Survivalism expert Jim Rawles discussed the mindset of preparedness in an uncertain world, and the wild cards to prepare for including solar flares, EMP attacks, & global economic collapse. "I try to encourage people to get squared away on what I refer to as 'beans, bullets, and Band-aids,' essentially everything people would need for a major disaster," he said, noting that normal commerce could be disrupted in number of scenarios.
Among the most important items for people to have are good quality water filters (such as Katadyn or British Berkefeld), as you may need to collect water from open sources, he detailed. A first-aid kit, wind-up radio, canned & dried foods, firearms, cash, and alternative communication devices like a CB radio are among the additional items he mentioned. Rawles stressed that training is even more important than the supplies. For instance, if you don't know how to use a gun or perform first-aid, the items are useless.
The power grid in the United States is particularly vulnerable to an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attack or an X-Flare from the sun (like the Carrington Event of 1859). Such occurrences could knock out radio, telecommunications, GPS, and even cars might not work-- a cascade of events which could "bring us to our knees," Rawles pointed out. He recommended that people move to lightly populated farming regions, if they are able to. Interestingly, he noted there were two very different groups currently interested in survivalism, conservative Christians and left-of-center environmentalists, but within his website forum they were finding common ground to explore.
Biography:
Jim Rawles has been an enthusiastic survivalist since his teenage years. He is now a survivalist author and lecturer and the editor of www.SurvivalBlog.com. He is a former U.S. Army intelligence officer who held a Top Secret security clearance (with Special Background Investigation) and access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI).
Wikipedia
James Wesley Rawles (born 1960) is an American author, best known for his survivalist fiction novels, which have become New York Times best-sellers. Rawles is a former U.S. Army officer and is also a blogger, and survival retreat consultant. A conservative Christian, Rawles is the editor of SurvivalBlog.com, a blog on survival and preparedness topics. Rawles is the author of the survivalist novels Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse, Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse, and Founders: A Novel of the Coming Collapse, as well as the national bestseller nonfiction book How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times.
Survivalism is a movement of individuals or groups (called survivalists or preppers) who are actively preparing for emergencies as well as possible disruptions in social or political order, on scales ranging from local to international. Survivalists often have emergency medical and self-defence training, stockpile food and water, prepare for self-sufficiency, and build structures that will help them survive or "disappear" (e.g. a survival retreat or underground shelter).
Anticipated disruptions include the following:
Clusters of natural disasters, patterns of apocalyptic planetary crises, or Earth Changes (tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, blizzards, solar storms, severe thunderstorms).
A disaster caused by the activities of humankind (chemical spills, release of radioactive materials, nuclear or conventional war, oppressive governments).
The general collapse of society caused by the shortage or unavailability of resources such as electricity, fuel, food, or water.
Financial disruption or economic collapse (caused by monetary manipulation, hyperinflation, deflation, or depression).
A global pandemic.
Widespread chaos or some other unexplained apocalyptic event.
The third wave of Survivalism began after the September 11, 2001 attacks and subsequent bombings in Bali, Madrid, and London. This resurgence of interest in survivalism appears to be as strong as the first wave in the 1970s. The fear of war, avian influenza, energy shortages, environmental disasters and global climate change, coupled with economic uncertainty, and the apparent vulnerability of humanity after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, has once again made survivalism popular. Preparedness is once more a paramount concern
to many people who seek to stockpile supplies, gain useful skills, and develop contacts with like-minded people to learn as much as possible.
How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times James Wesley Rawles
3 years ago