Nuclear War/TEOTWAWKI Plans

yep. corrected.

Quote: P90

That's extremely pessimistic. Electricity only came in any scale around the turn of the century, and only in the most developed nations. Technology went all-electric only after WWII.

My mother tells me that when she was a little girl in the late 1930's, there was only one plug in the house. Most of the time it had a lighbulb, but during the day they could plug in a radio. She remembers her mother getting something that could heat the bath water without using the stove. Before that they would heat up kettles and dump them into the tub.



I realize that the population of the world was roughly 2.3 - 2.4 billion people at that time. I just wonder if the electricity vanished, if we would return to that population in a relatively reasonable manner.

Maybe I am too pessimistic. It's difficult to conceive.

Historically the USA has never lost more than 2% of the population (in the civil war). It is difficult to even imagine some scale of disaster that would stop the population growth (roughly over 7K per day).

Everything would go back to animal, wind, and water power.
Printing presses and newspapers. Cross cut saws and ox driven
plows. Communication would be a bitch, though. Steam ships
and steam locomotives and steam cars. Probably steam planes
and blimps.

If electricity vanished --we would really be screwed. That's when I'll call it quits.

Quote: EvenBob

Everything would go back to animal, wind, and water power.
Printing presses and newspapers. Cross cut saws and ox driven
plows. Communication would be a bitch, though. Steam ships
and steam locomotives and steam cars. Probably steam planes
and blimps.

Look at the bright side though. We'd all be eating locally grown veggies again without pesticides, we'd all get to know our neighbors again and help each other rather than being selfish, we'd all be in better shape due to doing real work (not desk work) to feed ourselves, and obesity would plummet. Those who cannot conform would be filtered out so in a few generations, the human race would be healthy and strong again.

Quote: scire

If electricity vanished --we would really be screwed. That's when I'll call it quits.

Again, if electricity "disappears," all matter would disintegrate. It would be "quits" whether you called it or not.

Quote: zippyboy

we'd all get to know our neighbors again and help each other rather than being selfish,

as if.
you really don't believe that do you?
more likely scenario: roving gangs of looters

Quote: WongBo

as if.
you really don't believe that do you?
more likely scenario: roving gangs of looters

Until the stuff to loot ran out, which would a couple weeks.
Then you settle down and get to work. Do you know how
much stuff stores keep on hand? Not much.

BOB; I sense the looters- after the stores are emptied would head out and find who was "growing"/planting and they'd hit the "farms" as soon as it's produce was 'ripe'. That's why I mentioned "bulletproof" storage for a long time until the looters themselves died???. it would resemble a "zombie" movie after the easy food store pickings were gone. "Store first-- plant much much later" .... Firearms might stave off an initial "attack" but eventually the "zombies" would win.

While I'm at it here. I have seen (somewhere online I believe) these elaborate bunkers set up with food+ and somewhat comfortable accomodations. I'm not knocking them but they better have plenty of tranquilizers stored because the paranoia after the initial feeling of having "escaped the worst of TEOTWAWKI" would set in and naw at their minds. This would become the real horror. "What's going on outside" and when am "I" going to get my life back to normal. The more civilized and intelligent one is the more the likelihood of mental anguish in those well made bunkers. Even more so, if in the bunker your sharing, there are many strangers, that is, not all family members.

Were I in such a bunker I would want to know after a period of time--- "when are we going to get out of here" .

You gotta have "HARD BARK" to survive mentally in those bunkers for any lenthy period.

Quote: zippyboy

Look at the bright side though. We'd all be eating locally grown veggies again without pesticides, we'd all get to know our neighbors again and help each other rather than being selfish, we'd all be in better shape due to doing real work (not desk work) to feed ourselves, and obesity would plummet. Those who cannot conform would be filtered out so in a few generations, the human race would be healthy and strong again.

It would be interesting to see if that kind of society could survive without the classes people that used to be at the bottom rung (slaves, serfs, child labor, etc.) Some would be eating fresh veggies, most would be eating very little. And without pesticides, there'd probably be even less. What makes you think people will be LESS selfish and and help each other more when it becomes harder to live? I know all my neighbors very well right now, and we get along great. Sorry that you live in a place where that's not the case, but my town doesn't need a catastrophe to be nice to each other.