GOOD POST! really gets ya thinkin' I think the important thing is, knowing the order of importance of these things firstly. secondly would be knowing who you can trust, and what skills they bring to the table. I think its unwise to expect to be able to make it on our own, so we should all have a group, that has diversified skills, and if you have no skills...get each person learning.
some skills, like first aide, everyone should know, or at least have some basic knowledge. making flour from wheat, farming, hunting/dressing game...etc. It is a little overwhelming to read all this, so I will have to come back at the first of the week, and read more. thank you OP for gettin the wheels turning.

These are all good questions and a great thread...

And it is to this point why I would encourage everyone here to become aquainted with likeminded people in your own area.
We will need people to assemble into small groups with the common goal of survival.
Start right here. Are there people here in your area? If so, you need to start preparing now.
This stuff is coming down the pipe very rapidly. That being said, it may yet be another decade before this happens, but rest assured, it will.
There will be much bloodshed before then.


I'm sorry, I used to try and sound optimistic, but I can't anymore. The current state of affairs looks very, very bleak.
If we can do this properly, we have the chance to forge something even BETTER for future generations, but we must act decisively and with clear conscience. Each person should identify their strong suits and pursue them while networking with likeminded people who can work on the things that help make the whole.

And hey guys, look into that small generator from a lawnmower motor. That way we can keep our computers and eventually figure a way to get back online...
This will be a saving grace. If we can somehow keep our internet connections, we will get a big leg up.
Something past failures weren't able to do because they didn't HAVE instant global communication.
We need to keep the net, at all cost. It will be how we remember the mistakes and avoid them next time.
No violence. Lets try to rid the world of that crap this time around, okay?

That means that we will need people who are adept in spirituality to help lead the groups. But greedy f-ers need not apply.

[edit on 14-2-2009 by Jay-in-AR]

[edit on 14-2-2009 by Jay-in-AR]

One of the best posts/threads I have ever encountered on ATS or anywhere else for that matter. Not only have you raised a very real issue, you have provided answers to those issues as well. NOT a common thing my new friend.

If it does come about I would be honored to be in Sit X with you as a colleague/comrade.

Well done. Fat star and flag! (Downloading, printing AND saving)!

If I can get elemental sulfur I can make black powder and gun cotton. I will need some one that can blow glass for me however for the reaction units. The sulfur can be found around hydrothermal vents and I know where one is about ten miles away.

Steel, if you are talking about something like A106 then there is tons of it already ready to recast. If you are talking about P22 that is hard because we will not have AA's to test the chrome and moly content, that will be an art for a long time. Most of the easy to reach Iron ore has already been dug up so I will not talk about smelting the ore.

Antibiotics, did this in collage. Thousands of fungus that produce antibiotics, it is a mater of finding them, culturing them on a starch culture and them testing them for effectiveness. Should target staff and strep for testing. Once you find an effective fungus then you can culture it and them you have to find a way to separate the antibiotic from the cellular material. This may be ether an acid or base wash and precipitation.

Alcohol for fuel: yeast culture, high glucose sugar and them a fractional distilation unit. Did this in biochem.

My wife has done the bread thing including culturing her own sour dough starter from scratch. I have collected crested wheat seeds and we are going to see what kind of production we can get out of it.

Bread is not the best for culturing fungus, you need to boil the starch/water mixture and then pore it into culture dish that is absolutely clean. For fungus you would then need to keep it at about 42 deg. F. I know that we always get mold on our bread if we leave it to long but that is not a good way to culture fungus.

Great thread, but my only question is : If things do, in the end, degenerate to this degree and we're facing some sort of "Mad Max" scenario, who the hell wants to survive? Maybe all the survivalists who have been planning for this day since the dawn of the cold war will be happy to finally be living in their stone age utopia, but I, for one, will not. I'll be looking for the "EXIT" sign while they'll be turning at the "Ammo: next right -->" sign.

And for the record, for the 1st time in my adult life, I no longer think of these scenarios as impossible. They seem to be coming closer to reality every day. That we've fallen so far, so fast is a real testament to the evil that is currently running the world and to the stupidity and naiveté of those who've let them.

Never thought I'd see the day.

Thank you

This is actually really, really helpful for the book I'm writing.

I'm going to go ahead and let it be known what I believe to be my strong suits, I would hope everyone else do the same. That way we can identify the needs of what would have to go into recreating some similance of society after SHTF.

I'm a land surveyor currently by trade who's work focuses on civil engineering projects. I'm not an engineer myself, but I have a basic understanding of the principles and combined with my interest in the past civilizations engineering techniques, I think my experience in this arena would prove invaluable. Before being a surveyor, I was a trained soldier in the US infantry. Don't need to go into specifics other than I'm proficient in this arena along with Forward Observation training and battlefield first aid. I'm also a life-long hunter (until recently) and an avid fisherman/hiker.

I'm going to start compiling a list, and it begins with the gentleman earlier who spoke of culturing pharmaceuticals and metalsmithing.

Can't argue with the initial post and certainly well put together but for the average Joe or Susie "six-pack" forget it. We as a society have become to accustom to plastic bottles and plastic rap. This NWO coming into serious view will (most likely) not allow for individuals disagreeing with their new system of attempted control. I certainly would not say anything if someone were to prepare in the way suggested.

I've got an important question....is this what it is coming to? Just how likely of a scenario is this?

Originally posted by edgecrusher2199
I've got an important question....is this what it is coming to? Just how likely of a scenario is this?

Personally, I do not think you will wake up tommorrow and find raving hordes outside your door. For the most part, it may be a slow decline. Whether we are already on that path remains to be seen.

Another good side effect of knowing how to do more survival skills with your hands is that you commune more with The Earth. For much too long humans have huddled in their homes, deadening the call of their Mother and all the gifts She gives to Her children. Maybe, in retrospect, that is another reason we are on the top of the slippery slope right now - we are not connected enough to our Mother, and too connected to petty images.


Either way, it is vital to know these skills, even if you just want to dissapear for a few months and live off the land.