an EMP.

  9. ContraMundum says:

    Because the military had to be prepared for nuclear war, they already have “hardened” equipment that would survive the EMP. In the aftermath of such a disaster, they would be the law, and they would coordinate the attempt to get basic services up and running again. Out of necessity we would have martial law and something like Communism, since whatever was needed for survival would simply be commandeered.

    The real question is whether we would ever get out from underneath a quasi-Communist military dictatorship. [Yes another thing to consider before the November 2012 election.]

  10. AnAmericanMother says:

    rodin,
    I would go with a wind generator, if you’re in an area with enough prevailing wind and have a good site. Much more efficient than a solar array. Solar-generated electricity is a bit of a boondoggle. Strike that, it IS a boondoggle. It can supplement but not replace the grid. And even with government subsidies (and buybacks from your electricity supplier) you will never get your money back.
    But the real problem is storage — both the voltage regulators and the batteries are inefficient. My dad and I worked (actually – he worked. I handed him stuff) on a friend’s solar array in the Turks & Caicos Islands. Dad is a former Combat Engineer and as good an electrician as any union man, but it was all he could do to make that system work at all. I learned a lot of cool cusswords that week. The technology has improved somewhat since that time — but not as much as it would need to to make it a primary energy source.
    The first house we built was a PASSIVE solar house, which is a whole different kettle of fish from solar electrical. The essential elements are a heat sink/solar mass (usually a monolithic concrete floor many feet thick), and overhangs calculated to give shade in the summer but admit sunlight in the winter when the sun is lower. Plus super-insulated walls (framed up with 2×6 or 2×8) and roof, as many south facing windows as possible, no north windows and all insulating spaces like closets and utility rooms located to the north side. If you properly design and build your house, your heating and cooling bills will be minimal, and all you’ll need to power is the fridge and some lights. Even in a Georgia summer our electrical bill was under $100 a month – our air conditioner hardly ran at all. I miss that house! :-(

    One problem with gasoline powered generators is that they are very noisy – annoying and attracts looters. You can build a soundproof box which helps a lot. The other problem is supply. Natural gas generators (the kind that kick in automatically when the power cuts off) will not function without a steady supply (LP gas might be better, but buy a BIG storage tank! My parents have LP since they live way out in the country). And gasoline will be hard to get in any widespread power outage because the station pumps don’t work.
    Here in the Upper South we have many short term (2-3 day) power outages due to ice storms, high winds, etc. A 5000 – 8000w gasoline-powered generator with a soundproof box and around 50 gallons of gas stored in the backyard shed has been more than adequate. You can run wires to the refrigerator and the furnace blower if you have a gas furnace. They make excellent scrubbers and UPSs now that will “clean up” generator power – our generator has a GFCI outlet and we run the computer from that, through a UPS with a scrubber. For everything else, we have two cords run into the two legs of our 220v service – not something I would recommend unless you are very well versed in matters electric and have a proper tag-out procedure for your main breaker (or a three-way breaker switch which would be ideal). It is VERY bad form to electrocute the Georgia Power lineman because you ran your generator into an open line.

  11. AnAmericanMother says:

    Miss Anita,
    What you said! Anything that draws a lot of current (toaster, electric stove or oven, anything with a motor) is not going to be happy.
    My parents have a separate generator for the well pump, it lives in the wellhouse. But you’re right, the gasoline runs into $$$$$ — and you can’t get any if the station has no power.
    Being off the grid requires serious lifestyle adjustments. We are used to camping, both the ‘heavy’ and the backpacking variety, but the longest we’ve ever been on the trail is a week. Living without power for months is going to be . . . interesting . . . if it happens.

  12. Ray says:

    It is still spring in America in more ways than one. Buy some seeds and learn how to plant a garden. Ask some of your older relatives to show you how to do canning. If you have no one to ask, go to the library and check out a couple of books on how to do it. Store some rice, beans and can goods. Buy a cheap water filter of type. Develop a plan for you and your family on where to meet if a devastating event occurs. Come on fellow Americans, we aren’t helpless, get back the spirit that helped make us a great sharing nation. Last of all, we all need to pray. Ask Mary to help us and intercede to her son, pray the rosary again. Cheer Up Folks!!

  13. StJude says:

    On Glen Becks GBTV.. there was just a show called..’Rumors of War’. (you can watch it on youtube)
    Anyway, I learned from that show, the Iranians test weapons by just shooting them up in the sky… exactly what an EMP is. Scary to say the least.

  14. MOP says:

    Another good TEOTWAWKI book is 1948 is THE EARTH ABIDES from Amazon. Without all the fierce fighting of LIGHTS OUT, it focuses on community building and survival. Another current book on the subject is CHILDLESS focusing more on the suppression of the Catholic Church. After we over reacted to Y2K, I am concentrating more on being informed and keeping my spiritual house in order.

  15. StJude says:

    I have been praying for Gods help in preparing. I am too broke to do anything. I own no land to even plant food. My son and I would probably be dead if anything happened.
    Scary times we live in, for sure.

  16. Bea says:

    Maybe God is warning us to get back to the earth.
    We’ve become so Hi-tech that even our minds have lost it’s basic orientations.
    Water will be of greatest concerns. If pumps can’t get water into our water systems, we’ll have to find alternatives. Unless some are lucky enough to have private wells. We have water delivery but it can last so long and certainly won’t be able to be wasted on watering victory gardens, when we will need it to just keep hydrated .

    Good point LisaP:
    Though we’re not on medical devices, we still need our High BP meds and should be stocked up on them as far as we are able.

  17. Geoffrey says:

    “The real question is whether we would ever get out from underneath a quasi-Communist military dictatorship.”

    Two words: Dual citizenship. If you have it, use it. If you don’t have it, get it! I pray I am able to!

    “Maybe God is warning us to get back to the earth.”

    That would be ironic, wouldn’t it? God is so fed up He just pulls the plug on all things hi-tech. Egads! No more WDTPRS.com?!

  18. ContraMundum says:

    Two words: Dual citizenship. If you have it, use it. If you don’t have it, get it! I pray I am able to!

    ??? And just what good will dual citizenship do you if technology is wiped out by an EMP? What, you’ll insist on being on the first transcontinental flight to Ireland, only there are no transcontinental flights anymore, and Ireland got it as bad as the US? And, like as not, no one will care about your legal status after TEOTWAWKI.

    If, on the other hand, you want to leave *now*, that’s a possible plan. You could go to some place remote, maybe in South America, and become a subsistence farmer. If you get used to farming without tractors and having no running water, the EMP would be as meaningless to you as it no doubt was in previous millenia. Of course, if you’re living that kind of life, the same things that killed people early in previous millenia would be likely to kill you before any EMP gets here.

    Or maybe you think that the political situation is so bad in the US that you’d rather go someplace more stable and friendly to Christians. Good luck with that! There are few places more friendly to Christians, and those that are tend to be weak countries that would not retain temporal power if your worst fears about the US come true.

  19. Supertradmum says:

    Dear Father…excellent advice. I try to go to weekly Confession. The good Holy Cross nuns taught me how to make daily examen ….which litany do you mean?

  20. Cantor says:

    This is hardly anything new. When we took our Emergency Services Explorer Post to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex (NORAD Headquarters) back in 1976, they quickly ditched our regular butterbar tour guide for a senior officer when our 14-year-old kids started asking questions about Circular Error Probability, blast effect and EMP. Nuclear targeting specialists have long had to account for EMP in avoiding fratricide during an attack. Satellite builders routinely calculate the cost of massive solar EMP in trying to protect orbital resources.

    But the fact is we are unwilling and unable to account or prepare for every threat. If you’re worried, fine. Take action. Trade in your car on a pre-1970/electronic ignition model. Get your house off the grid and install the specialized (and costly) EMP-safe fuses and circuit breakers. Isolate rooms into individual Faraday cages. And do it redundantly in case there are 2 bombs. In which case you’re safe unless there are three. Or two and a whopper of a solar flare.

    None of which is likely to help if it’s a meteor, flood, or tornado.

    On the other hand, we’ll all be safe from the imminent death and destruction of microwave radiation threatened in 1977’s “The Zapping of America”.

    Poppycock and balderdash.

  21. Geoffrey says:

    “And just what good will dual citizenship do you if technology is wiped out by an EMP?”

    My comment about dual citizenship had nothing to do with EMP, but was in specific reference to surviving current and possible future political situations.

  22. rodin says:

    The very least I can do is thank Miss Anita and An American Mother. It all sounds very daunting. Food for thought.

  23. ContraMundum says:

    @Geoffrey

    My point still stands, but to a lower degree. If the US goes worst-case, you can rule out North America altogether, along with Europe, Asia, and Australia. Each of those places will either be worse than the US in the same way the US was bad, or have some equivalent problem of their own. We can certainly add the continent of Africa to the “equivalent problems of their own” list. That leaves you with South America, maybe.

    Like I said before, good luck with that!

  24. Tantum Ergo says:

    My whole yard, though not big, is planted with fruit trees: apple, pear, peach, cumquat, cherry, apricot, fig, and orange, lime, blueberry, and tangerine. I also have rain barrels set up. Those who can do such planting provide a hedge against disaster. Important: Find out from your county agent the recommended variaties for your area, pick nice sunny spots, and remember my motto: “Put a five dollar plant in a ten dollar hole.” Just start with one, but START! Even if disaster never strikes, you’ll always reap the bounty of your toil. It’s fun, and being outdoors is good for you.

  25. AnAmericanMother, that’s a good point about the noise of a gas generator and its ability to attract looters. It is indeed very noisy. Where I lived off-grid was out in the country, in the middle of nowhere, so that wasn’t something we thought about.

    But depend upon it, there will be looters when you-know-what hits the fan. I was near the epicenter of the Northridge Earthquake in California in January, 1994, and within about half an hour after the main shock ended, people in pickups with mag lights were out driving up and down the streets. You’d have thought these people would have had worries enough of their own, being in the same boat. It was not for nothing that they called in the National Guard to help maintain order.

  26. digdigby says:

    Regarding the Carrington Flare of 1859 – an event fully capable of destroying our electrical grid:
    “Ice cores contain thin nitrate-rich layers that can be used to reconstruct a history of past events before reliable observations. These show evidence that events of this magnitude occur approximately once per 500 years, with events at least one-fifth as large occurring several times per century, such as occurred in 1921 and 1960, when widespread radio disruption was reported.” A solar monster flare is a serious threat but maybe not right away.

    As for a Hiroshima size atom bomb in the atmosphere knocking out the grid… a thermonuclear device 100 times more powerful tested atmospherically, knocked out a row of street lamps on Oahu, 800 miles away and not much else. As a military expert says, “If the Pentagon hasn’t been able to feasibly create an EMP offensive weapon, we don’t think Iran could.”

  27. chcrix says:

    “These charged particles, if strong enough, cause the destruction of electrical circuits…. this would affect cell phones, computers, vehicles, airplanes, and even the power grid……”

    EVEN THE POWER GRID

    In short this is about a possible massive power failure. The country has had a power grid since the 1920’s – or at least the 30’s if you want to hold out for some of the rural electrification. Solar activity has been up and down during the last 80 years. It is rather quiet now – ask some CAGW zealots and see them start to foam at the mouth.

    Has any power grid ever been taken down by an EMP caused by a CME? I don’t know the answer, but certainly if there had ever been something spectacular like the darkening of the northeast in the 1960’s I think we would all know about it. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_Blackout_of_1965). Which event, by the way, does tell us that we can recover fairly quickly from a severe and widespread power hit. Probably a lot better than it was managed in 1965.

    I’m not going to lose any sleep over this one – any more than I’m going to worry about another Chixulub event. Sure, it could happen.

    But remember Y2K everybody.

  28. ContraMundum says:

    @cherix

    This is not like Chixulub, which should only be expected every 100 million years or so, nor like Y2K, which probably wouldn’t have been that big a problem anyhow and was predictable (and the absence of ill effects is also due to a lot of hard, last-minute work). It’s more on par with Katrina, a once-a-century (or so) event that is facilitated by poor design and planning.

    And since you’re asking, “Has anything like this happened before?” take a look here, here, and here.

  29. Cantate says:

    Keep in mind that government has the capability to cause weather problems. Have you heard of chemtrails? And have you heard of HAARP in Alaska? Causing an EMP may sound like a “stretch” but….

  30. Kerry says:

    Try this light (‘s out) reading: http://www.empcommission.org/reports.php. Some I have read. Most frightening is the possible loss of particular electric grid components, (I do not recall their exact names or descriptions), but none are made in the U.S., and delivery takes two years. Such an event would be a horrific catastrophe. Would God permit it…I suspect He might. Might such a catastrophe be needed to return the moral order to its upright and locked position? …”Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword… ” Substitute the word “abortion” for “scourge of war”, and “abortionists knife” for “the lash”. ” Jesu Ufam Tobie.”

  31. Kathleen10 says:

    I just purchased a few days ago, a report written about how to obtain clean water should there be any “events”. Water would be a very big deal, so that seems important. I haven’t read it yet, but will tomorrow. I don’t know if I can share the whole thing, it is a downloaded PDF file. If I can, I will.
    I remember a lady a few years ago, who drove a cute little Vespa through a neighborhood, and not even a tough neighborhood. Some punks punched her in the face, and took the Vespa. And there was no EMP to “motivate” them. That to me, is the biggest concern. We are not living in the times of the Great Depression, and our culture has deteriorated since then. Our fellow man is the worst predator, I’m afraid.
    I think having a garden is a great idea, but you may want to put it away from your house. Any open garden is going to be ransacked, any house with lights is going to be targeted, any car is going to be hijacked. (bikes and mopeds and all those other things too)
    The best thing would be to live away from a city. But we are where we are, right?
    I agree with everybody, but I also know that money is hard to find, for me anyway, for doing much in the way of preparation. I can obtain information though, and can try to prepare by using rain barrels, or having a garden, a bike, a radio with a hand crank, camping supplies, a weapon, a polar bear we can cuddle for heat in the winter, oops! Scratch that last one.
    God bless, everybody, we’ll all be ok. Just do the best we can, is all we can do, and leave the rest to Jesus and His Mother.

  32. There is one step that is within everyone’s reach: repent and convert. The man-made disasters that loom on the horizon, like the collapse of financial markets and our slide into socialism, are precisely the result of our lack of moral fiber. Society is disordered because individuals are disordered. If we turn back to God, perhaps He will take pity on us, as He did on the Ninevites when they repented of their evil ways.

  33. oldcanon2257 says:

    Anything in the Book of the Apocalypse that resembles or symbolizes EMP or huge solar storm or gamma ray burst? I haven’t read the good book in a long time; perhaps time for me to read it again. :D

  34. trad catholic mom says:

    Another series, one that is about the aftermath of an EMP ( but explosives also lose firing ability so no gunpowder ect and all internal combustion engines don’t work) is The Change series by S. M. Stirling first book is Dies the Fire. Not as reality based as Patriots by Rawles but entertaining if you can stomach the storyline of the hippie pagans that is a part of the book.

  35. Tina in Ashburn says:

    I assume an EMP would be widespread, affecting the nation. Depending on others to help like the police or the National Guard, or expecting eventual food and water delivery, could be over-optimistic. When Katrina hit, there was no way to communicate, and chaos prevailed. [Thus the Ham Radio angle.] Eventually help came from the outside. I try to imagine Katrina all over with no outside help to mitigate or assist.
    I had just heard a story of a woman who lived through Katrina. She said within 7 days she and her husband had to get into their pickup truck and leave – their house was flooded to the top and unlivable. She told my husband that if they had not had a gun they would not have gotten away. People were smashing their windows as they drove.
    Today we think of ‘civilization’ as all our comforts – air conditioning, computers, reliable cars, availability of every kind of good in the stores – but in reality civilization means charity and kindness, self-control, appreciation for art and beauty, or even just setting the table when eating alone. THAT is what is missing today – our society is reduced to savagery. Just look at how we dress [as a child I gawked at the underdressed in National Geographic, today we are even more naked and slovenly than those savages in the 1960 magazines], how coldly we treat each other, how the youth have not absorbed God’s laws or the Golden Rule.
    THAT is what I fear the most – that without comforts we will soon find out the lack of ‘civilization’ when men, used to having all needs met in today’s life, get cold, hungry and desperate.

  36. Sandra_in_Severn says:

    For removable hard-drives and the like, a simple home-made “Faraday cage” would be the simplest solution. http://unitedstatesaction(DOT)com/emp_and_faraday_cages(DOT)htm shows one type.

    Only the the portion of the Earth facing the sun at the time of “impact” will receive the damage. Other areas of the planet will be fine. It will take time to recover, talking decades, not weeks for anything that “burns out” our (the Americas’) power grid. The capability to rebuild, from power generators to wiring for our houses and new electrical appliances, will have to come from overseas.

    Batteries and radios that were protected will work. So would shielded HAM and single side-band radios (receivers and transmitters). Another reason to learn International Morse Code. http://morsecode(dot)scphillips(dot)com/morse(dot)html.

    I used to “play” at being able to do my military duties (in my previous life, AD USAF), with paper, pencil, printed code books and a battery powered transceiver. Just “in case” MAD (mutually assured destruction) failed.

  37. Tina in Ashburn: I agree 100%.

  38. Brooklyn says:

    I’m with chcrix. It seems everything in the news is designed to keep us in a constant state of fear. The sky is always falling in one form or another. I remember Y2K only too well. I know people who made a fortune feeding off of people’s fears on that one, and when January 1, 2000 came and went without a hitch, all those people just disappeared.

    We could all walk out the door today and get hit by a truck. I could fall in my bathroom and hit my head and it would be all over. And I suppose there is a possibility of this scenario with the grid coming true. All I can do is concentrate on what I know. If I spend my time worrying about what could happen, I’ll make myself sick. We are told that perfect love casts out fear. So does fear cast out perfect love? I’m going with what our Lord told us:

    Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns: and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they? And which of you by taking thought, can add to his stature by one cubit? And for raiment why are you solicitous? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they labour not, neither do they spin. But I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these. And if the grass of the field, which is today, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, God doth so clothe: how much more you, O ye of little faith?

  39. Gretchen says:

    So many good comments here, both from those who are preparing for disaster and those who are more inclined to look askance and trust in the Lord. Incidentally, I don’t believe the two positions are incompatible. Having watched what happened with Katrina and other natural disasters, I think it is prudent to be prepared for emergencies, yet I know with every fiber of my being that God is in control and His will for each of us is inevitable.

    That said, the current world economic and political situation bring to mind this verse, “…you know how to discern the face of the heaven and of the earth: but how is it that you do not discern this time? ”

    Economically, the world is at the point of no return. That always means war as nations struggle for dominion, sovereignty, and survival. Add in weapons of mass destruction, a western culture poised at complete moral meltdown, and a false religio-political system (Islam) on the ascendency, and there will be repercussions that touch all of us.

    When the Great Depression hit, about 40% of the population was still on the farm and could feed itself. Today, that number is at 2%. If a disaster hits and the stores are emptied, and no trucks are running for weeks, starvation could happen very quickly.

    I read on some blog a justification for being prepared. A lady had studied Joseph’s preparations in Egypt and then the story of Exodus. She said that when God’s people are moving into bondage, they are to prepare for hard times (Joseph). When they are moving out of bondage and into freedom (Exodus) they are to prepare for the Promised Land (manna from heaven). Interesting take.

  40. AGA says:

    Instead of loading up your cellar with months worth of food and water (all of which only lasts for so long), I would purchase as much ammo as you can comfortably.

    .22 rounds and common shotgun shells would be my suggestions. If you don’t like weapons, then don’t buy the weapons. The ammo will become a great form of currency in any major, long-term disaster. Food, water, and energy will always be available; it’s just that the cost that will go up. Ammo will be a form of currency that will best keep up with the inflation. (If you can manage to own a .22 rifle and/or shotgun too, then of course the ammo also serves for self-defense purposes.)

  41. Catholicity says:

    What would we do without instant communication? It is great while it lasts, and I’ve always pretty much assumed that the power grid isn’t going anywhere. Maybe not so certain? That is one reason out of many that we need to return to a human scale and pace. I’ve been moving in that direction for several years, but picking up the pace recently online in an attempt to get more people questioning basic assumptions about sustainability. I know that is a popular buzzword, but I’m a contingency planner focusing my future on what John Senior called “human scale and pace.” There are simple things we could implement into our lives to mitigate the personal effects of an EMP or similar event, if we start doing them now. We will be placed in that situation whether or not we are ready. But I digress. Thank you for the post, Father Z!

  42. AnAmericanMother says:

    AGA,
    Second the idea of putting up bricks of .22 LR ammo . . . but rather than buy centerfire rifle or shotgun ammo, I would suggest investing in some reloading equipment and loading your own.
    It’s very cost-effective, and if you lay in plenty of primers and powder (and bullets, or cast your own) you can go on loading pretty much indefinitely.
    Besides, if TEOTWAWKI never does turn up, you won’t have wasted your money – it won’t go bad and you can have loads of fun plinking at tin cans etc.

  43. heway says:

    I am sorry that I missed this post the other day. My husband is a ‘ham’ and I would encourage you, Father, to finish quickly and get your license, with or without the Morse. If an EMP should occur, the ‘hams’ will be in charge. We live in an area wherer there are several ‘hams’ – most are retired. Young people today do not seem intersted.
    There are many good ideas mentioned here. Solar and wind at this point is terribly expensive. A small generator for your well (if you have one) is what you might need. In talking and listening to others who are better informed, it appears that this would not last for months.
    I go for ‘Brooklyn’s’ comment on ‘the birds of the air….’

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