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How long would society last during a total grid collapse?

practical.engineering

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Re: How long would society last during a total grid collapse?

#281

Post by quacked »

geomark wrote: post #192
quacked wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a smart instinct, but the ammunition only lasts so long. Someone deep in the boonies with a good stash will be okay, but anyone within 1-5 day's march near the cities had better be prepared to "stack 'em high' for a long time before the stream of starving city ex-pats slows to a trickle.

What are people's opinions on crossbows as supplemental defense weapons? They lack range and ammo is not compact but they are quite stealthy.

It really depends on how long the power is out. Crossbows were a fearsome weapon of war during the time in history when guns still weren't that accurate or easy to come by. If there's a gap between "people using manufactured ammunition they stockpiled" and "people figure out how to manufacture ammunition and gunpowder reliably like they were in the 1800s before power was ubiquitous", then a crossbow would do quite well.

Re: How long would society last during a total grid collapse?

#282

Post by cudgy »

stareatgoats wrote: post #229
epistasis wrote: post #61

I'm surprised that this article doesn't even mention the ongoing, continual attacks on the civilian Ukrainian electrical grid, in a concerted effort to take it out with thousands of cruise missiles and loitering drones. Perhaps not all countries will be as determined as the Ukrainians are in their constant repairs, but even with half of their generation capability destroyed, and so many substations targeted, the effe…

> Soon, islanding of homes, and the spread of more micro grids, means that a lot of the older reasoning in this article won't make much sense This. Not only is it not mentioned in the article, it seems to be largely absent from the minds of planners, as the development and implementation of micro grids is mostly ad hoc and haphazard. But the lessons learned from the war in Ukraine, as well as the increased likelihood…

Unfortunately, the massive influence of central grid profiteers make the obviously beneficial (especially in times of disaster and war) move to micro grids progress at the slowest possible pace.

Re: How long would society last during a total grid collapse?

#283

Post by vxNsr »

account42 wrote: post #227
vxNsr wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Odd, I know lots of right folks and none support russia, they just don’t support sending more money to Ukraine, either bec they believe the accurate reports of widespread corruption (which Biden himself attested to 6 years ago) or bec they’re isolationist and don’t really believe our interventions have helped “spread freedom” anywhere. And would rather we dedicate our resources to bettering our own clearly failing co…

"And would rather we dedicate our resources to bettering our own clearly failing country." So do that too. "But that's socialism."

Here’s an idea: tax the rich and pay off our debt. Don’t tax ppl and spend the money right away. Maybe stop trying to do the same things that have been clearly failing for decades. Throwing money at random problems in hopes it will solve them hasn’t worked and probably never will.

Re: How long would society last during a total grid collapse?

#285

Post by selimthegrim »

P5fRxh5kUvp2th wrote: post #264
mikewarot wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The narrative is that it was persistent NATO expansion after the end of the cold war that "forced" Russia into this. It's mostly a lie... but many Fox viewers believe it to be the whole truth.

Are you sure about that? I've seen discussions from a specific professor going back years (long before the actual invasion) talking about the dangers of exactly that. After it happened this specific person (forget his name) then started talking about how it was a consequence of the things he had been talking about for years. You can disagree with the guy, but he's an academic who apparently has an expertise in that a…

You are probably talking about John Mearsheimer.

Re: How long would society last during a total grid collapse?

#286

Post by rnk »

hutzlibu wrote: post #203
throwaway0x7E6 wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

if the local authorities know they risk getting shot by every local they come to distribute resources from, they're far less likely to think that's a good idea in the first place

Unless they have the heavy weapons and someone with a high ego and determination to use the existing state ressources to become the new local warlord.

That never happens. I mean that always happens. Because we are cultured, democratically minded Americans, we are immune from the human passions that other people suffer from, that desire to take the other person's goodies.

Re: How long would society last during a total grid collapse?

#287

Post by reducesuffering »

P5fRxh5kUvp2th wrote: post #276
epistasis wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolute nonsense, Russia will invade what they call "little Russias" because they believe they are superior and that the people in those land belong to them, and that the resources belong to them. NATO has nothing to do with Russia's urge to invade and oppress other cultures, but NATO is a way for such countries to defend themselves. So if a professor claims to have expertise and not understand these basic facts tha…

You mean such as the academic who spent his entire career studying the politics of the area?

You think there is one single academic studying Russian geopolitics?

Ok, I've seen an MD saying covid vaccines will give you AIDS. Must be true?

One person's opinion doesn't make the truth.

Re: How long would society last during a total grid collapse?

#288

Post by selimthegrim »

2Gkashmiri wrote: post #129
piyushpr134 wrote: post #90

Coming from India and as someone who has lived, growing up (in the 90s), without power for hours and days...trust me you are going to be deeply inconvenienced but not going to die. We had hand fans (hot climate) and fire in large bowl shaped vessels (when cold). Nights without power are spent sleeping on terrace. We had oil lamps for light in the evening. Most night activity would siege by 8pm max to wake up early at…

yeah, as my name suggests, i live in a place where "today", as in 23/11/2022 i have a 9 hour electricity cut "EVERYDAY" in near to 0C temperatures. It is winter and snowing most of the places. Heck, the places that are snowing get close to zero electricity for days and when it does come back, at best 3-6 hours. People adapt to living in harsh conditions. as you said, "creature comforts" take a hit but you don't just…

Have people started using kangri again?

Re: How long would society last during a total grid collapse?

#290

Post by dylan604 »

armchairhacker wrote: post #196
dylan604 wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are you going to do, nuke the hurricanes?

If you explode a nuclear bomb in the eye of a hurricane does it make the hurricane stop?

No, but the farcical retaliation response that I replied to was in response to someone's experience from the devastation of a hurricane but chose to reply with a war like response
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