EMP you should consider the inevitable posibility

[BillM]

I'm not really 100% convinced that an EMP will be TEOTWAWKI. First, you'd have to be a suicidal country knowing you're about to be vaporized in return. Then your missile(s) would have to have make it thru the anti-missile defenses. Then it would have to detonate on location. Then it would have to perform like everyone seems to assume it would.

That's a plan with a lot of moving parts and a LOT of risk for pretty much no return.

What missile defenses? And for that matter, the bomb that would produce the pulse can be in space...

https://www.iflscience.com/60-years-ago-the-us-exploded-a-nuclear-bomb-in-outer-space-64400
Shut down systems that were a lot "harder" EMP-wise, than current solid-state electronics in the US 1400km or nearly 900 miles from the detonation site. Pop off two or three of those over CONUS and it's "Light's Out."

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/6845861

 

[scott024]

An EMP will destroy America from the inside. The have-nots far outnumber the haves. Desperate people will do unspeakable things to survive. If the lights go out for an extended period of time, the USA will be worse than Haiti is now.

 

[BillM]

An EMP will destroy America from the inside. The have-nots far outnumber the haves. Desperate people will do unspeakable things to survive. If the lights go out for an extended period of time, the USA will be worse than Haiti is now.

True that. Unfortunately.

 

[dennishoddy]

If you have any interest at all in this subject, I highly recommend "One Second After" by William Forstchen. It's an entertaining yet sobering read about how the days and months following an EMP strike would likely play out. Important takeaway: The most valuable commodity won't be gold or cigarettes or gasoline. It'll be ammunition.

I've always said that buying precious metals to survive a disaster is not wise. How is one going to buy a loaf of bread with a gold coin? Bite off a chunk and get it weighed? How does one get change if it's too much or too little?
Ammunition will get you anything you want.

 

[BillM]

I've always said that buying precious metals to survive a disaster is not wise. How is one going to buy a loaf of bread with a gold coin? Bite off a chunk and get it weighed? How does one get change if it's too much or too little?
Ammunition will get you anything you want.

If you have every thing, and everything else that you might need and a great safe place to keep it all, precious metals like gold & silver might make sense.

Me, I'm trying to stock up on other precious metals, like lead, copper, tin, brass, bronze, steel... And the tools and knowledge to work it.

 

[dennishoddy]

If you have every thing, and everything else that you might need and a great safe place to keep it all, precious metals like gold & silver might make sense.

Me, I'm trying to stock up on other precious metals, like lead, copper, tin, brass, bronze, steel... And the tools and knowledge to work it.

Yep, I've pretty much built a complete light machine/woodwork shop, not for the end of the world but to build just about anything I want to build.
It might come in handy if that scenario ever comes about which I doubt ever will, but its fun collecting the old stuff and restoring it.

 

[BillM]

Yep, I've pretty much built a complete light machine/woodwork shop, not for the end of the world but to build just about anything I want to build.
It might come in handy if that scenario ever comes about which I doubt ever will, but its fun collecting the old stuff and restoring it.

I got into fixing & building because my grandpa & dad did that sort of thing. Flavored a bit by a step-father who expected Armageddon any minute now when I was a kid in the mid-to-late 60's. Also interested in guns, shooting, lapidary & several kinds of metalworking, including blacksmithing & jewelry making, and armouring. My GI Joe had steel swords, spear & arrow heads, and functional bows made from coat hanger wire when I was 10 or 11... And that step-father wasn't prepping, but planning on being a warlord.

Not real good at woodworking though. More a wood butcher. And rough carpentry. Very rough. Want be be able to build about anything, but I'm a lousy programmer. Been a pretty good maintenance mechanic & technician, but not really artistic, either.

 

[ratski]

If you want a taste of what the world after an EMP will be like, just experience a massive Oklahoma Ice Storm or Florida Hurricane.

About 10 years ago, Southwest Oklahoma went thru a massive ice storm. Only saving grace was that the roads were too warm to ice over, but many of us were without power for over a week.

Learned so much and it wasn't even a total power outage.
Some areas were OK, others were completely cut off.
I was without power for over 9 days, but the people across the street never were affected.

I was in the WalMart when the power went out.
They came over the intercom and said that they had enough power for about 30 minutes and that their Credit Card system would not work. Cash and checks only. Boy, you should have seen the people that had neither!!!

Entire towns were without gasoline because of the electric gas pumps being down.

Stations were out of regular gas due to everyone trying to run generators.

Then, the water purification plant put out the announcement that they might be going off line. Literal fist fights at some of the stores over cases of water.

ATMs were down. Banks were closed. Cash was king.

My yard looked like airburst artillery had hit it. Had one of the groups stop by and "give an estimate" for clearing away everything. I remember the pitch, I'll make the estimate for $2000 and charge you $1500 so your deductible is taken care of. I asked him how much it would take to do the job right now for cash. He said $500. Told him I'd give him $300. He said no. I said, you have 10 guys in your truck, the banks aren't open, the ATMs are shut down and I'm waving 300 dollars cash in your face. We settled on the $300

It was an eye opener.

 

[dennishoddy]

I got into fixing & building because my grandpa & dad did that sort of thing. Flavored a bit by a step-father who expected Armageddon any minute now when I was a kid in the mid-to-late 60's. Also interested in guns, shooting, lapidary & several kinds of metalworking, including blacksmithing & jewelry making, and armouring. My GI Joe had steel swords, spear & arrow heads, and functional bows made from coat hanger wire when I was 10 or 11... And that step-father wasn't prepping, but planning on being a warlord.

Not real good at woodworking though. More a wood butcher. And rough carpentry. Very rough. Want be be able to build about anything, but I'm a lousy programmer. Been a pretty good maintenance mechanic & technician, but not really artistic, either.

I'm not the best woodworker either because I've never had a mentor but there is YouTube these days which I use a lot learning the new hobby of fly tying.
Lapidary? Man, I got into that during our RV travels to RV resorts that had those facilities.
Made over a dozen knife handles from rocks in the two years we stayed at a RV resort in the Sonoran desert for the last two winters. This Jan and Feb made these from rocks:

 

[chuter]

EMP = the only way to stop AI after it gets out of control.