Originally posted by msthurnell
There are lots of scenarios for a year without summer. A volcanic eruption, a nuclear winter, asteroid strike etc. Volcanic eruption is looking likely. As we did not have an airline industry at the time of the last "year without summer" then it did not impact the way it will this time. Our homes are energy hungry now and at least wice as much energy will be required for heating over the whole year and I have seen mains gas and power fail.

The prospect of something like a year without summer is maybe one reason I put in a heat pump rather than solar panels, that, and the prospect of hail damage to solar panels (and because I want to change the roof line of the house). Solar panels are just not going to work in a year without summer and if the weather is bad they may be destroyed.

It's rather difficult to get things right, trying to be green, and trying to cover every world and personal scenario.

I've just tried to spread the risk across all methods of energy usage.

I have bottled gas for cooking, this will still work in case the power fails. I still have a wood burning fireplace as backup heating and over summer I have collected trees cut down on the local golf course. I put a lot more into doing things like this this summer and I do not know why. Maybe instinct.

I'm thinking of getting a small ethanol burning device as well. Has anyone tried on of those?

Certainly home insulation incentives have been being pushed lately and that may be because of fears of some kind of crisis of this kind. Heaps of insulation just sitting in storage here in Australia after our government scheme caused so many fires it was halted.

I'm collecting large bubble, bubble wrap to use on my windows this year. I believe it is quite effective and a whole lot cheaper than double glazing which is simply out of the question. Also collecting extra carpets. If it happens I'll turn my house into a kind of Yurt. The mongolians go quite well in Yurts. Be interesting to know if they have legends of a year without summer. What happened in Tibet the year without summer?

Originally posted by Allen.craftr
Well, to answer your first question you need to stock up on these items: Non-parishable foods, seed for cold weather plants, some sort of gun+ammo, Money, wood, matches, bottled gas, an ammo-less weapon like a dagger and blankets.

P.S. i might of left somethings out. I'm low on time right now.

Originally posted by Waiting2

Originally posted by Allen.craftr
Well, to answer your first question you need to stock up on these items: Non-parishable foods, seed for cold weather plants, some sort of gun+ammo, Money, wood, matches, bottled gas, an ammo-less weapon like a dagger and blankets.

P.S. i might of left somethings out. I'm low on time right now.

I have almost all of those things on your list.

I still need to do some more research about gardening in the winter.

Thanks for your suggestions!

Originally posted by Allen.craftr

I left out these things: a generator, cold weather animals & what they eat (optional), sleeping bags, batteries, battery-powered lamps/flashlights, ect.

Originally posted by SunnyDee

Could be OIL that will travel around the world seven times. And we can just imagine the ramifications on humans.

Originally posted by Waiting2

Originally posted by Anuubis
My question is what happened to winter? It never came here in Idaho.

I think we're all experiencing strange weather. You lost a winter; I received a harsh one when ours are usually mild. Now, my spring is much cooler than normal, by at least 20 degrees.

I don't think the volcano is to blame for that, but I wonder how much the world weather will be affected if the volcano erupts again like it's supposed to.