No more fuel?

[John in Montreal]

Once the apocalypse starts there will be lots of empty houses

 

[bullfrog]

A lot of people in the United States have been convinced they are living a good life that will continue until they leave this world and I’m not talking about going to live with Elon on Mars. Few of those people come here until they get a hint that won’t be the case. Even fewer realize the many lifestyle changes need to occur and skills learned to at least in this country allow one to prosper and enjoy life. Basically people need to be saved from themselves! Lol!!! Bad things have always happened and will always happen. The human race’s one supposed advantage is we can change and adapt but that only happens if enough of the right people on this planet agree to. Best to learn the daily living skills needed to survive and enjoy what you have while you have it in the opinion of a almost 71 year old man. Young people which I was one once seem to still be trying to build something better out of the mess we have allowed to occur and maybe have a chance to do something good, I wish them luck with the world ever changing.

 

[jasper]

No one remembers the 70's when you couldn't buy gas, or had to wait in a long line? I-19 near me was eerily quiet. I couldn't drive back east to my Grandfather's funeral. Although he could have afforded it, he had no running water or bathroom, nor did my parents until the 1960's.

Some of us were convinced by learned professionals and politicians that gasoline supplies would be exhausted long before now. Although not thoroughly convinced, it caused me to use high gas mileage vehicles until my present 12-14mpg van

The 1991 Ford Explorer looked huge to me at the time. It is now dwarfish-looking.

Truman was president when I was born. Coming from a 40 acres and a mule background (we had both), looking back at a childhood that I enjoyed, but would become suicidal having to live that way now, the present "prepper" movement is total folly. No man is an island. My first glimpse of large-scale manufacturing, electrical generation, industrial farming, and other so-called "dirty industries" solidified my belief that collective effort is required to provide an increase in a standard of living and leisure time.

Preparing for short-term emergencies is one thing. Expecting to "prep" for long term living in a total breakdown is ridiculous at best. My opinion is that only through collective efforts is there an excess that allows some to escape a lifetime of what some others consider drudgery.

For over fifty years I’ve enjoyed public lands part-time. The western states were absolutely amazing. I never dreamed it would come to this. I discovered Youtube channel decals on campers a few years back, then later watched some, and the reality I witnessed was much different than the videos.

There are many, many videos now, many dedicated to product reviews of things to make life easier, manufactured elsewhere by people who work long hours toiling away to provide for us in this age of consumerism.

I’ve witnessed full-time living on public lands, talked to many campers and recognize their difficulties, assisted, and understand those that are there due to unforeseen circumstances. Then there are the others.

Look closely at everything you are provided and think about what it took to show up in your hands, and appreciate those that burden to make it happen.

I used to think I had it rough, but now look back and realize it was relatively easy.

In what sometimes seems a short life, I have seen the faces of six generations in my extended family. Only since WWII have those faces looked well-fed and not shown the effects of hard living. Now some do because of lifestyles.

Why wait? If someone believes in extended living through planning, preparation and personal effort after a complete breakdown, just hide away, and rely strictly upon yourself or your selected group for a few months. Pretend the rest of the world just doesn’t exist. As is often stated here, try it before committing. Good luck.

I’ve also noticed defense and personal safety is often step #1. I’m glad that wasn’t part of my childhood. Theft of one cured ham out of four, and a pot of boiled peanuts were the only thefts I witnessed before having to deal with the military.

 

[dreamrunnerjt]

.
I agree, except the part about that 'if'.
I lived and worked all over this particular planet.
We were there for:
* a glacier release flooding major cities, after the volcano flattened everything above-ground for a hundred thousand hectares... during a blizzard
* civil collapse, until the end of the week...
...then, starving and filthy and dehydrated, civility was replaced by brutality...
... the transformation seamless...
... during a blizzard.
.
.
How about:
* "We are all going to do the best we can DURING THE REMAINDER OF THIS COLLAPSE."
.
I turn 71 in a few weeks.
My home is along the east coast of the Pacific.
I lived through multiple house-price super-skyrocketing and crashes.
I saw money for rent at 22% (twenty-two percent) from 'over-worked under-paid' bankers.
.
September, 2022.
these united states of America.
A credit card offer has 32% (thirty-two percent) interest, plus skads of peripheral charges.
And house prices are a roller-coaster.
Based on only tiny fractions of the evidence, politicians and government agents are [redacted] and [redacted] and only care about their [redacted, then 'keister' inserted by alert editor].
.
I saw your 'if', and thought of Oregon.
* Portland and their no-go zones.
* Eugene with [redacted] breaking into vehicles for sleeping.
.
The society crash is now.
.
Accordingly, we live in a traveling home.
We have nothing to disconnect, we can be moving in two minutes.
As we rehearsed, as in:
* dogs loaded
* start the rig to build air
* shift the dogs to their kennels
* put it in gear, and roll.
.
August, 2022.
Three times in three weeks, [redacted] set fire to their squats surrounding our acreage.
Three times, as we rehearsed, the dogs were inside the rig, in their kennels, and we rolled in less than two (2) minutes.
.
We scribbled our Disaster Plan, a flexible inventory and check-list for a couple dozen widely divergent catastrophic events:
* the inevitable tsunami... during a blizzard.
* the inevitable earthquake, breaking dams, flooding sewage treatment plants, zero transportation due to collapsed bridges and over-passes, zero electric, zero fresh drinking water... during a blizzard.
* the inevitable tsunami flattens Portland, three million refugees instantly joining the [redacted] in their tents downtown, the attrition unimaginable...
...the Columbia River blocks a northward trudge, east is desert controlled by generations of farmers/ranchers and Injuns (some over-lap) community...
... south through a flooded Willamette Valley, leveling small communities, eating everything in their wide swath.
At this point, we are in open warfare, everybody is a potential enemy.
During a blizzard.
.
I think stocking fuel, food, water, security, community, is probably less effective during the festivities.
.
I welcome your rebuttal.

I Applaud your dedication to readyness

 

[Catalyst1]

First of all I would like to say Bob is an amazing and genuine person. I have never met him, but I have watched almost all of his videos and seen all the help and information he has tirelessly given.

Bob is a beacon of hope and instruction for many people that have run out of hope and options.

I was recently watching a video from a couple of years ago where Bob explained how being a nomad and being on national land was pretty much the safest place in America. He made a point of saying an exit strategy of turning the key and leaving a bad situation or set of circumstances was paramount to one's safety. That moving to a better place was always a good option and nomads had a distinct advantage in that regard vs. someone grounded on a property.

This is all true and I agree with everything, but...

What happens if fuel is in short supply or God forbid completely unavailable? What happens if this drags on for weeks, months or longer? Don't say it isn't a real possibility, anything could happen in today's America.

The house of cards would come tumbling down and things would become extremely difficult if not impossible in short order. Carrying an extra 10 gallons of gas (if you had the room) isn't going to get you far...

Does anyone have a viable contingency plan?

The nomad lifestyle looks very fragile and insecure when considering this, perhaps it should be talked about more?

We need community. We need to form communities BEFORE some catastrophic event.

 

[Catalyst1]

One of the survival strategies that has always worked for humans is to be with a group so that resources can be harvested (as in hunting and farming) and then shared with others in the group, or barter goods with other groups, and accumulated assets can be protected.

Also, it is good to get educated now about natural and locally available sources of food.

 

[Catalyst1]

I Applaud your dedication to readyness

Um, I live in Portland and think it is highly unlikely that a tsunami will reach the Willamette Valley. The earthquake will do some damage, but the tsunami is largely a threat to those on the coast. I also lived through a major earthquake that shut the normal utilities down for several days. We were OK. Not comfortable, but OK. The people who think they will solve all their problems with a gun are much more scary than natural disasters.

 

[Sofisintown]

Does anyone have a viable contingency plan?
The nomad lifestyle looks very fragile and insecure when considering this, perhaps it should be talked about more?

If, if...
Get a bicycle for shtf situations, an carry on. You are not going to be the only gassless one.
Life is weird, you can't be prepared for ALL eventualities.

 

[LargeMarge]

Um, I live in Portland and think it is highly unlikely...a tsunami will reach the Willamette Valley. The earthquake will do some damage, but the tsunami is largely a threat to those on the coast. I also lived through a major earthquake...

with a gun are much more scary than natural disasters.

.
Several decades of research indicates the long-overdue off-shore earthquake -- Cascadia sub-duction zone -- will generate a significant tsunami, and obviously that tsunami will travel inland along any lowlands and rivers.
Based on the evidence from previous disasters, we anticipate a hundred foot (100'/35m) wall of water... pretty much obliterating anything, and leaving a fetid and festering swamp.
.
Research indicates the primary tsunami will initiate a substantial reversal of water-flow in the Columbia River... through Portland and probably uphill further.
That river water -- a quarter-million cubic-feet a second -- needs to go someplace, and I expect it to seek an easy path laterally.
The average elevation of downtown Portland -- fifty feet (50'), some areas higher, many areas right at sea-level.
.
Nobody has plans for secondary and subsequent tsunami events.
The devastation will be complete.
.
We operate a small organic teaching farm near the outskirts of Eugene, Oregon.
The south Willamette Valley is a swamp, the elevation around us runs from about 30' above sea-level to about 70'asl.
.
I think you make a valid point about 'discomfort' during a disaster.
And I think your trust in starving terrorfied refugees -- everything they knew is gone, no hope for a future, Without Rule Of Law -- remaining moral and decent and peaceful is... commendable.
.
.
re -- 'much more scary'
.
I think prepping for a broad-spectrum of disasters reduces the 'scary' factor.
I think rehearsing our routes and practicing with our equipment eliminates the 'scary' factor.
Based on our experience with our caravan chums, everybody we know is on the opposite end of your 'scary' scale.
We are solid, competent, resilient.
.
Why do you mention 'a gun'?
During a grid-down catastrophe with millions of ruined lives, everything is a weapon:
* pencil
* tree root
* cast-iron skillet.
.
.
An aside:
We work with Oregon disaster preparedness bureaucrats in the capitol of Salem.
Their 'best men' are on the job.
Their BrilliantPlan© for their Rally Point:
* an airport near Bend... on the east side of the Cascade mountain range.
Can you imagine several million refugees...
... starving, dehydrated, injured...
... walking over crashed bridges and over-passes...
... walking up the Cascades, then across the desert...
... during a blizzard.
.
www.oregon.gov/oem/hazardsprep/Pages/Cascadia-Subduction-Zone.aspx
.
And here they are again, blowing more smoke:
www.google.com/amp/s/www.bendsource.com/bend/apocalypse-when/Content%3foid=16113015&media=AMP%2bHTML.
Note their reliance on trucking and railroads for re-supply.
Delusional.

 

[LargeMarge]

...What happens if fuel is in short supply or... unavailable? What happens if this drags on for weeks, months or longer?...

The house of cards would come tumbling down...
Does anyone have a viable contingency plan?

The nomad lifestyle looks very fragile and insecure when considering this, perhaps it should be talked about more?

.
* We engineered our ExpeditionVehicle for maximum resilience.
* We live with and long-term travel with a bunch we call 'our caravan chums'.
* Everybody we know is adept at foraging, crafting nutritious meals from the area around us.
.
.
PS:
This 'house of cards' is tumbling down.
Keyword -- 'is', as in 'right now'.
This is the future we anticipated, no Jetsons and flying cars, no utopia paradise.
.
I wish my forecast could be happy, everybody safe and well-fed.
Unfortunately, all the evidence indicates otherwise.
Our species may be lucky to survive.
Unfortunately, hoping for 'luck' to swing in our favor is not 'a viable contingency plan'.

 

[GotSmart]

I have been hearing Chicken Little screaming my entire life. “The sky is falling “. Every time I look it is another egg.

I am too tired and hurt way too much to start jumping up and down over a possible situation dreamed up by people that make a living dreaming up possible situations.

Where I live there is an abundance of giant warehouses full of whisky. Always fuel and drink.

 

[Happy Camper]

Depending on what I eat, I'll never run out of gas. Although some would consider that a natural disaster.

 

[Catalyst1]

.
Several decades of research indicates the long-overdue off-shore earthquake -- Cascadia sub-duction zone -- will generate a significant tsunami, and obviously that tsunami will travel inland along any lowlands and rivers.
Based on the evidence from previous disasters, we anticipate a hundred foot (100'/35m) wall of water... pretty much obliterating anything, and leaving a fetid and festering swamp.
.
Research indicates the primary tsunami will initiate a substantial reversal of water-flow in the Columbia River... through Portland and probably uphill further.
That river water -- a quarter-million cubic-feet a second -- needs to go someplace, and I expect it to seek an easy path laterally.
The average elevation of downtown Portland -- fifty feet (50'), some areas higher, many areas right at sea-level.
.
Nobody has plans for secondary and subsequent tsunami events.
The devastation will be complete.
.
We operate a small organic teaching farm near the outskirts of Eugene, Oregon.
The south Willamette Valley is a swamp, the elevation around us runs from about 30' above sea-level to about 70'asl.
.
I think you make a valid point about 'discomfort' during a disaster.
And I think your trust in starving terrorfied refugees -- everything they knew is gone, no hope for a future, Without Rule Of Law -- remaining moral and decent and peaceful is... commendable.
.
.
re -- 'much more scary'
.
I think prepping for a broad-spectrum of disasters reduces the 'scary' factor.
I think rehearsing our routes and practicing with our equipment eliminates the 'scary' factor.
Based on our experience with our caravan chums, everybody we know is on the opposite end of your 'scary' scale.
We are solid, competent, resilient.
.
Why do you mention 'a gun'?
During a grid-down catastrophe with millions of ruined lives, everything is a weapon:
* pencil
* tree root
* cast-iron skillet.
.
.
An aside:
We work with Oregon disaster preparedness bureaucrats in the capitol of Salem.
Their 'best men' are on the job.
Their BrilliantPlan© for their Rally Point:
* an airport near Bend... on the east side of the Cascade mountain range.
Can you imagine several million refugees...
... starving, dehydrated, injured...
... walking over crashed bridges and over-passes...
... walking up the Cascades, then across the desert...
... during a blizzard.
.
www.oregon.gov/oem/hazardsprep/Pages/Cascadia-Subduction-Zone.aspx
.
And here they are again, blowing more smoke:
www.google.com/amp/s/www.bendsource.com/bend/apocalypse-when/Content%3foid=16113015&media=AMP%2bHTML.
Note their reliance on trucking and railroads for re-supply.
Delusional.

<giggle>. Yes, the government folks are usually the least helpful when the chips are down. I think some of the "refugees" might have bicycles. But after the major earthquakes, we found most people to be more helpful to each other than they would have been under normal circumstances. If you watch any "prepper" Youtube videos, a lot of them look pretty crazy. One advocating for really stocking up on ammunition, because it will be hard to get. Gosh...can you eat ammunition? Can you run your refrigerator on it? He says this as he sits in front of what must be 20 long guns. Of course it is always so safe to be stockpiling explosive devices.

What we really needed for a short time was potable water. There is a street about 2 blocks from me where someone on the corner has a live spring in the ditch in their front yard. It runs even in summer and the street was finally repaired with concrete, because it had eroded the asphalt so many times. So I guess if we had to, we could collect it, boil and filter it. Everyone will be "camping" for a time after such a devastating earthquake--i.e. catholes in their backyard. Don't know about apartment dwellers. Without electric power, people will be making campfires or barbequeing everything. I just hope it doesn't happen in the dead of winter.

I still don't think that much water will make it that far inland. But being at sea level probably does increase the risk. I live at about 500 feet. Not that close to any major bodies of water. Soil liquefaction is an issue though.

"Problems will not be solved by the same consciousness that created them." Albert Einstein

 

[LargeMarge]

<giggle>. Yes, the government folks are usually the least helpful...

... potable water. There is a street about 2 blocks from me where someone on the corner has a live spring in the ditch in their front yard....we could collect it, boil and filter it. Everyone will be "camping" for a time after such a devastating earthquake--i.e. catholes in their backyard... hope it doesn't happen in the dead of winter.

... Soil liquefaction is an issue...

.
a)
Great minds think alike.
.
b)
A spring in the mountains, yes.
A drinking water source in-town with impromptu ad-hoc cat-holes, YIKES!
.
c)
Winter, plan for it.
Rehearse for a tsunami during a blizzard... with contagious cannibal-slavers.
.
d)
Full-time live-aboard off-shore on a boat with a Mutual Assistance Group (MAG) of well-found boats crewed by experienced boaters, yes.
.
This site offers an extensive inventory of reasons to go off-shore, living richly and safely from the bounty of the sea and shore.
The included National Geographic short video might convince some folks:
www.offthegridnews.com/religion/the-nautical-prepper-interview-with-captain-bill-simpson/

 

[rruff]

What happens if fuel is in short supply or God forbid completely unavailable? What happens if this drags on for weeks, months or longer? Don't say it isn't a real possibility, anything could happen in today's America.

OK, I won't say it... but...

I'm 62, and my odds of dying (on average) in the next year are ~1.5%. I don't worry about stuff in the .0001% range that won't even kill me...

 

[hugemoth]

I was around in the early 70s, living in the Bay Area during the Arab oil embargo. Gas stations would put up red or green flags indicating whether they had fuel to sell or not. Lines several blocks long would quickly form as soon as a green flag went up. We figured out ways to cope. My method was to fill the tank on my Falcon station wagon then park it and siphon it into my Vespa as needed.

 

[Erykka]

I'm actually both, mild prepper and soon to be van life, hopefully both for as long as I got left here. I'm setting up my lil garden and am up to 85% of my food being out of it, dehydrating extra for van travel. Just an acre, in the hills in case I can't drive awhile or something like.... no fuel and need to be parked, haha. Nothing on it but a well, a creek and a garden, but if I do my van right, it will be home when I park. That's about all the worrying taken care of for me, I'd rather be out seeing the world!