National Geographic Channel: Doomsday Preppers
February 2, 2012, Submitted by: Ken Tweet
National Geographic Channel’s new ten-part series DOOMSDAY PREPPERS gets up close and personal with those stockpiling for survival. The series premieres Tuesday, February 7 with back-to-back episodes at 9 p.m. ET/PT
The NGC publicist for the show contacted Modern Survival Blog to kindly let us know about the upcoming series, and they have sent us advanced screenings of several episodes to review. We of course are excited for the opportunity to comment regarding the show and are looking forward to the exposure it will bring to the preparedness way of life.
We will be viewing the advanced screenings this evening and will add our candid opinion of what we see. We’re looking forward to viewing the high quality production, a standard trait of National Geographic, while at the same time we will be curious as to the up-front and underlying messaging within the episodes.
We have lots of questions, including,
Will the episodes exemplify the realistic ‘doomsday’ scenarios that exist today?
Will the preppers in the tv show represent the main-stream-prepper or will they represent those who may be considered extreme, and out on the edge? Or a combination thereof?
Will the preparedness actions taken by the preppers in the tv show reflect the actions that you or I would take?
Will the overall message of the series inspire non-preppers to realistically stop and think about it for themselves?
Will it help or hurt the prepper movement?
We will keep this post highlighted on the blog throughout the NatGeo ‘Doomsday Preppers’ tv series (Tuesday nights) and will be adding to it after each broadcast episode. I highly encourage you to comment with your opinions as this unfolds, and I look forward to a healthy debate!
Check back often!
NatGeo TV Blogs: Doomsday Preppers
National Geographic TV Series, Doomsday Preppers
Update, FEB-3
Each episode apparently consists of several segments, each prepper segment being motivated by a particular ‘doomsday’ scenario. I viewed 3 episodes, 9 segments, and without spoiling it I would say that there are a variety of scenarios (some more realistic than others) and various degrees of apparent over-the-top lifestyles or actions taken to be prepared. Many of the initial episodes appeared to indicate that the preppers were full-time, hard core, and seriously getting ready for the end of the world as we know it. A few of the subsequent episodes exemplified folks who were still very serious about their preparedness while apparently not quite as extreme as some of the other segments. It will be interesting to watch them all.
FEB-7 Episodes
During the initial 2-hour broadcast, there were a total of 6 segments and 6 scenarios of motivation; pole shift, San Andreas earthquake, global oil crisis, electro-magnetic-pulse EMP, financial collapse, and New Madrid fault zone earthquake.
Of these doomsday scenarios, in my opinion the likeliest is financial collapse, although following each scenario segment the narrator promptly dismissed the likelihood as nil to none. I believe he may be particularly wrong regarding financial collapse, but that’s nothing new regarding main-stream reporting.
I was happy to see the variety of scenarios and geographical locations of the chosen preppers, and I looked for new interesting helpful nuggets rather than the negative.
Here’s what I found…
Alternative power systems such as solar or wind generators should be spread around if possible, rather than a design that relies on one central system, because if it should fail, then everything’s ‘down’. In other words, multiple inverters, multiple panel locations, etc.
Cooking with methane gas rather than wood. Wood obviously advertises your location from smoke and smell. Apparently the methane gas that they process, is odorless – counter-intuitive from what you may think.
Many preppers had assembled ‘teams’ of friends and family rather than solely a couple. This is advantageous because no one or two people can do or know everything, just like a typical community or society in general. That’s what makes it work.
For bug-out, have cash and coin on hand. Know about edible plants that are likely growing all around you.
If you live in the city, you better have solid evacuation plans, as it will be difficult to either bug-in or bug-out.
A severe ‘natural’ EMP event, such as the 1859 Carrington event, will likely require a year or more to bring the grid back up. This particular event may be more likely than most people think. We know that it WILL happen again, we just don’t know when of course.
A Faraday cage for protection of electronic devices such as communications radios, or any other, will be essential for protection during an EMP.
Ordinary eggs slathered in mineral oil will preserve them for 9 to 12 months. I did not know that!
Knowing and being proficient in techniques of self-protection may be crucial to your survival during times of chaos.
Living on a farm, even a small farm, is essential for long-term self sufficiency during a collapse. This cannot be emphasized enough. In addition, the skills that go along with a lifestyle of gardening, food preservation, livestock, etc. are equally essential.
Bartering will become the way to obtain goods and services that you do not have, if the economic system has collapsed.
FEB-14 Reader comments:
“I wasn’t going to watch anymore…but now I feel compelled to see if they are promoting an agenda attempting to portray preppers in a light of a bunch of incompetent firearm wielding lunatics.”
“…and hyperinflation will not happen because the “experts” say that we are going to have a “modest” growth of 2%.”
“That firefighter is trying, but he needs to escape from NYC.”
“Have seen those people before in Pasadena, and during a food crisis they better have a force field around that little oasis or some Star Trek weaponry because they are going to be overrun by hungry people like millions of army ants…”
“I liked the multiple uses of booze. (barter)”
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There is a real danger here and it has to do with the time perception and 2012. If nothing happens by December 31, 2012, then starting in January of 2013 the entire survival industry is going to take a huge hit. If National Geographic portrays this as some 2012 hype, then it is an extreme loss to everyone. We have gone through other times in which nothing has happened after a day has passed. December 31, 1999. September 12, 2001. Just two to mention. It is the crying wolf that is the problem. If N.G. portrays this as an issue of everything falling apart because of the economy, the lack of resources, war, the whole problems of the world that are much worse now than anytime before, without the 2012 doomsday, then this is positive.
I personally believe that we are all in deep trouble in the future, so does most of everyone that visits this site, BUT. Events do not always happen within the predicted time frame, and IF nothing does happen by the end of 2012 the survival industry is what is in trouble. While there will be those that will continue to see what is happening and continue to prepare, the hardcores. There are many people right now that just will drop off the radar screen if nothing happens in 2012. If something does happen, then more people will be ready.
Suppose nothing happens until 2014 or later. You will have a very small number of people that take this site, survival books, or anything else having to do with preparation seriously. The real catastrophe if nothing occurs in 2012 will be the bankruptcy of the survival movement. If a non-Democrat persident is elected, especially one that is firearms friendly, you will also see a drastic cut in the fear factor and the survival necessities that people feel they need.
The National Geographic series could be quite productive or it could be one of the worst precursors for the survival movement in the future that there is. People want to laugh at people that get ready, like we are court jesters, or right wing nut jobs that go hide in some forest somewhere, or as recluse individuals that have no lives and are waiting for the end of the world, like some of these people that live in old houses with a hoarde of cats or some other number of animals. Friendless outcasts in other words. There still lurks the possibility of nothing happening for a number of years because of all sorts of band aids to the economy and other issues. The survival sites and those that depend on selling these survival related items are the ones at most extreme risk from the backlash of programs like this IF NOTHING DOES HAPPEN FOR AWHILE.
That is an intersting point to make about the back lash to the sites selling survival supplies/gear/etc.
On the up side of that – maybe those sites will have to finally price their items so that the fixed/limited income, under/unemployed, elderly and young just getting started can actually afford to purchase something from them.
Buying for one is, well, one thing.
Buying for a group? Especially if that group isn’t on board? That is entirely another thing.
Well, so much for low profile…
Prepping for me came as a result of witnessing what large numbers of less-than-bright people will do if they get scared. (Beware of stupid people in large groups)
Prepping for me came as a result of being cold while living off grid and being out of firewood.
Prepping for me came as a result of having no money in the bank and having to shoot my dinner. (hunger is a great motivator to shoot well and true)
Prepping is a personal decision and it appears to be fashionable at the present time. I’m not going to watch the show, selective editing can skew any topic. Besides, I work on the swing shift.
People who blog this site have either lived the lifestyle or they thought about it alot. Reading the ideas and experiences of others is much more useful because it requires thinking or remembering hardships from long ago.( No sh-t, There I was…) That is why this blog is more fun than a TV program.
@Ted.
Beware of large groups of people in general. It only takes two people to cause conflict. Three is worse. Hundreds or thousands become a target.
Hopefully with their wish to receive MSB’s feedback, it won’t be a documentary produced by those who enlist the drama queens of reality tv shows. For the most part, preppers are not anything special, just ordinary people wishing to protect themselves and their family. I cannot see much of an audience wanting to see what preppers do. But in our sick society today, I can see lots of those who would love to “point & laugh” at a bunch of loonies who blow money believing the end is near.
The show is already in the can. I believe they’re simply spreading the word and probably contacting all the related blogs. Today’s American TV interest in reality shows, one motivator for the show could be as you described. In any event, it will be interesting to watch and pick apart or comment on the examples that they show. Each episode will include 3 different scenarios. I just watched 3 episodes last night and will update the post shortly.
@ chiller. Point and laugh, I could not say it any better. You hit the nail on the exact center point. Just like when you go to the circus to laugh at the freaks, this is exactly what so many of these shows want and get their audience from, showing the so called “misfits” of society with an entertaining tone. You are so wise, just ordinary people trying to make it through what they believe could be bad times coming. The general audience that could care less about preparation is more interested in seeing how certain segments of the population live and think. They will portray us as the same as those that hoard newspaper clippings, or have 200 cats, or collectors of junk up to their ceilings, in other words, whack jobs. Chiller, old saying though, he who laughs last, certainly laughs the longest and with the most satisfaction. Again, you have much wisdom in seeing the truth of matters.
Thank you BI for the kind words. Being allergic to cats, if a volcano or earthquake or asteroid spewed felines… I would sneeze myself to death. Now
THAT would make for good tv!
I question the thought processes involved in wanting to be highlighted on a show/series such as this. I no longer get the National Geographic channel so sadly I won’t be watching this time around. But, the last time they aired Doomsday Preppers, I was somewhat shocked at how much information these people were ready and willing to divulge. Amongst our core group we share information readily and continually update each other on progress as well as unresolved issue that have come up but I don’t know if I’d want aerial photos of my neighborhood and backyard showing my survival fish pond and doomsday garden or the entrance to my underground bunker and weapons cache (from the first showing I did see). Maybe it’s just me….some things should remain private. The prime directive for any prepper or prepper group should be OPSEC. The lives of your family and friends could depend on it.
@ Zoomie. You know what is so sad are these people that get so enthused about the preparation work they do and want to share it with others, and in reality there is still a tiny population of people that will ever prepare. These people in the audience not only laugh at preppers because they honestly feel the world will continue beyond the sun going nova, they enjoy seeing that they are not “so stupid” to believe in such “nonsense”. It gives the audience amusement and something to talk about all the cockamamie characters around their country.
The perception of preppers is ugly, and the way certain preppers want to attempt to help others that are not going to listen are even sadder and uglier. You know what the nicer of the population will do when you try to influence them to prepare for the future, they will PATRONIZE the person and tell them what they want to hear. Others will ridicule the prepper and call them all sorts of names. This is the reality and what they should do a show on, the total phoniness of people.
It sickens me to see people that get so electrified and up about helping others get ready out the goodness of their souls, only to become a BIG FAT JOKE. Then they have compromised their own safety by showing everyone what they have, JUST LIKE WHAT YOU SAID. This is why when I read this, I knew what the results of this was going to be, let’s laugh at the crazy people that THINK 2012 is the end of the world. Then IF 2012 is just like all the other years, the laughter at those preppers will be concentrated like never before. The survival industry will take the biggest hit ever.
You, I, and others on this site of course see what is happening, others just don’t. The crying wolf syndrome. Shows like this, preppers MIGHT think are ways of getting others to prep, maybe a tiny number. Almost everyone else, IT’S ENTERTAINMENT TIME, like these shows that Anderson Cooper and other talk shows like Jerry Springer hosts, let’s all laugh at the wackos and have the wackos throw chairs at each other, while the audience chants, Jerry, Jerry….. South Park did a skit on talk shows and the backstage garbage that goes on, and this National Geographic is real close to paralleling these talk shows in a more refined way. I know this before even seeing the show on Tuesday. Presenting individuals to laugh at, sells, and increases TV ratings.
I have watched two episodes of “Doomsday Preppers” and enjoyed it as I am a prepper too, BUT…
I would not want to give out any information so that people around me know the extent of my preps. I do not want those living around me to know – I want them to think that we are in the same boat as they are. These preppers simply complicated their situation by letting those around them know what they have – and believe me, people that live around them will recognize them! The one prepper even had night delivery from Honeyville for stealth yet it was plastered all over TV! OOPS.
They are focusing on the weapons and while I believe strongly in my 2nd Amendment rights and will exercise them to protect my family and preps, they are making it appear as though preppers are gun fanatics. They show weapons caches of some of the preppers and I expect more demonization of the prepper movement due to this. Sometimes stealth seems like a more appropriate road to travel. They are already attacking our rights constantly and I believe this will really make them come after all of us. They even showed young teens shooting, and while this is normal to US, to the general and quite sissyfied and stupid public, this will shock and anger many! My youngest got her first 22 when she was 10 – so we all believe in protection and guidance, but I would not have put that out there on the airwaves for the whole to see.
Just my thoughts – I want to get the word out to help other get prepared but there are ways to do and not be quite so open!
In the past several weeks on my radio show, Twisted Radio, I have felt the need to really get people to think about security (OpSec) etc. Know it is coming and we must be ready!
Erin
To all, While there are some of you who are trashing NatGeo over this (which may or may not be deserved – especially for those not having seen the full series yet), my intention is to keep the conversation civil, and to discuss the methods used by the preppers in the show based on their particular ‘doomsday’ scenario.
All comments that are purposed towards simply bashing, will be immediately trashed. (Read the comment policy)
@BI, Regarding your un-posted comment, Yes, I will censor (moderate) comments that violate the comment policy. Regardless of whether or not the show paints ALL preppers in a bad light (hopefully a few will be ‘normal’), there is absolutely nothing that I can do about it. So, instead of tolerating bashing for the sake of bashing, I am going to pass-through and discuss comments that are sensible, intellectually honest, and those that critique the segments in a way that will hopefully be helpful in some way. If they portray ALL preppers as nutjobs, yes, that will be too bad – but I’m not going to let it ruin my day.
Lets make this worthwhile for others…
I for one have my DVR set and plan to watch it. Personally I wouold not want to be on National TV as I do not even let my neighbors know that I prep for fear of losing it if The SHTF. BUT I am extremely interested in watching all doomsday scenarios. Always have been intrigued by shows like that. Whether it is The day after tomorrow type fiction or National geographic real life. Seriously the movie writers have a great imagination and what could happen to us really could be something simple as a economic shut down or something really out there like an asteroid beyond our imagination.. Every bit of information can be utilized and put into perspective and then adapted to real world. Thanks Ken for the reviews of the show… I look forward to watching it…
I exactly agree with the intrigue. We are all different human beings, and to observe what others do is often helpful in some way (especially the simple reaffirmation that we are all different and often do things differently from each other – which is a good thing or this world would be awful boring!)
Preparing for a disaster (Bio, Nuclear, Rad), man made or nature comes naturally to those who were in the military during the Cold Was years.
To do so now as a civilian raises eyebrows of relative and neighbors. Because they have never had to live with no support group other than their buddies, and other military families.
I taught new medics in wars kills classes, First Aid, EMT classes. By the time we (with the help of other NCOs)graduated each individual they were ready.
Working on the top floor of the hospital in the O.B. Ward us and our patients were very vulnerable to injury in case of a tornado, high winds, etc. Consequently, we had to prepare to quickly move 20 infants, 20 mothers, our staff and all appropriate medical supplies into the hospital basement so we could continue caring for those patients and also continue delivering babies.
It took a lot of planning but me and my medics did it – to the amazement or our officer in charge of the O.B. Ward and the Hospital Chief Nurse.
After retiring from the service many of us still retained those “Prepping Skills” – but now we plan on protecting our own, our property and our supplies. Believe me when SHTF – and I honestly believe it will some day -
ex-military will have the survival skills to be there when it is all over.
Best thing besides family members that you can TRUST are ex-military. We will fight for each other because for us there is no one else to TRUST – but God himself.
Prep and pray.
Another thought; a hundred years ago families lived from harvest to harvest. The grandparents always had six to nine months food canned and stored away somewhere on the property.
Getting from harvest to harvest took planning and skill. That is what we should be doing today.
Think about what it would be like living in the late 1800s. Sanitary conditions, medicine, travel, human waste disposal, garbage disposal,
pest control (rats, mice, cockroaches, flies, mosquitoes, insects in general).
Being a good cook over an open fire.
Growing enough hay or grain to satisfy your family and your livestock needs for one full year – because it will be that long before the harvest comes again.
Growing your own food, (use only heritage seeds)(vegetables, chickens,hogs,
beef, sheep, goats, rabbits, turkeys and having a milk cow). Milking cows, storing milk, making cheese, butter, etc.
Being your vet. Being able to shoe a horse. Repair a saddle. Skilled in using a rope to capture beef cattle?
Knowing where to go fishing (salt water and fresh) whatever is in your area.
Clams, muscles, cray fish, (crawdads), lobster – can you find them?
Being able to hunt proficiently – not wasting bullets. Being proficient in butchering animals (wild or domesticated). Smoking the meat and jerking the meat because there is no refrigeration. Tanning hides.
Sheering sheep, making thread, making cloth all skills are your way to survival.
When the economy goes to pot these skills will feed your family and survive.
I gave you a lot to think about. That is keeping me busy also.
Very well said! When you really think about it, it was a very challenging life not all that long ago. People have no idea…
@1984MSGT; Well said. I would like to see the show for the potential learning involved, although I too would not want my personal info all over national satellite TV and cable. I also don’t look at the time frame as to why I prep, although I think IT will be soon, but not BECAUSE of 2012. I started prepping for Y2K and it went bust, but I used it as a learning experience to prep better. It (Y2K) just helped me be more aware of WHY I need to prep to begin with. Good thoughts MSGT. Survive well. Enjoy.
Agreed. During the past year on perhaps 3 or 4 different occasions I received inquiries from various producers (of other productions) who were looking for preppers to participate in their production. I’ll bet they have a bit of trouble finding people to participate – most folks wish to keep these things to themselves. Additionally, none of the 3 episodes that NatGeo sent me included a 2012 scenario as the reason they were prepping.
@ Ken and TripodXL. People that prepare do so usually because of having sense and seeing what is going on. 2012 is going to be used as a way of condemning the entire survival movement if nothing does happen by December 31, 2012. There are plenty of people that have jumped on the bandwagon because of 2012 fear and are buying survival food and supplies because of this. I can just see it if nothing does happen how the mass media will say we all told you so. This will discourage magnitudes of people that are on the fringe of preparation for their families.
I will personally continue to prepare no matter what year it is, because it is common horse sense to. However if nothing happens, then the survival industries depending on sales of survival goods are going to be like a Roman candle, skyrocket and bright in 2012, then in 2013 and beyond it will be like a burned out Roman candle fizzling at first and going cold. This bothers me because the people that sell survival goods are going to go bankrupt because many of them with have much overstocked material that won’t sell afterwards. We can all get some good deals, but I just hate to see survival oriented businesses failing.
There is also the issue of less people being prepared after 2013 because they have taken the motto of buying into fun rather than fear. The less people prepared the harder it will be for all of us because WHEN something happens there will be a higher density of desperate people. A real problem. Unless you live in total isolation, the more of your neighbors that are ready the better for everybody. 2012 hype is real and can be an extreme liability if nothing does happen this year as people are tired of the crying wolf syndrome. This is the reality I feel and see in the way human nature behaves.
I disagree with your premise and constant drumming that most preppers are prepping due to ’2012′, and the survival preparedness movement will be dead thereafter. The vast majority of preppers today are mostly concerned about our imploding world economic system. There are certainly a number of preppers who are doing so due to their own belief or interpretation of the Mayan ‘end of the age’ 2012 calendar, but I suspect that its somewhat of a minority. There are many valid reasons to be prepared and there are many disaster scenarios by which we could be in danger, each with their own probability of occurrence. The probability of the world sinking into a Greater Depression is definitely the most likely in my own personal opinion. About a year ago I did a survey on the site, and the-economy was the main motivating factor for prepping by those who responded to the poll.
The people that sell survival gear and supplies will not go bust at the end of 2012 or at any time beyond that, because even if a world shaking event doesn’t happen, it still could happen at any future time from the present to beyond our current lifetimes and there is also the possibility that normal catastrophic events such as weather, floods or Earthquakes may occur no matter where you currently reside. So being prepared makes sense no matter what others may think about the groups that continue to get ready.
Will these episodes be streamed by anybody? I’m asleep by 9pm.
I doubt it, given copyright and all… That’s one reason I enjoy a DVR.
Like what 1984MSGT has said is my whole point on why the general public will completely reject any type of preparation for anything, they don’t want to give up their mega cushy life styles. To even think that they could be thrust back into a post World War 1 level of technology scares them deeply, plus those that feel it is coming only deepens this fear. Others just want to stick their heads in the sand and never admit to ever anything happening. Shows that give information on ideas that other preparation people have is produtive. IF a show (I am not saying this show yet because I have not seen it yet) simply uses people that don’t fit into the norm of society as some exhibit to be gawked at is just plain wrong. Too many talk shows do this now. I feel that people that prepare are some of the most respected and common sense people that there are around.
In my opinion most people of society are just too far removed from the 1900′s type level of living to even consider living anyway other than they are living now. The Jetsons analogy I use often, but if you watch this cartoon, the characters just cannot function without their gadgets. This is what is happening now to the modern common person, and unfortunately anyone that tells them they could lose this just has to be a nutso. This is why too many in the media want to demonize the survival movement, they want to make these wonderful people that are just trying to have a tomorrow for their families into crazies. Besides this the media has to have someone to laugh at. This of course is ONLY my opinion.
@ Ken. I am certainly not talking about the survival industry being dead, I know though that IF I was selling survival goods I certainly would not be looking past 2012 for the sales to continue in an upward swing. Thankfully there are people that will continue to prepare, but there will also be a sharp drop in those that have become tired of the crying wolf. I have seen this firsthand after 9/11. It is human nature to be fickle. Your circle of friends are thankfully committed and dedicated. The general population is not. There are a lot of people that are jumping on the bandwagon of preparation because of 2012 and all the hype of this.
I suggest you watch a King of the Hill episode in which everyone thought the end of the world was coming because of computer problems back on December 31, 1999. This cartoon is exactly how people react before an event and jump off the bandwagon when the event passes without incident. Just look at old Harold and those that followed him once and now don’t. This may be cynical, but it is realism. It makes me feel bad because people that do prepare try so hard and go without and get such a bad rap.
We will agree to disagree then. Based on the many sites that I browse daily, the news and alternative news that I read, and the pulse of the general population, most are concerned about the horrid economic state that we’re in rather than some sort of 2012 pole-shift or other such apocalyptic event…
I am happy that you took an approach that we simply disagree, this is what a good debate is about, giving two ideas and letting others decide and makes a blog like this more fun and interesting for others to look at. My point is that those that are intelligent see what is happening with the world, I sure do but just don’t know when it is going to happen. I am basing my point on the very fickle nature of people and how when there is a let down, such as nothing happening in 2012, many people just like after 9/11 will jump off the bandwagon. Many people see 2012 as not a pole shift but a possible OTHER collapse of society due to war, economics, etc. IF this doesn’t happen, those that are not on board like you, me, and most of the people that visit this site, will go back to their own life. For many 2012 is a focal point of something happening, political, geophysical, or whatever. IF nothing happens in 2012, people in the survival movement will see just how fickle many are.
Oh, by the way I was watching the Weather Channel and there was something on about how the Antarctica is getting colder and the Arctic is warming up. The Antarctica is building up more ice, this means something. I read a long time ago that when the ice built up too much it causes a type of wobble to the crust and the crust can rapidly shift. The crust is nothing but an egg shell and water is quite heavy, and when you have this imbalance on the crust towards the Antarctica, it could shift to a more equilibrium friendly state of balance. Maybe there is something to the 2012 belief, perhaps not. This is just an interesting tidbit I saw that could mean something.
I’ve had a peruse into the listings and it isn’t looking promising for the UK yet. (unless I’ve missed it on the menu) I did see the previous one with the pool, yes, and the night deliveries, so I hope we will get to see it at some point.
At this moment, I can categorically say in all honesty that someone, somewhere will relish taking the piss(having a laugh at their/our expense as preppers). As I’ve just had it aimed at myself, personally by my own siblings, and to a certain extent, my mother. At a family gathering in a pub, my sisters and BIL took great delight in ridiculing what I was doing every so often during the night, and enjoyed the audience they attracted at my supposed idiocy. This is because of what they accidentally saw at our home at Christmas when they were being nosey.
My husband backed me up, but got within a hairs breadth of sorting my BIL out. He and I realised that would have made the situation worse. We came home early.
So yes, this is going to be just ENTERTAINMENT for the masses and I can really feel sorry for those that have gone into this programme naively thinking it will change some minds. The fall-out is horrible.
But at the moment I’m just too upset and angry with my family, and I don’t even care that they’re up to their eyeballs in debt anymore. I’ll just carry on.
You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink… Just carry on and be happy in your own self-reliance!
We believe in educating as many people as possible. Because of the show I have had the opportunity to talk about prepping to those that were not interested in the past. Our neighbors already know what we are doing and they have started preparing also. I would not want to hide in my house when my neighbors are in trouble. Don’t get me wrong those that do not prepare will not be welcome and they know it. We have offered to help those that are mot prepared to prepare for themselves I guess we have been lucky that family members do not make fun of us at least to our faces. I have several family members who have stepped up their prepping or even started after seeing our involvement with the show. The most insults so far have been from inside the prepper community. Maybe that will change after the show airs tonight.
We do not hide what we have because we are not doing anything illegal or wrong. We offer to teach anyone who is willing to learn. We would teach all of our classes for free if people would still attend. Free classes have the perception of no value. Gloria Haswell now Gloria Range. Website with link to classess. http://www.reliancecommunityfarms.com
@Gloria, Thanks for commenting on our site and I will look forward to watching your segment on NatGeo this evening, along with the others. While there may be some within the prepper community (and outside) that may criticize as you have indicated, hopefully it will be constructive rather than destructive. There are so many different attitudes regarding preparedness, and I am looking forward to watching all of the episodes to see the variety of methods, rationale, the extent of the prepping itself, and also to see how the overall mindset of prepping is presented by NatGeo.
Preparing for an disaster that effects your family and community is not a wrong thing to do. Anyone who scoffs and makes fun of us who do are only allowing us to close the door in their faces when the come for assistance.
However, they will not get to that point until a disaster occurs. Remember Noah and his family that survived? Same concept.
Having family who don’t understand your prepping 100% is normal and expected.
Since I have 60% of my pancreas removed because of cancer I’m dependent upon insulin and other meds. I keep 6 month supply on hand. As the result of a prolonged disaster I already realize I’m gonna be one of the first to go as the result of my medical condition. I accept that fact.
However, my prepping is focused upon educating my family and guiding their attention to start prepping themselves. What I have said above has been said to my family.
After a while they start nodding their heads and agreeing. Especially when I explain the super markets will be empty by the fourth day after a disaster.
Focusing their attention to the types of disasters and starting prepping discussions about water, food, firearms, ammunition, winter clothing and heritage seeds, chickens, eggs, pigs, beef, skills on how to cook with a dutch oven, curing hides, hunting, cleaning and butchering animals. Oh, don’t get me wrong – we have city sissies in our family. They will just have to buck up and do it if they want to survive. Otherwise – they know they are participating in something that they will loose their lives – this is no “game”.
Funny how they consider what I say and then ask them do they have those skills? Nope. I lay the responsibility upon their backs – since they are adults. I frankly say so to their face – in a challenging but instructive manner.
We will see what happens.
I don’t believe in the 12-21-2012 anymore than I did Y2K. However, we all prepare for the unknown. We didn’t foresee Mt. St. Helen’s eruption did we?
I just happened to be stationed in Spokane Washington on 18 May 1981. We had to scramble to provide for our families and those on the base. That my friends was an object lesson to me and my wife.
So now we prep for our kids and their survival. They will have enough to get by AND they will be able to protect what they have with gusto. They are getting all my firearms and ammunition and food.
Very well said. A huge mental obstacle for people to overcome is how a region’s grocery store shelves could empty in days, and perhaps not be re-supplied for a long time. People just don’t get that. For their entire lives they have been able to randomly go into any store and buy what they want. They have no clue about the bigger picture of just-in-time delivery, and the rest of the system’s dependencies and risks, which today are greater than ever.
Loved the ideas on the show. Much problems just as I expected with the way it was presented by Nat.Geo. First of all where are the people that prep for any and all events? Maybe later in the series? One sided it seemed as the people on feel that just one event is the ONLY event to worry about. Ken and Lauren are ready for several events, why not have them on? The people are pros that were on tonight, other than the two urban people attempting to survive. I saw people tonight though that feel that they ONLY have to worry about a certain doomsday event and this made them look unreliable as preppers, which is the further thing from the truth.
The odds that National Geographic was giving was absurd in my opinion and was totally main audience driven. Lets start with the first about polar shift. The ONLY way of determining a polar shift is from the magnetic rocks that point in a different direction. There is no way of really determining the time frame at which it occurs.
The southern San Andreas has not broken in over 310 years maybe more. The fault has to break, this is psychics. A 3% chance of breaking each year is a big fat misnomer meant to mislead everyone. As someone approaches the 30 year time frame, the odds each year increase, it is ONLY 3% in the first year and approaches 100% towards the 30 year end of the cycle. Basic statistics were completely left out. On purpose? don’t know. Maybe shear mathematic ignorance here, again, don’t know.
Oil shutdown. Canada and Mexico can ONLY produce so much oil PER DAY. There is not enough oil without OPEC, NO WAY! The strategic oil reserve is likely going to be used first by the military to protect this country, civilian use second. This is the reason why the U.S. is alm ost ready to blow up the world when Mid East oil is at stake. IT is the per day amount that needs to be looked at when determining the dangers of oil shortages.
EMP from the sun. People have no idea how often that the sun belches up something that can fry the planet’s electronics. Event in 1859 could be a cycle that previous could have been every 25, 50, 100, or 1000 years. Just don’t know. EMP definitely possible each year, all depending on the direction of the flare. I would also be worried about a radiation storm from such an event.
New Madrid Fault. Does it go off every 500 years? This fault is influenced much by the Mid Atlantic Ridge and is thought to be an ancient fault of when all the continents where together. Extremly unpredictable.
Financial collapse or hyperinflation. Now this was the stupdiest assessments made of the entire night. The experts concur this won’t happen. Who were the experts, the same characters that said into the housing industry it will continue to go up in value for years to come? Has anyone taken a look at how China owns the U.S. Has anyone taken a look at the increasing food prices and gold at around $ 1750 an ounce.
Again, In my opinion National Geographic catered to the general audience that they are trying to sell air time to, that these scenarioes are delusional fairy tales by disturbed paranoid people. They want to show to Mr and Mrs Public that nothing bad is going to happen ever. It reminds me of the way that a cultural anthropology class would visit a different segment of the human population and observe them and interact with them, then present it as entertainment to the people that help pay their bills.
They can of course offer excellent suggestions on what they need to improve, which is helpful to everyone, but still present it in such a way that still appeals to the public that just enjoys the preppers on exhibit. This of course is a critique that was asked for above, and only my opinion just like some movie critics give their opinion on movies. So please Ken don’t become angry with me as I continue.
I got some valuable new ideas tonight and enjoy the preparation by the people, this is a show I would like to see next week and beyond. Now for more. I feel that urban survival is nuts. If someone goes all to the trouble of being ready why not live outside the urban zone and increase your chances exponentially? I liked how that fellow was going to use the wild plants, but like that lady in Houston, anyone afterwards on a collapse in an urban area is dead meat unless they join a gang of well armed individuals. The science fiction movie of Escape from New York or even Escape from LA pretty well states what is going to happen. When there is no law, well armed gangs and killers for what you have will do what the previous show on NG was about, snipe you before you even knew what hit you. Again, I feel that anyone in an urban area MUST get out before it happens, or likely forget it.
I absolutely love how much Mr. and Mrs. Range stored up and have everything ready to go, but this is for one event. If I was going to go to all that trouble of training the animals and be ready, I would also be ready for what looks like it could be coming soon, World War 3. As a suggestion, why not bury those shipping containers underground or even back pile a sand loam mix against them. It would only take 3-4 feet of dirt shielding to protect against radiation that will be everywhere if the nukes start to take flight. In case of a polar shift I would be really worried about magnetic storms that could reach several hundred miles a hour, and underground it would give someone more of a chance of making it through this nightmare. Have all sorts of books on the importance of mass against the elements, and dirt is one of the best. Just a thought.
Like the precautions about EMP and the people that were growing everything and bee keeping. Bees supply a lot more than honey, crops with bee hives nearby double or triple their harvest and bees help pollinate everything. Liked everything about the family that was using wood as fuel, other than the one son that was going to hunt fido, dogs, for food. I understand everything is fair game, but I have to draw a line at man’s best friend. Some people will not draw a line at anything, and that means anything and that scares me.
I enjoyed most of the shows as IF I can overlook the obvious overtone of the producers’ agenda of the show, again in my sole opinion, as these people have fantastic ideas that everyone can learn from. Truly hope that at least a couple of the preppers are preparing for any series of events that are likely to occur, rather than having just one believed holocaust that each person feels. The more that someone gets ready for the whole spectrum of possible outcomes the better chance they have to handle when one or more actually does occur.
Greetings community.
I have been prepping for only a year. The last several months I have greatly accelerated my prepping. I’m proud to be a prepper, part of the Elite, the good Elite.
I am excited about the show. I recorded it on 2 TVs. Ha! I believe folks will take it or leave it just as they do with our message. I have resigned my mindset that some folks will not/cannot deal with real reality. Whomever coined the phrase “you can lead a horse to water but you cant make him drink” is dead on. I really respect you preppers. I have to say that the guy from Texas (San Antonio area) in the show was pretty awesome. Very well thought out and articulated. I intend to copy his blueprint.
Last nights premiering of “Doomsday Preppers” was my first viewing. My likes and dislikes:
LIKES
1. The variety of preppers from all walks of life was very good. They did a good job covering a wide variety of situations.
DISLIKES
1. They failed to explain their method of analysis, what it was based on and who was doing the analyzing. They could have done a more gentle job critiquing the preppers who have put in so much effort, dedication and cash.
(This really rubbed me the wrong way as I’m sure it did many preppers)
2. After each individual prepper piece was concluded, the narrator sites his tid-bit of information, dispelling to the audience, a snowballs chance in hell of the event ever happening in the first place, (the point and laugh moment the audience was waiting for).
At this point, home viewers can climb into their warm beds feeling safe and sound in the knowledge there’s nothing to worry about, while visions of nutty preppers dance in their heads.
Likewise, we wondered about just who the “experts” were. They seemed to me to undermine the beliefs of the preppers by making statements at the end of each segment “explaining” just how improbable the preppers’ scenarios were (NG almost made their worries seem silly). I also wonder just who the economists are they polled since there seem to be plenty of experts who also believe the economy will tank.
We did like that they valued community. I, too, believe that a component of survival is the group we prep with and exchange ideas, skills and even barter and share with.
“I also wonder just who the economists are they polled since there seem to be plenty of experts who also believe the economy will tank.”
They polled Ben Bernanke. LOL.
@ chiller. Please read my comment. This is something that drove me crazy also. I use to love National Geographic and now in my opinion they have gone totally mainstream to cater to those that pay their bills, the don’t make me afraid audience. Anyone can openly state that they had consoled with experts, but whom are the experts? To openly say that within 30 years there is a 100% chance of an earthquake in southern cal. then say there is only a 3% chance of it occurring is ONLY accurate the first year of the 30 years. Either this was meant to be misleading, or the so called experts are absolutely hardly the expert they claim to be.
This was extremely offensive and again in my opinion towards slanted towards the majority of the audeince. I agree with you, lets all point and laugh at the at EXHIBIT of funny people all playing Noah’s Ark with each other. I personally have lost any remaining respect for National Geographic from this little stunt. I just wish that someone from national Geographic would visit this site and you and me could question them big time over this little, obvious to me and you, show that they put on after exhibiting this people that are wiser than they ever could be.
Where was the Ken and Lauren type of preppers that are ready for a wide variety of possible scenarioes? Maybe in later shows? Someone like Ken and Lauren are probably too sensible for the show and may, heaven’s forbid, frighten the audience and National Geographic might lose some ratings. Nat. Geo. sure did not give any concrete defendable evidence for there blantant statements on the odds. A last word type dig on good people.
Chiller I wonder IF N.G. foresaw Fukushima and a 9.0 earthquake, or the financial meltdown, or the Arab uprising, or that a black president would be elected in our lifetimes. For someone that states that events people prepare for as astronomical odds, they sure did not have their so called experts that work for them forecast these unforeseen events that DID oocur.
Again, let’s get Ken and Lauren on the show and see how they handle someone that prepares for almost everything that can happen. Let’s see them try to shovel the odds factor down on them. Ken would put them in their place.
Again, none of us should be surprised regarding the narrators comment at the end of each segment. I’m actually pleasantly surprised that it was pretty much the only negative aspect throughout. I’ve just posted my thoughts on this episode in the article above, listing some of the positive nuggets from the 6 segments. I’m happy with the variety so far, some being much more serious and full-time than others. We’ll see how future episodes progress.
@ Ken. I do like the series. I just hope it has someone on like you and Lauren that prepare for a whole conglomerate of scenarioes in the future. Kind of feel though that someone like this would make too make sense and scare away the “GENERAL AUDIENCE”. I to liked that about methane gas, this was very interesting. I still feel that anyone in an urban area better get out “before” it happens, because IF the autos don’t work their odds of making it out are extremely reduced. Personally you could not pay me 10 miilion dollars to live in the LA area, already went through the nightmare of living there. I couldn’t understand why anyone going to such work would not simply live outside Houston or LA, it would be much easier than trying to escape true hell.
I learn some things to. I just wish they would have someone like you on that could show them that survival is not just an one sided issue, an one event to worry about. You have to worry about a whole smorgasbord of issues with a world in turmoil.
I agree that it would be helpful to show enough variety of examples to include scenarios that match the majority of preppers out there. We will see. Also, although I did not live in LA, I spent plenty of time working down there in Burbank while living in the Bay Area and often having to do the commuter flight down there. The entire basin will be in deep deep doo-doo when TSHTF, that’s for sure. I’ve never been a city-dweller anyway, so you wouldn’t catch me living in one…
@BI; I’m sure the NatGeo people “helped” everyone have a particular scenario just so they aren’t all the same. You can only say “I’m preparing for the end of the world as we know it ” so many times before it becomes old, people’s eyes glaze over and no one will watch it. It is, after all, a TV show, and as we all know, it is drama and variety that sells. If it doesn’t sell, it doesn’t show. I think it is just poetic license that everyone has only one “specific” event that they are prepping for. Sure, everyone has their PET event that they “just know is going to happen” but I would think that the way NGC is presenting it is just planning so that they can hit all the “doomsday” bases. I too would like to know who the experts are. The Carrington event ONLY happens every 300-600 years; yeah, right! I can’t wait to see how they blow off the super volcanoes. Same for the San Andreas fault, they have no idea. The financial collapse was one that I just didn’t think that they could pooh-pooh away, or NOT! What was I thinking? I did also like the scoring, but the follow ups by NGC on the probabilities was BS. AS you stack the probabilities of each potential disaster on top of each other the probability goes up that SOMETHING will happen and that’s not philosophical, that’s hard math. Survive well. Enjoy.
Ironic how NG does some shows of the type scenarios the preppers are gearing up for, yet go entirely with main stream stats for this airing. One might say they’re running contradictory documentaries. “Doomsday Preppers” was in DEPTH… Don’t Ever Panic The Herd.
I have not read all the comments, Some though. As to that program Preppers, and why they dolled it up at the end for everyone to think it was safe and everyone who prepped was someone to scoff or ridicule. Think again, Our ancestors had to work knuckle to the bone because they prepped for every winter. No one laughed at them. No difference today, We are our future descendents ancestors. We do not know what next winter holds for all of us. So in my minds eye, we are all preparing for that winter. Nothing wrong with that. So whatever your winter is, Better to be the ant than the grasshopper.
I enjoyed the show for the most part. While I liked the scoring on the individual or group’s prepping, I (like a lot of the other’s leaving comments here) didn’t agree with the ‘how likely to happen’ ratings they gave. As I watched I wondered why each of the preppers gave a specific reason for prepping rather than a general ‘anything could happen’ statement.
When I explain prepping to people I simply state that is common sense to be prepared for emergencies…ie. power outages that last more than a couple of days, food shortages due to crop failure, droughts, floods, etc. I also remind folks that grocery prices are never going to go down.
I have encouraged friends and family to watch the program since it’s an opportunity to learn something. I got great ideas last night too.
Happy prepping to all!
I have not read all the comments but thought I’d put my 2 cents worth in. I watched the show and agree that my husband and I would not want to be on TV. Heck, I would not want anyone seeing my stockpile if I was an extreme couponer either!
That said, we had nothing but whining and complaining and now government intervention (that’s always good – not!) because of the Halloween snowstorm here in the East. People have lived here there entire lives and still run to the store and clean out the bread, milk, eggs and water every time there is going to be a storm. These same people don’t have generators, etc.
Also, remember that there had to be a police presence at the gas stations that were open in parts of CT. The police were called because people got angry at having to drive so far and then, of all things, wait in line for gasoline! They got into arguments with others waiting in line. This reaction was only to not having gasoline and/or having to wait in line! How long would it take for these same people to become the angry mob at the grocery store, especially if there truly was no solution in sight?!
We prep because it is the smart thing to do. It just happens to be 2012. I don’t want to be in the middle of an angry mob at the store.
Quick note, the folks on the nat geo program only cared about beans and bullets. When do they get into the band aid part, or dental.
I think most of what you are doing is okay. but i think you are missing quit a bit of things to consider. 1 is the weather, there are 4 SEASONS which means the weather changes foutr times a year. which brings up point #1 clothing for the different seasons and how they are going to make or get it made for them, clothes do wear out. 2. is shoe and foot wear. kids and adults do grow and the foot is the most needed thing to protect on the human. 3. soap and washes are needed to keep cloean and to keep the food areas sanitary. with out this there will be wide spread problems with health. 4. medical how and who are people to fix things that go wrong in normal life if no one is trained. where will they go, what will they do? 5. canned food is a good start but long term is plants and gardening. yes you can servive on things like can goods for a while but eventually you will run out. 6. I know that water is a good thing top have on hand but is it nessasery to have that much.. if you have a sourse and have a way of purifying it would be just as handy. incase opf a bug-in or bug-out. 7. i see you talking about guns and weapons, but nothing about the safety of using and handling them. there are lots more but I think that people need to know that knowlodge is the key. the more someone know the better off they will be. I am a second gen. servivalist and I am still learning everyday of things that would help in any event from nukes to a world wide desaster such as a rough comit or volcano. these are the things I though of from the first two of the nat geo doomsday prep episodes.
Thanks for lisening to me, STEVE
Once again Nat.Geo. catered to the LOLLIPOP mentality of the general audience not to upset anyone. Let’s see; unlikely for an EMP attack, practically impossible for a supervolcano to blow, massive crop failure will be prevented through pesticides and a perfect agricultural battery of prevention, and hyperinflation will not happen because the “experts” say that we are going to have a “modest” growth of 2%. Yellowstone is very unlikely because the point in which the hot spot is at, this is the ONLY thing I have agreed to for the past two shows.
They looked just about the worst they ever have in downplaying hyperinflation. Shall we give a whole list of examples throughout history. Better yet let’s all put on our happy hats and go visit Mr. Toad and the grasshopper wizard, pick some magical mushrooms and candy canes growing out the ground and all sing melodies while everyone dances around with anything disturbing “normal” ways of life a total impossibility in Lollipop Happy Valley. URGH!
Now the preppers. I absolutely loved that family that was going to bury shipping containers in the desert. They are protected against EMP, radiation, and not visible to much of anything. That was painful to watch that poor fellow permanentely destroy his thumb. Real benefit for the audience though to see the “crazies” hurt themselves through being too radical. These people are just plain cool, and it just mega stinks that this happened to these nice people. I hope his thumb gets better.
That firefighter is trying, but he needs to escape from NYC. To have to depend on knives because the police state won’t allow one of their own protectors of the city to carry firearms, makes me say thank God I don’t live there. Volcanic ash has much different consistency than what happened in 9/11 because of its chemical makeup and the heating it went through. Volcanic ash is much finer than the debris from the buildings also. Lungs can become like cement breathing this. Yellowstone might never go off because there is now a thicker slab of crust over the hot spot. Still an earthquake could cause a deep fissure and open up everything.
Have seen those people before in Pasadena, and during a food crisis they better have a force field around that little oasis or some Star Trek weaponary because they are going to be overrun by hungry people like millions of army ants on a big fat hippo. People are going to harvest every last morsel of food they have and probably then harvest them.
Those people getting ready for hyperinflation were also well prepared. I liked the multiple uses of booze. They had a nice stockpile of food and water yet got a 40% rating for being ready. 200 gallons of water is not bad. 60 guns is pretty good also, though I know someone with over 300 guns that is totally ready to live off the land.
I have 200 gallons of water and I can tell everyone that this can be stored in cases of bottled water in about 3 feet wide, by 3 feet long, and 4 feet high. Don’t like to store cases of water too high because of stability. This is about 36 cubic feet of space, or about the size of a washing machine and dryer together. Not much space for 200 gallons of water that EVERYONE needs to live. I Plan to get more water. Kind of a pain to rotate, but well worth it. Also have all sorts of creeks and a river that runs through, so water is not a problem really here.
People think about this though. 200 gallons is about 1500 bottles of water, 16.9 oz, and about 47 cases of bottled water at about 4 and 1/2 dollars each case. This is ONLY about $200 for something that can and will save your life. $100 would buy about 100 gallons of bottled water. I like bottled water cases because you can neatly stack them in some corner somewhere. You can use those empty bottles to be refilled with water that you have purified from outside source. Those plastic bottles also have many other uses for collecting what you need outside. Beware of the weight though on somewhere that cannot take 1660 pounds for 200 gallons concentrated on one point of the 36 cubic feet of fllor that it would sit on.
I so much like these preppers, and I wish Nat. Geo. would at least give concrete proof of these so called “experts” that give outlandish absurd statements that everything is going to be fine in Lollipop Land. Hyperinflation won’t happen even with commodities exploding in value. Really, how stupid do they think we are? With gold at $5000 an ounce, silver at $150 an ounce, oil at $200 a barrel, copper at $20, and we still will ONLY see a 2% increase in the cost of living? Sure in Lollipop Land where singing and dancing and rainbows at every corner. In the REAL WORLD, HELL NO, AND I MEAN NO AS IN GIVE ME A BREAK. Let these so called experts go try to purchase their groceries at their 2% projection, with their Lollipop dollars.
Couldn’t agree more BI. Now about the thumb accident. Is it coincidence that one of last weeks preppers was considered mentally unstable and had his gun taken away, (startling enough in its own right) and this week there’s a firearms accident? Is NG intentionally trying to paint preppers in a light similar to, but with a different twist, a bunch fanatics worthy of a Fast and Furious operation?? If it were me being taped for the show and that happened with my 2 boys watching the old man shoot himself and pass out, I’d say forget the whole thing, before embarrassing myself on national tv and putting my children through the ridicule and teasing they will no doubt suffer from their friends and classmates. Since we did not actually see what he did to shoot himself, there is no evidence other than seeing “a” thumb of someone after it was mangled.
I wasn’t going to watch anymore of this foolishness from NG but now I feel compelled to see if they are promoting an agenda attempting to portray preppers in a light of a bunch of incompetent firearm wielding lunatics. With the NRA hypothesizing Obama seizing all weapons if reelected, stunts like this would only be fuel for that fire.
@ chiller. I felt this was an opportunity that Nat Geo jumped on with that poor person with his thumb. Who knows though with “TV” nowadays.
I really liked this family, especially the ways the children were so accustomed to firearms. It is very frustrating to watch the presentation of these preppers, but I sure do like their ideas. That person that was getting ready for hyperinflation looked like he would be a lot of fun. These preppers NG makes into a different culture that the “general” population can say thankfully they are not like, but I really enjoy watching these preppers and what they are doing to prepare. Ken, was right that I should view the show and then make my opinion. I enjoy the preppers and am extremely critical of Nat. Geo. for good reason.
I have to admit, I have had National Geographics for so long, and I did like to read the monthly magazine. I think the magazine presents people and their beliefs in a more non biased way. The television show though really gives the masses what they want, everything is fine and all preppers are just misguided and have no real sense of what is going to actually happen, in other words Lollipop land.
Chiller, you are so correct, God help us with firearms epsidoes like this. How often do we here about when firearms saved a family from some perverted weirdo from hurting, raping, and killing them. NOT NEARLY ENOUGH. A firearm is a tool, not like so many anti-gun advocates paint it as some evil device or something. Practically anything can be turned into a weapon and it is frightening how certain areas are trying to do just that.
I too have a truck load of Nat Geo magazines. You just don’t know anymore to what extent government or subversives have gone to to advance to pursue their agendas. So far, those types have managed to acquire all the media outlets and I’m sure they are actively perusing any other forms of mass media which engage the most population. I trust no one anymore as everyone and everything is for sale now a days and there are too many subversives with too much cash.
What would make Nat Geo more real for this series in my own humble opinion, would that the public could verify for themselves the information the Nat Geo narrator says for comments in the critiques and those texts that you can read on the screen. Just who are these experts anyway?
Even a behind the scenes look into the research the magazine did to compile the information they have. A coin has 2 sides.
But I love these people, they are bold and focused. On top of that I have learned much from the episodes I did see. The main thing I learned from watching these shows was this….History has a nasty habit of sneaking up on you and repeating itself.
For some very odd reason, our satelite system does not have this channel!
I miss it, my old system had it… regardless, I appreciate hearing what the viwers that can see it, express what they learn from it. Sharing of the info in the episodes is appreciated, thanks.
This comment –
“A severe ‘natural’ EMP event, such as the 1859 Carrington event, will likely require a year or more to bring the grid back up. This particular event may be more likely than most people think. We know that it WILL happen again, we just don’t know when of course.
A Faraday cage for protection of electronic devices such as communications radios, or any other, will be essential for protection during an EMP.”
leaves me sad…
For if/when it occurs – the 440 nuclear power plants in the world will be hard put to connect to a grid that doesn’t exist to keep them going, or trucks with fuel and generators to keep them going, etc until they can all be put in cold ‘shut down.’ Not to mention the continued heating of the spent fuel pools…
What a stupid design that was to boil water!
We have written our death certificates unless you can and choose to live under ground.
Not I.
A very large EMP would toast us all with nuclear poison forever…
How many documentaries has NatGeo aired portraying cataclysmic events while stating, “It’s not a matter of IF but WHEN this will happen.” Then to pretty much blow off these preppers reason for preparing as unnecessary is hypocrisy at its best. They’ve become to politicized for me. Like a good politician…anything for a vote from a constituent or a viewer.
There is a book called One Second After
by William R. Forstchen. I urge you to read it. Its about an EMP attack on the US, gives lots of information. It will make you think and realize what we are facing. Get prepared its not a matter of if it happens, But when it happens.
I tried to send a comment last night after the Nat.Geo. show but evidently I am having some computer problems. I felt sorry for that trucker’s wife about being dependent on pharms. to stay alive, I sure hope that they look into herbs as something that might work as an alternative. I wonder about that trucker finding a deep enough cave somewhere to back into, or even some type of cliff overhang and then piling something around. I think that he will have to find somewhere to settle down eventually if the fuel runs out everywhere Like the dehydrating that they are doing because of the limited amount of space they have. Again Nat.Geo. “experts” say the U.S. is in no danger of hyperinflation or economic collapse. That has to make everyone feel good, OH BROTHER!
That lady that was preparing for a plague was good, but there is much more that can be done that she missed. The ceilings were not plastic sheeted and this like many hospitals in African hot zones with Ebola, Marburg, and others have shown that germs find ways of escaping sick rooms. The ground level also was an issue as people forget about the shoes. My suggestion to her and others is to contact OSHA and inquire about keeping the air that microscopic particles ride on in one spot. People must learn the science of micrometerology and the science of air currents to really have a saferoom for sick people. You want to maintain a backflow of air and have HEPA air filters all over the place. Something that may be difficult unless you can power the HEPA air filters because the power grid could be down due to no work crews able to maintain it because of a pandemic.
Also I have a problem still with not having a least a couple of N-100 protective masks. N-95 only protects you 95%. IF you get 50000 individual pathogens without a mask, then you will still get 2500 individual germs with a N-95 mask. You can get smallpox for example with just 1000-2000 individual germs. N-100 is harder to breathe, but N-95 is just not going to always do the job in more concentrated areas of germs. A N-100 mask should be as a back-up for really contagious areas. Also, it was a miracle that Nat.Geo. admitted that a pandemic is quite real, but of course made sure to reassure the audience that it was impossible to determine the severity of it.
That family that moved to Tennessee is probably going to be a lot happier. It just shows how easily the teenage daughter adapted to the new friends and will probably like where she is. Less smog and less congestion for one thing. I don’t think that the planet is going to tilt on its axis but it is possible. Nat.Geo. of course said it was a geologic impossibility that it only happened 800 million years ago and won’t happen again. Well, if something occurs once it sure as hell can happen again. Geology is an inaccurate science as we learn something new every year.
It was long thought that deep down way below the crust that large earthquakes cannot occur. It was assumed that the largest earthquake that could occur was 7.5 maximum because the material down there that deep, 200 or more kilometers was like a molasses and could not obtain the stress build up required for a 8.0 quake. Well this was proved wrong when a 8.1 earthquake occurred several years ago below Peru at 300+ km, can’t remember the exact depth. I called up the USGS and questioned this geologic mistake, and got the response it was one for the record books. A dumbfounded scientist is something to behold. Point, every year old theories are proven WRONG. Impossibility, my foot NG.
I again, if I was concerned about a planet tilting would be putting my house under the ground. An above the ground house will not survive the magnetic storms that will hit the planet after a axis tilt. EF-4 and EF-5 sustained winds will hit most areas of the planet during the crust shifting rapidly. As with most of these shows preppers should think a little bit more in the broader terms of what will happen for what they are preppering for.
I do like the show that it gives me ideas and makes me think about how to improve on what they are getting ready for. Don’t forget to watch the Anderson Cooper show today on “should we be worried about the end of the world” in which it shows people getting ready for the end. I sure hope it does not make preppers look bad. I hope that Mr. Cooper that has been in tsunami struck areas after the 9.1 in Indonesia, the Haiti earthquake aftermath, the Israeli Hezbollah war, and others, is fair and will understand that mega disasters DO HAPPEN, and will understand that people are just getting ready for them. I know that Mr. Cooper has much compassion for cildren and animals that were suffering and has seen firsthand what life is after to those that were unprepared.
Anderson Cooper show too short on being prepared, but done a lot better than I had expected it. Had some of the Doomsday Preppers on from the Nat.Geo. show. Only 20% of the people have any extra food or water stored in the United States, this surprised me that even 20% had anything extra. Mr. Cooper really was extremely well spoken and even mentioned you cannot depend on the government for help. One lady in the audience had thought she had a preparation kit because she had a flashlight in her car and house. Boy, are most people in deep trouble because they are at the same unprepared state as she is. It is extremely sad that most people don’t have a clue about what it means to be prepared, not a clue as the studio audience just looked like deers looking at the upcoming headlights.
Simulated a 8.0 earthquake in a chamber but only for 10 seconds. A 8.0 earthquake will last at least 2 minutes. Also did not say how far away from the hypocenter of the quake. Still showed the audience what an earthquake can do, if only for 10 seconds. Had a couple on that survived 3 days in deep snow and why it is so necessary to be prepared.
The show I would have liked to be on for another 1/2 hour, but unlike other shows, they did not make the preppers look like idiots and this was refreshing. Everyone got a free survival kit in the studio audience, and they should need it because very few have any survival kit for their home or car. If you have a chance on seeing this on some repeat or something check it out, it is worth to see.
On “Before it’s News”: “ALERT: Dormant volcanoes activating in Utah, Oklahoma, Missouri”
Claim to have videos of volcano’s venting in these three states…
“experts” who scrutinize the people prepping on NatGeo, a volcano, meteor, solar flar, financial collapse, whatever, is unlikely to happen?!? Are they friggin blind? Looks like NatGeo’s credibility is sinking more and more each passing day. They’ll have to pull the show if this keeps up.
“March 19, 2012 – LONDON — Britain has added volcanoes and solar storms to floods, flu and terrorism on a list of threats to national security.” Someone might want to tell the experts at NatGeo.