Duck and Cover: It’s the New Survivalism

The traditional face of survivalism is that of a shaggy loner in camouflage, holed up in a cabin in the wilderness and surrounded by cases of canned goods and ammunition.

It is not that of Barton M. Biggs, the former chief global strategist at Morgan Stanley. Yet in Mr. Biggs’s new book, “Wealth, War and Wisdom,” he says people should “assume the possibility of a breakdown of the civilized infrastructure.”

“Your safe haven must be self-sufficient and capable of growing some kind of food,” Mr. Biggs writes. “It should be well-stocked with seed, fertilizer, canned food, wine, medicine, clothes, etc. Think Swiss Family Robinson. Even in America and Europe there could be moments of riot and rebellion when law and order temporarily completely breaks down.”

Survivalism, it seems, is not just for survivalists anymore.

Faced with a confluence of diverse threats — a tanking economy, a housing crisis, looming environmental disasters, and a sharp spike in oil prices — people who do not consider themselves extremists are starting to discuss doomsday measures once associated with the social fringes.

They stockpile or grow food in case of a supply breakdown, or buy precious metals in case of economic collapse. Some try to take their houses off the electricity grid, or plan safe houses far away. The point is not to drop out of society, but to be prepared in case the future turns out like something out of “An Inconvenient Truth,” if not “Mad Max.”

How interesting, the prepare for the worst crowd seems to be gaining momentum..and hitting the main stream media an awful lot lately. Perhaps a few folks who still have some semblance of a conscience are thinking its time for a subtle warning to the masses....

Imagine My Surprise......

to open an Email and find I am apparently part of a "movement" ...I had no idea....

Energy fears looming, new survivalists prepare

Convinced the planet's oil supply is dwindling and the world's economies are heading for a crash, some people around the country are moving onto homesteads, learning to live off their land, conserving fuel and, in some cases, stocking up on guns they expect to use to defend themselves and their supplies from desperate crowds of people who didn't prepare.

The exact number of people taking such steps is impossible to determine, but anecdotal evidence suggests that the movement has been gaining momentum in the last few years.

These energy survivalists are not leading some sort of green revolution meant to save the planet. Many of them believe it is too late for that, seeing signs in soaring fuel and food prices and a faltering U.S. economy, and are largely focused on saving themselves.

Some are doing it quietly, giving few details of their preparations _ afraid that revealing such information as the location of their supplies will endanger themselves and their loved ones. They envision a future in which the nation's cities will be filled with hungry, desperate refugees forced to go looking for food, shelter and water.

The Start of a New Way of Life

The previous post was written the day before we left NY...but I had no time to publish it amid the insanity. It was indeed insanity, packing up three separate households, moving the few possessions we decided to keep into storage, then loading our purchased for the trip motor home with...get ready for this folks....my sister, myself, six children, ten dogs...my three Great Danes and one smaller mixed breed, and my sister's six Great Danes, my four cats, a pair of cockatiels left in our possession when my mother passed, and my son's turtle. Not to mention a large assortment of school books, clothing for everyone, and food for people and animals, and assorted other items. We were loaded to the gills. Two more family members followed in a car, just as loaded, with my brother's two Greyhounds and a large trunk strapped to the roof. Well, we made it anyway, but what a trip it was.

We landed five days later in our new desert home, and it is beautiful. No more snow and we all had a great tan by the end of February. The views are incredible no matter in which direction one looks. My view as I have my morning coffee is of a stunning mountain range in the distance that turns pink in the light of the sunrise. Quite a change from the view had in NY, the row of cookie cutter houses across the street, the side of my neighbors house, or our little tiny grassy yard.

Of course, our land here is completely undeveloped, so I have been out of touch for a while as we waited to have Internet access installed. No regrets...we all love it here, and judging from the latest headlines about spiraling food prices and rationing all over the world...right here in the US even...$120 a barrel oil prices, and the threatened collapse and multiple bailouts of many large financial institutions, and so many others, it seems we have made our move towards self sufficiency at just the right time.