Reverse Evolution

I wish I didn't have so many questions ;-)

But, would the renters insurance cover personal property lost in a flood?

The only time I had to deal with a claim on renter's insurance involved a fire (and that was a long time ago, and, for the record, I had nothing to do with it--just a victim). There are so many homeowner's policies that exclude flood damage and force you to buy flood insurance, I wondered if renter's policies had a similar exclusion.

No idea.....I've never had a renters policy. But you raise a good point. Now you have me thinking about that.

I found a couple of interesting sites with maps:

http://www.katrina.noaa.gov/maps/images/katrina-coastal-inundation-gulf-coast.jpg

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~floods/2005114.html

This would be an informative comparison. There are lots of studies on resilience, but you can't test the traumatic devastation of a hurricane in a lab (well, I guess you could, but not ethically and it would have to be a really big lab). I would suggest a lit review for studies that identify the characteristics of people that are able to 'pull themselves by their bootstraps' and look for these during your research. My wife did her thesis on resilience. It's amazing how people can respond to similar events in such different ways.

I hope I didn't sound like I was volunteering to do either that comparison or a lit review ;-)

I would be curious to see your wife's thesis--is it available online by any chance?

Agreed. I'm almost pathologically independent -- maybe because my ancestors settled on the wide open prairies? Even a "packaged" vacation tour makes me itchy because I want to go off & explore on my own. (I was a terrible D&D player; I kept wandering away from the group.) I can't imagine living in a high-rise with valet parking, can you? Yet thousands of wealthy people do so by choice, and are critically dependent on "the grid" for everything. I guess those of us who carry Swiss Army knives & know how to fish will never understand the other half.

I hear you there....I'm the same way. Nothing like growing up fairly poor to parents that grew up really poor. But at least had a work ethic, and the common sense and desire to find ways to do for yourself what you can't afford to pay to have done.

It leaves you a much richer person by not having to rely on someone else.

Such as knowing how to hunt and butcher a deer, fix your own car no matter whats wrong, do your own plumbing and electrical work, you own carpentry etc.

I know people that literally can't change a flat tire and have to call a tow truck.

I agree with you both, my family never went without lights after the ice storm. Bringing in the trolling motor battery, hooking up the little 200 watt inverter, and plugging in some lamps with compact florescent bulbs just seemed like the natural thing to do. My house was lit up like a Christmas tree every night and I didn't think anything about it until I went for a walk one evening and realized most homes were dark, and the ones that were not, only glowed dimly with candlelight.

Now I have a gen set and enough firewood to last a winter because we may not have gas for heating if the next disaster is a quake. (Gee, I hope I did the right thing building in one of the rare areas around here where I could easily run the foundation on down to the limestone bedrock). No, I couldn't live in a high-rise, no place for the boats or 4-wheelers, and they would probably complain about my wood pile.

Yep. I don't require a lot to be happy. Fish, grow a garden, drink beer...........

I don't hunt, but I know how, and have the means to do it if needed. Big cities make me nuts. I'm like a wild animal in a city. The noises, smells, people, buildings, cars......................all I want to do is leave.

You make a good point about the rich too. They have also groomed themselves away from the basic survival skills that all of us possessed at one time. The helpless rich do make good fodder for horror films though...............one after one they get slaughtered..................all while not knowing things like how to start a car.

I don't think anything is going to change. That was the point of the thread. It amazes me that vast civilizations used to thrive without any of the things we have today. I'm guilty too. I'd like to think I would survive some catastrophe by my wits, but recent evidence suggests otherwise. Two days without power when the tornadoes went through was pretty tough. I knew where to go to get water and have a wood stove to heat it..................but I sure didn't want to.

I think it's becoming inevitable, that if really bad stuff starts happening...........prolonged blackouts, prolonged water shortages, etc., people are going to die.

Interesting thought: according to evolutionary theory, the "fittest" are those who adapt best to their environment. In a crowded city the fittest are those who don't mind noise & crowding and know how to blend in (or fake it). These folks thrive and multiply in cities. If bad stuff disrupts the grid the fittest will be those who best adapt to the new circumstances. Some city folk will learn fast & adapt well; others won't. (The suburbs are a whole 'nother question.)

Why am I having visions of cannibals running loose in big cities eating anyone that ventures into the light?

If the city's Cincinnati, and the person following you is carrying a bottle of Montgomery Inn barbecue sauce you probably want to run.

I plan on having an area about 100 x 60 plowed for a garden this summer and have it ready for planting next spring. I'm too late for a bigger garden this year, but my daughter and I have tomatoes, pepper, pumpkins, and cilantro growing.

I've lived in Denver and Cincinnati, I think cities are nice places to visit (provided it's not rush hour - which is 5:30 AM to 7:30 PM in Denver) but I don't want to live in one.

I don't know if the prognosis is so dismal or it's my negative thinking but I can easily envision hard times ahead. But I also know that bad times can bring out the best in people. There was a time people raised barns together, traded eggs for milk, and circled the wagons when in danger. Now they are packed like sardines and know their neighbors in Farmville better than the ones next-door. Skills like canning, quilting/sewing, gardening, hunting/fishing.....(the list goes on) face extinction. All the while civilization becomes more dependant, fragile, and crowded. Sound like a recipe for disaster? - Nah, It'll be OK.

I try not to get myself too dependent on all of the modern niceties, and impose, what could be considered, "hardship", on myself.

Working outside in 100° heat this week. Drive around a minivan with no AC, ( I have the money to fix it, but can't justify spending it due to the mileage on it). Heat the house with wood that I cut, haul and split myself. Grow a garden...................

That's a big garden you're planning. There's nothing better than fresh food from right outside your house. Had a big salad out of mine last night.

Back on topic. I think that both as a society, and individually, as we come to take more and more things for granted, we continue to set the bar higher for what makes us happy. I'm not trying to be negative either, but I think at the very least, at some point in human history, we're going to have a lot of unhappy people.

As far as cities go. I used to enjoy visiting them. I think the reason I get cagey, is because I'm used to being aware of what's going on around me. In a city, that becomes impossible. The reason I wouldn't want to live in a city, is because, like an island, city dwellers are dependent on others to bring in everything they need. I suspect that if a major disruption in food, water, electricity, etc., were to occur, a breakdown in civility would follow much faster in cities than in rural areas.

The proposed garden area used to be my grandparent's garden, but has not been tilled in 25 years. They may have been cash poor, but they were rich in everything else. The cupboards and chest freezer were always full. The kitchen full of women canning using pressure cookers produced more steam than a locomotive. I used to have to hop to stay in the footsteps my grandfather made tilling the garden. I guess I just want to make some footsteps of my own, and give my son a chance to do that. I just don't know who's gonna do the canning.

My concern is a couple of trees on the west side are 25 years older and will shorten the day for much of the garden area, I'm gonna try some things, some plants may be okay with less light.

We take the kids to cities several times a year because there are things there they need to know about too. The culture, arts, and science available through zoos, aquariums, history and science museums, and symphony concerts in the park give opportunities for learning that are simply not possible in rural areas and small towns. This is of course balanced with cruising into a shaded cove so quietly in my electric canoe that the turtles don't fall off their logs and the deer only pause from their drink for a moment. My daughter like to try to count the turtles. This year she's going to learn to bait a hook. She doesn't know this yet.

Sounds like a good life!

With the garden, I would recommend starting smaller. In the semi shady areas, go with lettuce, radishes....................I'm sure there's a big list of things that prefer partial sun.

My Mom used to do canning, I've got to get into it myself. I'm a little scared I'll blow it and kill everyone with botulism or something...............so much for survival.

Good for you for at least making the attempt to pass on to your kids the things that our parents and grandparents lived every day.

After all, aren't we the smartest?

No, we are not. The other creatures, having no ability to choose otherwise, perform as their Creator designed them. Only Homo sapiens was given the option of self-determination. He has 7,000 years of recorded history showing a recurring pattern of behavior with the outcome clearly revealed, and instead of learning from it, he rejects both the Book and its Author. And this is smart?

Did anyone ever watch the movie..."Idiocracy".

It was a comedy about the decline of the human race due to stupid people outbreeding the smart ones.

There was a lot of truth in that movie if you ever paid attention to it.

I watched it....