Climate change is the one subject that can polarize the guests at a dinner party in one minute flat, but what many people fail to recognize is that both scenarios require us to step up, and in some cases look in a different way, at how we prepare for the future.
- Both warming and cooling will lead to food insecurity issues.
- Both warming and cooling will cause a massive die off of the population due to ill health and malnutrition.
- Both warming and cooling will require us to think carefully about how we insulate our homes: Either to keep the cold out, or to keep the heat out.
- Both warming and cooling will affect the way our children are educated, how we earn our living and how we travel around during our everyday lives. Poor infrastructure cannot cope with extreme heat or cold on a long term basis.
- Both warming and cooling will affect aging and ailing power grids across the western world as they fail to cope with increasing demand to either heat or cool our homes, workplaces and schools.
Preparing for two scenarios that are on the surface at least, total opposites sound like an impossiblity, especially to those new to prepping.
The key is to look at the similarities as well as the differences.
We all know that personal sustainability is the only way forward. Self-reliance and our ability to adapt and thrive in adversity are the life skills that will ensure the survival of our families. we have known for a long time that governments cannot be relied upon in even a small scale emergency. Think Katrina, Sandy, the California drought and the UK floods. The response to all of these events was the same: Far too little far too late.
Robust systems need to be developed by preppers that means they can cover as many weather eventualities as possible. there is no point trying to plant trees to shade your crop after the drought has started…equally there is no point planting trees to act as a windbreak or for firewood use just a couple of seasons before you are likely to need them.
Regardless of it getting hotter or colder you are going to need an alternate domestic fuel supply, to cook with if not too warm your home. The required amount of alternative fuel would just be many times larger in cold weather.
Those living in apartments need to seriously think about their surrounding, will they fry or freeze in extreme weather situations? What backups are suitable for apartments? Camping stoves, maybe? Is there a balcony that could be used BBQ cooking should the grid go down? Which windows would need shading to keep the heat in and the cold out or vice versa?
The electricity will fail if extreme heat or cold pushes the system beyond its capabilities.
Growing food takes a bit more effort than throwing seeds on the ground, or into a pot, and hoping for the best. Gardening like all skills takes practice. Thought needs to be given regarding how plants can be raised in cold weather, and how they can be assisted to survive in extreme heat.
Poly tunnels are one of the cheapest options, and one inside another gives much more heat retention and frost protection than a single tunnel. If it gets hot you have two tunnels ready to be adapted to provide shade to your precious veggies.
The tunnels can be ‘dappled’ with greenhouse shading paint to provide some respite from the sun. Even fabric laid over the top during the hottest part of the day will drop the temperatures around the plants significantly. Use light coloured fabric or mylar emergency blankets as dark colours soak up the heat.
These are just a few examples, something to think about. The whole point is that if you have a solution that will work in a warming world, often flipping it points you in the right direction to finding a solution for a cooling world. the windowsill that is way too hot to put plants on when the sun is streaming though, may be the warmest one in the house when the winter sun is weak.
We have got to start thinking outside the box, and as preppers that’s something we are very good at. Having a huge supply of stored food is great for getting through a crisis, but, if that crisis is going to go on for decades, or even centuries, no amount is ever going to be enough.
Regardless of where you live and the kind of property you live in if you intend to stay where you are you have to develop robust systems that will enable you to survive the coming climate catastrophe…be it a hot one or a cold one.
Take care
Liz
“Poly tunnels” is not a familiar term. Could you link to an image of what you mean?