Germans told to 'stockpile food and water' in civil defence plan

I wonder how well paint balls filled with bacon grease would work ?

 

Problem I see with most discussions about this is that the vast majority of people wouldn't even be able to cook the things they put away in the event of a major outage. Even a short term electrical outage would leave many people unable to cook. The 70'-80's saw a huge switch to electrical ranges across this country. Not sure if Germany followed that trend or not. Can't think of an apartment I've ever lived in that had a gas stove. Nor have the last three houses I've lived in. Will be adding gas for a range this fall when I switch to a gas water heater and run gas to the garage for heat. How many people are even considering this let alone taking action to mitigate? Any outage past a week or so will see neighborhoods stripped of trees. What happens in a larger outage where the local gas company runs out of stored fuel to maintain gas pressure to neighborhoods? This society is 100% dependent upon the mass delivery & consumption of energy. So all preparation has to have this built into the equation at some point.

 

Most of the germans I know in this country are pretty smart people, and know a thing to two about prepping for disaster .
Any thing coming from their government to encourage prepping, is preaching to the choir.
I do however think that the should be encouraged to be armed and trained as a national defense much like the swiss.
But then again I think that should be the case here as well.

 

Yes you have to be able to function without the grid and without the mass distribution of goods , services and resources. But the number is not 100% because many of us can cook what we store and we are ready for collapse. I would say more like 85% of the people are going to NOT be able to function in a grid down scenario. Im not one of them.

 

To me the grid and what comes with it are conveniences...not crutches.

That said, I think people in general are a bit more prepared (in spite of themselves) than many preppers like to think.

Anyone here ever live in apartments or barracks? How many of you or your neighbors DIDN'T have some kind of small grill or hibachi? Granted, a lot of dummies will attempt to use them indoors and kill themselves...but that's another story.

How many people own travel trailers that can run on batteries and propane? Propane/gas/charcoal grills/fire pits? Tents and camping gear, even if it is from Walmart? Swimming pools? Guns

Finally, humans in general have proven to be a resourceful species when they have to be...best not to underestimate your neighbors...bad things can happen to you when you underestimate your potential competitors. Don't underestimate how resourceful, cunning and downright evil they can and will be in the short term...and how adaptable those who survive the short term will probably be.

 

I bought a USA MADE stove from Lowes , called premier



I plumed in for LPG & have used this one & a spare unit outside (fish & stinky cooking) using a 100# bottle a year .
NO power is require to have the stove or oven work . If your Amish or something along those lines , they still make them for those folks . I have spoke with the techs there & tuned up ours so the settings are SPOT on . Best buy I ever made in power reduction . BEST !!
Sloth

 

I JUST DEBATE THE 100 % in Bytes post. The rest is spot on. My guess is only 15% different. My guess is about 75 to 85% will fall to their knees and cry. many will die, many will try and run to the government etc. etc. etc. However there are a lot of people like my self, the Amish and other preppers, farmers, fishermen and hunters who will survive and some will even thrive. Millions will make it many more millions will not. There are over 300 million people in the US. 10% is 30 million . 1% is 3 million people. so in my scenario millions of people are going to survive. most likely north of 15% .

 

If there is one thing that humans tend to do....and that is to adapt, and learn from others....in the event of a grid down, many will learn to adapt to the new circumstances. People who fail to adapt will have some challenges, and a lower probability of survival. I think the estimates of some here are unduly pessimistic.

 

I have plenty of trees and a wood cook stove I use every winter.
I have modified it, so that I can if need be use propane on the stove for cooking .
I have a regular propane stove and large propane tanks I normally use during the summer months.
Many of my neighbors too have wood heat ,but rarely use it . seems to me that having a good supply of fire wood might be a good barter item.

 

The 100% is a generalization about our society as a whole. There are plenty of people that live outside that society right now. But they still rely heavily on items that it produces. Which of us is literally 100% self sufficient? You get nothing from the energy sector? You heat your home, cook your food, power your life 100% off the grid? You provide your own fuel to travel? You never shop in a store? You never have items delivered to you? What percentage of your electronic items do you build from scratch? What percentage of your cloth do you make? Damn near everything we do everyday relies heavily on the energy sector. It's just a fact of the society in which we are all a part. Now there are certainly those amongst us that will surely survive and I believe even thrive. Society as we know it though? Not so much. Is that a good or bad thing? Depends on your outlook.

In the event of a major long term grid down scenario, I foresee a 90% (give or take a few %) die off within the first year or so. Many will make it out of the country. Many will survive. Many will thrive. I'd even venture to say that people that frequent sites like this one have a higher than average chance of being those that do. I'd expect many 10's of millions to survive long term.

I suppose I should clarify that I didn't intend to imply that our 'reliance' on the energy sector means any of us would necessarily die the instant it shuts down. The idea that I am trying to convey is that the moment society realizes that the loss of energy has become long term things are going to fall completely apart. Lack of clean water & starvation are hard walls to come up against. There will be rioting on a scale that will rival the destruction of cities being carpet bombed in WWII. Millions will die at a rate that seems inconceivable to us now. The land near population centers will be stripped of useful vegetation within weeks. Within months the devastation will stretch for a couple hundred miles or more.

I truly hope I'm long dead before this becomes a reality! It's going to be horrific. Oddly enough, this is what I foresee for the westernized world only. There are plenty of places around the world that will surely continue on as if nothing has changed. Figuring out where some of those places might be is something to be thinking about now.

 

I agreed with the rest of your post. You said 100% of the people . That is not correct. I am not reliant on the world. They are reliant on me. To pay taxes etc. If that ends Im free. We grow enough of our own food right now to cut at any time. We still buy from stores because it is the cheapest way to get things. It can end tomorrow and Ill still get up and make coffee and start my day. And if you have read any of my other posts you would know , the grid means nothing to me. I heat with wood, live on a lake , have animals, long term power covered etc. etc. etc. So no 100% of the people will not perish. here is your quote

" This society is 100% dependent upon the mass delivery & consumption of energy. So all preparation has to have this built into the equation at some point."

We here at the monkey do just what you said in the second half of your statement. We build these preparations into our plans. My entire life is built into these plans. And there millions of Amish who dont need the mass delivery and consumption of energy. Like I said the true number is closer to 85% which is about 280 million people. Maybe even more. I agree with you totally , the end of the world as we know it will be horrific . Ill be forced to watch them die. Millions will die. But my family will not.

One other thing most people dont realize. If Government were to fail?? Money become worthless? this will only be for given time. and during that time paying my taxes, utility bills, will not be important. We wont have a cable bill, an electric bill, no one to collect property taxes etc. etc. This is a form of freedom that I have prepared for. With no Law there is no one to answer to. So you do what you have to do to stay alive, to feed and defend your family.

 

OK Kinfish i see what you are saying. I understand that you, in particular, are quite well prepared to carry on. You obviously have an issue with what I was saying. I'm not being a dick here but I did not say 100% of people as you claim in your second sentence of post 52. Your second paragraph even quotes what I did say. Society isn't people. It's a concept into which people fit, but it isn't just people. It's so much more. I don't even like to consider myself a part of modern society, yet I do understand my reliance on it to continue my life such as it is. I clarified and gave an approximate number of 10% survival. You claim 15%, yet with a hint that my opinion isn't yours and that it's somehow a bad thing? Your vehemence that you don't rely on anything society now provides is weird. Again, I clarified that the lot of us are most likely to survive but that our lives would seriously change. We'd mostly get by. What can't you agree with? The number? A few percentage points doesn't amount to a hill of beans... So what gives? Why the acrimony?

 

Okay so we are misinterpreting each other. W e disagree big deal? And I agree a few percentage points dont mean anything. I interpreted your 100% of society to mean 100% of the people. We both know that is not true. Many are not reliant on mass delivery and consumption of energy. The Amish are the perfect example and there are millions of them. I always take issue with blanket statements like that. Thats like saying all democrats are anti gun or all republicans are globalists and on and on. I agree with all of the rest of your statement just not that part. 100% of society is not dependent on mass delivery and consumption of energy. More like 85 % and that is lot of people. People like me still use those things because it is cheaper. We prepare to NOT HAVE to use them. Every day I get closer to not needing anyone but me to live. The pursuit of independence should not be weird. Why do you see that as weird? I want freedom from the chains society tries to put on me. To live apart from taxes, forced healthcare, rules and confinement. To live free from anyone telling me how to live or what I have to buy. I reject that. My opinion (only my opinion) is that a more accurate statement would have been "just about everyone in this country has "some" reliance on society, the grid and the delivery of goods and energy. end quote. And Byte, There is no vehemence in my tone. Im simply debating a number with you W e both believe most of the country is blind to what is coming. They rely totally on the grid, the government and the trucks running. If those things fail ? we will have chaos.