The Pocket Guide to Surviving the End of the World
"You might ask, is this guy serious? Well, yes and no. Chances are you won't be the last person living on Earth but it's a fun concept to think about, right?"
Mostly ideas based on a wholly improbable yet amusing concept.
Reasons for the apocalypse: Viral infection, nuclear explosion(s), eradication by artificially intelligent technology, global warming, ice age, aliens, and other threats.
Talk about bomb shelters, fallout shelters, finding other survivors, survival in case of "zombies", surviving cold temperatures, surviving by sea, weapons, rebuilding society, finding food, finding shelter, surviving as a group, surviving underground, transportation, surviving extreme heat, surviving disease, etc.
Organize into easy to read, easy to navigate chapters. Use lots of lists.
Images: explosions, meteors, zombies, riots,
"You're thinking, 'I've seen all the movies, I know what to do in case a meteor hits the Earth or if a viral infection eradicates 99% of the human species.' Well, you may not have thought of everything or realized the inaccuracies of the films based on global eradication of the species. Spielberg isn't a genius you know."
THE BOMB Ideally in nearly every end-of-the-world scenario you would want to have a bomb shelter or a fallout shelter with a fairly large stockpile of food and supplies. However, even with early warning systems in place you may not have time to get yourself and your loved ones down a hatch before disaster strikes. It’s a good idea to have an escape plan set up and do frequent drills.
It’s nearly impossible to prepare for every eventuality so it’s easiest to believe really hard in one singular crackpot theory and stick with it and prepare for just that.
Go to Army Surplus stores and find things on eBay
Weapons: Your personal weapon of choice is your own prerogative. Outlined below are some weapons that might come in handy, along with the pros and cons or each. (handguns, rifles, semi-autos, autos, knives, blunt objects, explosives, etc.) It’s best to prepare early when it comes to weaponry. Chances are the end of the world (if we know about it before hand) will bring about lots of looting and rioting. Other people will likely steal everything before you get to it. Then you are left to buy or barter with the people who have the weapons. So, again, it’s best to stockpile. Also check police stations, pawn shops, and Wal*Mart for weapons. Also have a sub chapter on weapons one could make at home using everyday stuff. Things like bombs and booby-traps. Alsosee STEN guns. Zip guns, potato guns modified for other ammo or other purposes. Vehicles: For the nomadic end-of-world survivor, there are many options to choose from. Each depends on the End Situation. Motorcycles are small, easy to handle, fast, and can be hidden easily. They are however very loud, can’t carry much equipment or fuel SUVs are large and difficult to handle, however, they can be much more protective than other vehicles. They can be covered in armor and weaponry. They can carry a lot of equipments and weapons and food. Snow mobiles Snow plows Airplane Check Army bases in the area. Planes, vehicles, weapons, etc. The US always has a very large stockpile of gasoline. [research this] Supplies: First off, it’s a good idea to make an inventory of your available supplies and resources. Food, water, shelter, etc. are all important to your survival. It might also be necessary to obtain other supplies. Gasmasks, food, books, water
Basic supplies for 1 person to survive 3 days Basic supplies for 1 person to survive 7 days Basic supplies for 1 person to survive 30 days Basic supplies for 1 person to survive 1 year
Scavenging: In the event of an End with moderate to no collateral damage it might be a good idea to venture out and scavenge for things. Check out warehouses, libraries, book stores, and box stores like Wal*Mart and CostCo. It might also be a good idea to make the rounds at all the automobile lots in the area, most importantly Hummer, and take what might be useful (this should be easy since car lots typically have all their keys in one place and labeled). It’s also important that you grab certain spare parts and fluids for the vehicle(s) you take. You never know when you might need to replace something. Wal*Mart will have weapons, ammunition, food items, first aid items, and plenty of things that can be re-purposed (more on this later). CostCo will have food in bulk. Stay away from the frozen and refrigerated foods; focus on cans and boxes because these things are less likely to spoil. Passing the time in a less/un-populated world shouldn’t be difficult, but when you have a lot of downtime it’s a good idea to turn to books. Non-fiction could save your sanity when you have nobody to talk to and books on survival could serve to educate you even more on the subject. Water. It won’t take you long to go through the water bottles you might find in a Wal*Mart or a CostCo, so you might want to plan ahead and start thinking about setting up alternative sources of water. For instance, you could gather water from precipitation. Scavenging gasoline might be difficult, especially in extreme cold conditions. Scavenging for medical supplies and first aid stuff is easy. The places you will want to hit are pharmacies, hospitals, and if all else fails, a veterinary hospital. In cases where extreme heat is a problem, scavenging in a fire station might be helpful. They have fire retardant clothing and other materials. It might also be advisable to consider a fire truck as a possible vehicle. Most of them are equipped with x gallon water tanks. We’ll discuss later on about nomadic travel. Re-purposing: In order to survive on such limited supplies and resources there is a chance you might have to re-purpose what you have into something useful. For instance, children’s books are more or less obsolete at this point and can be used for kindling or insulation from the cold.
Trapping and Hunting:
Could somebody easily set up solar panels or access power from solar panels that are already set up? This might be useful if fuel for generators can’t be found. Especially in extreme cold conditions wherein gasoline has frozen and gas stations have been covered by snow and ice.
SURVIVAL: Cooking – coals, wood, solar, etc.
LOCATIONS: Mountains/woods (tent, cabin, treehouse, a series of underground tunnels), large brick/stone building with no windows, underground (basements, silos, Arboreal: Living in the treetops is a good option if you are plagued by zombies or similar creatures. You can set up a series of planks that go from tree to tree. An excellent place to do this might be in the redwood forests. If your zombies even have slight intelligence or maybe sharp teeth, the redwoods would be quite difficult to take down. Underground: Living underground for an extended period of time can be quite unhealthy. Humans need sunlight and Oxygen and lots of other things in order to live. Luckily you can trick your body into thinking it is actually getting these things. Nomadic: Another option is being nomadic. Assuming you can actually survive on the ground being able to travel from place to place fairly quickly and easily is handy. If your enemies know where you are, don’t be there. Whether you go by foot or by conveyance keep in mind the amount of equipment you will have to carry as well as any weapons you may need for protection.
I could have a Recipes section somewhere in the book with things like Arma-bread-don or Mushroom Cloud Stew.
Documentation: Keep a journal or a log of your life as a survivor. Documenting your travels and activities could be important to other survivors.
Conditions: Extreme heat Extreme cold situations Disease (Face masks, gas masks, etc.) War zone (gunfire, bombings, smoke) Nuclear exposure Possible causes for the End: Nuclear Holocaust: War: Global Warming (Extreme heat conditions only): Global Warming (Melting of the Polar Ice Caps): Ice Age: Disease – Transformative (Zombies): Disease – Lethal: Alien Invasion: Extraterrestrial Object(s) Impact: Dispatch of Natural Resources (water, food, oil, etc.): Human Sterility (engineered or natural):
REFERENCES and RESEARCH: http://sites.dehumanizer.com/zombietypes/ http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/zombiesurvivalguide/ http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/end http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivalism The Art of War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Survival_skills http://www.nickbostrom.com/existential/risks.html http://www.openthefuture.com/2006/12/an_eschatological_taxonomy.html#comments http://waitingforcomics.wordpress.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survival_skills http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallout_%28computer_game%29 http://www.survivaliq.com/survival/introduction.htm http://www.wilderness-survival.net/hazards-1.php
Questions: Is it possible to survive outside after a nuclear attack? How long afterwards can one go outside? Is it possible to survive outside after a chemical spill or a chemical/disease warfare agent is released? MOVIES Apocalypse Now Red Dawn The Postman Residence Evil 1, 2, 3 Terminator 1, 2, 3 The Matrix 1, 2, 3 Mad Max 1, 2, 3 I am Legend Independence Day War of the Worlds The Stand Deep Impact 28 days later 28 weeks later Dawn of the Dead Land of the Dead Tank Girl Blade Runner Day or the Dead 12 Monkeys 1984 Fahrenheit 451 Red Planet Silent Running Mission to Mars Escape from LA AI iRobot Robot Jox L5: First City in Space The Wild Blue Yonder Escape 2000 Quintet Day After Tomorrow Children of Men An Inconvenient Truth Left Behind 2001: A Space Odyssey 2010: The Year We Make Contact Alien: All movies in series Aeon Flux A Quiet Earth Roving Mars: IMAX Space Station: IMAX Cloverfield