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>By ALEX WILLIAMS Published: April 6, 2008
>
>THE traditional face of survivalism is that of a shaggy loner in camouflage,
the wilderness and surrounded by cases of canned goods and ammunition.
>It is not that of Barton M. Biggs, the former chief global strategist at Morgan
Stanley. Yet in Mr.>It is not that of Barton M. Biggs, the former chief global strategist at Morgan
Biggs's new book, "Wealth, War and Wisdom," he says people should "assume the
possibility of abreakdown of the civilized infrastructure."
>
>"Your safe haven must be self-sufficient and capable of growing some kind of
food," Mr. Biggs>
>"Your safe haven must be self-sufficient and capable of growing some kind of
writes. "It should be well-stocked with seed, fertilizer, canned food, wine,
medicine, clothes, etc.Think Swiss Family Robinson. Even in America and Europe there could be moments
of riot and rebellionwhen law and order temporarily completely breaks down."
>
>Survivalism, it seems, is not just for survivalists anymore.
>Faced with a confluence of diverse threats - a tanking economy, a housing
crisis, looming>
>Survivalism, it seems, is not just for survivalists anymore.
>Faced with a confluence of diverse threats - a tanking economy, a housing
environmental disasters, and a sharp spike in oil prices - people who do not
consider themselvesextremists are starting to discuss doomsday measures once associated with the
social fringes.>They stockpile or grow food in case of a supply breakdown, or buy precious
economic collapse. Some try to take their houses off the electricity grid, or
plan safe houses faraway. The point is not to drop out of society, but to be prepared in case the
future turns out likesomething out of "An Inconvenient Truth," if not "Mad Max."
>
>"I'm not a gun-nut, camo-wearing skinhead. I don't even hunt or fish," said
Bill Marcom, 53, a>
>"I'm not a gun-nut, camo-wearing skinhead. I don't even hunt or fish," said
construction executive in Dallas.
>
>Still, motivated by a belief that the credit crunch and a bursting housing
bubble might spark>
>Still, motivated by a belief that the credit crunch and a bursting housing
widespread economic chaos - "the Greater Depression," as he put it - Mr. Marcom
began to takemeasures to prepare for the unknown over the last few years: buying old silver
coins to use ascurrency; buying G.P.S. units, a satellite telephone and a hydroponic kit; and
building a simplecabin in a remote West Texas desert.
>
>"If all these planets line up and things do get really bad," Mr. Marcom said,
"those who have not>
>"If all these planets line up and things do get really bad," Mr. Marcom said,
prepared will be trapped in the city with thousands of other people needing
food and propane andeverything else."
>
>Interest in survivalism - in either its traditional hard-core version or a
middle-class "lite">
>Interest in survivalism - in either its traditional hard-core version or a
variati>It spikes at times of peril real (the post-Sept. 11 period) or imagined (the
chaos that was supposedto follow the so-called Y2K computer bug in 2000).
>
>At times, a degree of paranoia is officially sanctioned. In the 1950s, civil
defense authorities>
>At times, a degree of paranoia is officially sanctioned. In the 1950s, civil
encouraged people to build personal bomb shelters because of the nuclear
threat. In 2003, theDepartment of Homeland Security encouraged Americans to stock up on plastic
sheeting and duct tapeto seal windows in case of biological or chemical attacks.
>
>Now, however, the government, while still conducting business under a yellow
terrorism alert, is no>
>Now, however, the government, while still conducting business under a yellow
longer taking a lead role in encouraging preparedness. For some, this leaves a vacuum of
>reassurance, and plenty to worry about.
>Esteemed economists debate whether the credit crisis could result in a complete
meltdown of the>reassurance, and plenty to worry about.
>Esteemed economists debate whether the credit crisis could result in a complete
financial system. A former vice president of the United States informs us that
global warming couldresult in mass flooding, disease and starvation, perhaps even a new Ice Age. >
>"You just can't help wonder if there's a train wreck coming," said David
Anderson, 50, a database>"You just can't help wonder if there's a train wreck coming," said David
administrator in Colorado Springs who said he was moved by economic
uncertainties and high energyprices, among other factors, to stockpile months' worth of canned goods in his
basement for hiswife, his two young children and himself.
>
>Popular culture also provides reinforcement, in books like "The Road," Cormac
McCarthy's novel about>
>Popular culture also provides reinforcement, in books like "The Road," Cormac
a father and son journeying through a post-apocalyptic wasteland, and films
like "I Am Legend,"which stars Will Smith as a survivor of a man-made virus wandering the barren
streets of New York.>Middle-class survivalists can also browse among a growing number of how-to
"Dare to Prepare!" a self-published work by Holly Drennan Deyo, or "When All
Hell Breaks Loose" byCody Lundin (Gibbs Smith, 2007), which instructs readers how to dispose of
bodies and dine on ratsand dogs in the event of disaster.
>
>Preparedness activity is difficult to track statistically, since people who
take measures are>
>Preparedness activity is difficult to track statistically, since people who
usually highly circumspect by nature, said Jim Rawles, the editor of
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apreparedness Web site. Nevertheless, interest in the survivalist movement "is
experiencing itslargest growth since the late 1970s," Mr. Rawles said in an e-mail, adding that
traffic at his bloghas more than doubled in the past 11 months, with more than 67,000 unique
visitors per week. And itsbase is growing.
>
>"Our core readership is still solidly conservative," he said. "But in recent
months I've noticed an>
>"Our core readership is still solidly conservative," he said. "But in recent
increasing number of stridently green and left-of-center readers."
>One left-of-center environmentalist who is taking action is Alex Steffen, the
executive editor of>One left-of-center environmentalist who is taking action is Alex Steffen, the
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a Web site devoted to sustainability. With only slight40, said he and his girlfriend could serve as "poster children for the
well-adjusted, urban liberalsurvivalist," given that they keep a six-week cache of food and supplies in his
basement in Seattle(although they polished off their bottle of doomsday whiskey at a party).
>He said the chaos following Hurricane Katrina served as a wake-up call for him
and others that the>He said the chaos following Hurricane Katrina served as a wake-up call for him
government might not be able to protect them in an emergency or environmental crisis.
>
>"The 'where do we land when climate change gets crazy?' question seems to be an
increasingly common>
>"The 'where do we land when climate change gets crazy?' question seems to be an
one," said Mr. Steffen in an e-mail message, adding that such questions have
"really gonemainstream."
>
>Many of the new, nontraditional preparedness converts are "Peakniks," Mr.
Rawles said, referring to>
>Many of the new, nontraditional preparedness converts are "Peakniks," Mr.
adherents of the "Peak Oil" theory. This concept holds that the world will
soon, or has already,reached a peak in oil production, and that coming supply shortages might
threaten society. While thetheory is still disputed by many industry analysts and executives, it has
inched toward themainstream in the last two years, as oil prices have nearly doubled, surpassing
$100 a barrel. Thetopic, which was the subject of a United States Department of Energy report in
2005, has attractedattention in publications like The New York Times Magazine and The Wall Street
Journal, and was aprimary focus of "Megadisasters: Oil Apocalypse," a recent History Channel special.
>
>Another book, "The Long Emergency" (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2005), by James
Howard Kunstler, an>
>Another book, "The Long Emergency" (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2005), by James
author and journalist who writes about economic and environmental issues,
argues that Americansuburbs and cities may soon lay desolate as people, starved of oil, are forced
back to the land toadopt a hardscrabble, 19th-century-style agrarian life.
>
>Such fears caused Joyce Jimerson of Bellingham, Wash., a coordinator for a
recycling-composting>
>Such fears caused Joyce Jimerson of Bellingham, Wash., a coordinator for a
program affiliated with Washington State University, to make her yard an
"edible garden," with fruittrees and vegetables, in case supplies are threatened by oil shortages, climate
change or economiccollapse. "It's all the same ball of wax, as far as I'm concerned," she said.
>Scott Troyer, an energy consultant in Sunnyvale, Calif., said he was spurred by
discussions of peak>Scott Troyer, an energy consultant in Sunnyvale, Calif., said he was spurred by
oil - "it's not a theory," he said - and other energy concerns to remake his
suburban house inanticipation of a petroleum-starved future. Mr. Troyer, 57, installed a
photovoltaic electricitysystem, a pellet stove and a "cool roof" to reflect the sun's rays, among other measures.
>
>Mr. Troyer remains cautiously optimistic that Americans can wean themselves
from oil through smart>
>Mr. Troyer remains cautiously optimistic that Americans can wean themselves
engineering and careful planning. But, he said, "the doomsday scenarios will
happen if people don'tprepare."
>
>Some middle-class preparedness converts, like Val Vontourne, a musician and
paralegal in Olympia,>
>Some middle-class preparedness converts, like Val Vontourne, a musician and
Wash., recoil at the term "survivalist," even as they stock their homes with
food, gasoline andwater.
>
>"I think of survivalists as being an extreme case of preparedness," said Ms.
Vontourne, 44, "people>
>"I think of survivalists as being an extreme case of preparedness," said Ms.
who stockpile guns and weapons, anticipating extreme aggression. Whereas what
I'm doing, I think ofas something responsible people do.
>
>"I now think of storing extra food, water, medicine and gasoline in the same
way I think of buying>
>"I now think of storing extra food, water, medicine and gasoline in the same
health insurance and putting money in my 401k," she said. "It just makes sense." >
>Jan Rasmussen
>
"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.>Jan Rasmussen
>
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.
Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner