Just hunkering down for a bit
Now have you bought that patch of land in the wilderness and had the survival bunker built? What’s that? Oh yes, the UK is a bit short on wilderness – at least the southern part… well we can at least stock up the cellar. Another problem; the house where this dame lives doesn’t actually have a cellar.
It seems that a significant number of people in what is commonly called ‘First World’ countries are frantically trying to prepare for some sort of Armageddon, where it will be down to survival of the fittest. I repeat, First World. Of course, there are millions of people across the globe who are already experiencing extreme loss and deprivation and for whom any sort of bunker or shelter is never going to be a practical reality.
Recently the EU announced proposals for every member state to develop a 72-hour survival kit for citizens to face any new crisis that might emerge, as part of its ‘Preparedness Union Strategy’, which also calls for more stockpiling of essential supplies and for improved civilian/military cooperation. The strategy, which was unveiled last month by the European Commission, includes a list of 30 concrete actions it says EU member states need to take to boost their preparedness against potential future crises, ranging from natural disasters and industrial accidents to attacks by malicious actors in the cyber or military domains.
Several member states already have such guidelines with varying timeframes. France, for instance, calls for a 72-hour survival kit that includes food, water, medicines, a portable radio, a flashlight, spare batteries, chargers, cash, copies of important documents including medical prescriptions, spare keys, warm clothes and basic tools such as utility knives. Sweden have been on this for ages.
Nothing like a bit of guides’ and scouts’ resourcefulness, but it seems that some 20 million US citizens are taking this much more seriously. I read somewhere that Costco in the US is the go-to destination for ‘Emergency Supply Kits’, so decided to check it out. Dear reader, having looked at the sort of junk that I would be forced to eat in my wilderness bunker in the Rockies or wherever, I have severe doubts. You can order such culinary delights as a ‘ReadyWise 150 Serving Emergency Food Bucket.’ The contents are guaranteed to last for 25 years, not a mere 72 hours. Just add water. Clearly Costco and similar companies in the UK assume water supplies will continue to function at The End of The World, which, considering the state of our water companies, seems highly doubtful.
The centibillionaires (does anyone know exactly how many millions that is?) across the globe are of course not relying on Costco; it seems they are building what they fondly imagine will be self sufficient mini-cities, some of which will be underground, where they will stay until… until… until? Apparently, the main thing to remember is to keep the pilot of your private plane ready at all times, except that s/he will want to bring their family to your survival city, too. Or they might decide not to fly you anywhere. Just saying.
In an extraordinary moment of synchronicity, while writing I have just learned that large parts of Spain and Portugal are currently without power due to major outages of electricity. This is affecting transport, the internet, phone connections and card payments – i.e, the basic sine qua non of modern life. I will swear on whatever is handy that there is no causal link between my chosen blog topic and this latest disaster, but I bet your average madrileña or madrileño is really glad they went to the cashpoint this morning.
