Re: Coldest winter in 1,000 years

[Guest guest]

" Some scientists are saying the coming winter in Europe and Russia could be the

coldest in 1,000 years. "

It will be interesting to see what happens. If this is true, it means either a

shift in climate as the result of global warming, or else a ntural course of

events in the earth's weather patterns. One thing is for certain, we can use

more ice up north anyway for the polar bears, so I am almost hoping this

happens.

Administrator

[Guest guest]

" The polar bears aren't in as much trouble as the media makes it out. What I am

concerned about is the people of Europe. If it gets cold, that means more energy

use. That energy will mostly come from or through Russia in the form of natural

gas and oil. Russia has shown already that it will play hardball with those

resources. Things could get dicey over there. Also, people might try to get away

from the cold, which means we'd have to slam our border shut tight or face a

wave of Europeans coming in. "

One year's activity is no indicator of what is going to happen over the next

" ice age. "

What I find interesting is the way people MIGHT respond to this news, which

really isn't being reported anywhere anyway, and that is that they will probably

panic if the next winter does get nasty. It's strange, because if you take a

look at Eskimos, or other Native Americans, or even Australian Aboriginals, or

South American indigeonous peoples, they simply compensate for wahtever whether

they are getting, hot, cold, wet, or dry until such time as their habitat is no

longer able to sustain them, which is fairly rare. It's white Europeans and

others in " developed countries " which freak out when the weather changes for a

year.

Transplant any Middle Eastern Persian or Arab over to Arizona, and I am sure

they could figure out how to stay alive. But transplant a New Yorker to Arizona

and they would die of exposure within a week.

Administrator

[Guest guest]

Maybe during 'pioneer times,' when the Europeans first invaded the Americas, the Europeans were more adaptable. Before I moved to the Canadian Prairies, I had read how 'hardy/outdoorsy' the prairie farm folks were, But was really disillusioned when I got here, and found that many seemed to have the luxuries and creature comforts that one would expect of well-to do city folks, AND that some rural folks lack what we considered basic survival skills; things like having warm boots, coats, mitts etc in one's vehicle when traveling even a short distance to the next town in fall/winter spring; and having water along when traveling in any season. Stranger still, some of our rural neighbors were critical/surprised at our personal choices to live more simply, even though that was

similar to how their ancestors lived on the prairies)My husband and I did think that if there were a collapse of technology, the Native Canadians and some recent immigrants would be more likely to survive. rl 'My cat Rusty is a servant of the Living God....'adapted from a poem by SmartFrom: environmental1st2003 <no_reply >To:

FAMSecretSociety Sent: Tue, October 5, 2010 10:33:14 PMSubject: Re: Coldest winter in 1,000 years

"The polar bears aren't in as much trouble as the media makes it out. What I am concerned about is the people of Europe. If it gets cold, that means more energy use. That energy will mostly come from or through Russia in the form of natural gas and oil. Russia has shown already that it will play hardball with those resources. Things could get dicey over there. Also, people might try to get away from the cold, which means we'd have to slam our border shut tight or face a wave of Europeans coming in."

One year's activity is no indicator of what is going to happen over the next "ice age."

What I find interesting is the way people MIGHT respond to this news, which really isn't being reported anywhere anyway, and that is that they will probably panic if the next winter does get nasty. It's strange, because if you take a look at Eskimos, or other Native Americans, or even Australian Aboriginals, or South American indigeonous peoples, they simply compensate for wahtever whether they are getting, hot, cold, wet, or dry until such time as their habitat is no longer able to sustain them, which is fairly rare. It's white Europeans and others in "developed countries" which freak out when the weather changes for a year.

Transplant any Middle Eastern Persian or Arab over to Arizona, and I am sure they could figure out how to stay alive. But transplant a New Yorker to Arizona and they would die of exposure within a week.

Administrator

[Guest guest]

Back in the day they didn't have much technology. They could make just about everything they needed or knew someone who could. Stores were mostly for things that were harder to make or basic materials, plus some luxury items. I mean they could buy raw metal blanks for axe heads and shovels and could finish them on their own (since they didn't have access to iron ore, etc.), blankets, plow blades, etc., as well as some meats, salt, spices, and even candy. They knew how to plant crops and actually make them grow, to hunt and preserve the meat properly as well as raise animals.

Folks don't know how to do these things these days. We are very dependent on our technology. If it goes, people could relearn the old ways, but many would probably die before then since it takes months to grow crops. My real concern is that the lowest of humanity would be the ones to survive because they would be most willing to steal and kill for supplies. The gangs would cut a wide swath through "civilized" society. But enough about that. I also don't think most natives or new immigrants would have it much easier than anyone else. Many of them are also well dependent on technology, including the Inuit (sp) since almost all live in houses, use electricity, use snowmobiles and guns. Probably the hunter/gatherer tribes in the Amazon and parts of Africa will have the greatest chance to survive The Amish might if it weren't for the probability they'd get wiped out by marauders.

Anyway, my paternal ancestors ran a country store for over 140 years. They mostly carried the basics, like I mentioned above and would special order items for customers. They'd also buy and trade for local goods, ship them down the river to the big city and buy new goods and take deliveries of special items from the same city. I've found a number of ledgers going back to the late 1800's there. Very interesting to read through them what people were buying and trading.

My husband and I did think that if there were a collapse of technology, the Native Canadians and some recent immigrants would be more likely to survive.

[Guest guest]

" But was really disillusioned when I got here, and found that many seemed to

have the luxuries and creature comforts that one would expect of well-to do city

folks, AND that some rural folks lack what we considered basic survival skills;

things like having warm boots, coats, mitts etc in one's vehicle when traveling

even a short distance to the next town in fall/winter spring; and having water

along when traveling in any season. "

I have a backpack which has just about everything I need to survive in the wild

(except water purification tablets, I need to buy some of those, but I do have

something to boil water in ). If the power went out in the middle of below

zero weather, I have all that I need in that backpack to keep myself warm and

toasty.

Most people, by the way, get their outdoor gear from sports stores. That stuff

is cheap, and meant for people who are going on weekend trips. You have to

special order what you need if you really want to have things that are built to

last and that will keep you warm during coldness.

Administrator

[Guest guest]

" Folks don't know how to do these things these days. "

And that is odd, because you and I and others OUR age grew up in a time when we

still knew people who DID grow up without electricity or significant wealth and

who managed to survive just fine.

My step-grandpa was a good example of thriftiness which allowed him to live high

on the hog at the end of his life, even though he was mostly a blue collar

worker during his working years.

He had a sharp wit about him.

His neighbor was over and bragging about all kinds of metal cabinets with

plastic drawers in them to store all of his nails and scews and nuts and bolts.

My grandfather nodded in all the right places and then took me out to his garage

and pointed to the rafters, where he had nailed the lids of glass jars to them

and then screwed on all the jars to the lids. In them were nuts, bolts, screws,

and nails, all arranged by size and type. He said to me " My storage drawers are

cheaper than his because they came FREE with the food that came in them, and

unlike my neighbor, I don't have to label them because I can see what's in them.

Plus, they contain more items than his little drawars do. "

Another time, his neigbor was complaining because he kept having to throw out

rakes and axes because the rake or the axe head would come off the handle. After

my neighbor left, my step-grandpa said, that reminds me, I have to go soak all

my axe and hatchet handles. And so I watched him lather the axe and hatchet

handles in grease so the water wouldn't get to them, tap the axe and hatchet

heads firmly down on the handles, and then soak them in water so the wood would

expand and keep the heads from flying off. He said " I bought these forty years

ago and haven't had to replace a one of them. After they've soaked a while, I'll

show you how to sharpen the blades. "

It was small thing like that which had saved him money throughout his life, and

he spent that money in his retirement years on fishing poles and trips, and good

food. he wasn't living in a palace, but he lived comfortably.

Administrator

[Guest guest]

renaissanzelady wrote: " ... <snip> ... My husband and I did think that if there were a collapse of technology, the Native Canadians ... <snip> ... would be more likely to survive ... <snip> ... "

Well, considering what most of the rez's look like, I have to agree with that statement.

RavenCo-Administrator

[Guest guest]

renaissanzelady wrote: " ... <snip> ... My husband and I did think that if there were a collapse of technology, the Native Canadians ... <snip> ... would be more likely to survive ... <snip> ... "

Well, considering what most of the rez's look like, I have to agree with that statement.

RavenCo-Administrator