Society destroyed...

[Qfwfq]

In metropolitan areas? I doubt it nkt.

 

I'm sure that in the more rural areas, some communities would succeed in forming, along the lines of early medieval times. Here in Europe they could even recycle the better preserved castles instead of building them from scratch, if necessary. I'm quite sure that supplies of cereals and other preservable foods and any immediately usable resources would be fought for and would hence go in short times. The fighting would typically waste more than actual consumption. Even those with enough sense to plant enough of the cereals that can be found would have a hard time protecting crops, I'd say fighting would destroy many of the crops before they're near harvest.

[nkt]

In metropolitan areas? I doubt it nkt.

Sorry, you lost me? Which bit?

The fighting would typically waste more than actual consumption. Even those with enough sense to plant enough of the cereals that can be found would have a hard time protecting crops, I'd say fighting would destroy many of the crops before they're near harvest.

I agree. This is why moving to put distance between yourself and those who might do you harm is the first step. The second step is to be able to defend what you have.

 

Might is right is an unfortunate way to look at that, but, if it came true, I would rather it be my right and my might than some Moonie or a Creationist or the next Pol Pot or Hitler!

 

I know I would be harsh only when it was needed, and benign the rest of the time, if, indeed I was even the ruler! However, I assure you that the 95% of laws that act to annoy people and expand the power of the state would be gone, people would be responsible for their actions (and if not, they would be *made* responsible!) and imprisonment would rarely be a punishment in and of itself.

 

I really would rather just go set up another country somewhere, but the world is rather crowded these days...

[Turtle]

___Argh!! I lost a post! Rats.

___Briefly now, even though Boerseun discounted the cause in the beginning of this thread, as things have developed I think it's germaine. The location, concentration, & number of survivors is an essential initial condition. The best survival strategy for destruction by germs is different than for destruction by Sun erruptions, is different for destruction by ice age, etc..

[TheFaithfulStone]

Read "The Stand" for an exploration of pretty much exactly this.

 

Even if you hate Stephen King (and I do) it's still an interesting read.

 

We would figure it out, and I doubt we would do as much fighting as you might think. Most people I think would be so happy simply to encounter other survivors that they'd band together rather than kill each other.

 

The need for company is just as strong as the need for food.

 

That said, I could build a "small scale" industrial economy - Hydroelectric power, biodiesel, a small garden (and really, subsistence farming only takes an hour or two a day, maybe a goat or a cow or two) I could support myself and my family for our lifetimes in something resembling the Central America - 2nd World style, etc.

 

Sure, society utterly destroyed would be a big step backward, but I doubt that it's likely we would all instantly forget from whence we came in our struggle with nature, red in tooth and claw.

 

We'd be back on top, where we belong, killing each other with more effeciency than ever before, after not too long.

 

TFS

[looky looky, optimistic and depressing at the same time!]

[Tormod]

Another book suggestion: Stephen Baxter, "Evolution". Breathtaking in scope...as it is a fictional account of the evolutionary history of life on Earth - but shocking at the end, when Baxter peeks into the future. It is a bleak one, indeed.

[Qfwfq]

My point about metropolitan areas was that, at the same 0.1%, there would still be many people in these and most of them wouldn't have more sense than to form bands to fight for whatever goods are lying around or in storage. Once formed, these bands wouldn't likely be quick to change mentality. As they find less edible food where they are, they will be forced to go elsewhere.

 

This is why moving to put distance between yourself and those who might do you harm is the first step. The second step is to be able to defend what you have.

Once you've planted your crops and before they're harvestable, it'll be hard to move them when the Landsknecht come along.

[coldhead]

Once you've planted your crops and before they're harvestable, it'll be hard to move them when the Landsknecht come along.

 

Not if my Landsknecht was bigger than your Landsknecht.

[Qfwfq]

Who is THINGY? :wave:

[jerryo]

its hard to watch the 'CNN' and not think we are on the verge of collapse.

 

the human does not seem to be able to syncronize himself with the universe

or even on the most basic level his next door neighbor

 

it will be our undoing

 

:eek:

 

people are fighting for 'peace'.....

 

.....go figure :rant:

[Turtle]

its hard to watch the 'CNN' and not think we are on the verge of collapse.

 

___This is CNN's heartfelt goal. If it bleeds, it leads. Any time spent at this or any one of the umpteen other forums, is time not spent watching CNN. You seldom see on CNN any discussion of nuance, self criticism except in the face of scandal, explanation on why a non- scientific poll is not scientific, ... you get the idea.

___It is an uncertain world, but just living is evidence of that. I agree with the principle of preparedness & I practice it; see the thread Survival Wagon...

 

http://hypography.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2515&highlight=Survival+Wagon

[jerryo]

i can't find this 'Wagon' you speak of

 

where is it?

 

is it a Jeep or a 4x4 machine ?

[Turtle]

___It is a hand pulled wagon. I may have taken the photos down. I never put up a photo of it fully loaded as I took it apart to move. A lot is still spread around the garage. I promise to look into it. :rant:

[jerryo]

..a Radio Flyer ?

 

 

:rant:

[Turtle]

___ :rant: They do make a large wagon with wooden stake sides & pneumatic tires; it was about $400 as I recall. Mine is an all steel garden wagon for $80 US. The entire kit & kaboodle is well desribed in the thread. :eek:

___I have tried to anticipate what to include in the same vein as this thread, as well as accomadate minor power outages & camping excursions.

[jerryo]

thats cool

 

myself....i have several kayaks that can carry quite alot of stuff

 

the earth is mainly water...i would hit the H2O in my yaks

 

head towards the lakes in the northwest territory...live off salmon and freash air

 

that is ...until the authorities caught me

and sent back into the madness :rant:

[Boerseun]

thats cool

 

myself....i have several kayaks that can carry quite alot of stuff

 

the earth is mainly water...i would hit the H2O in my yaks

 

head towards the lakes in the northwest territory...live off salmon and freash air

 

that is ...until the authorities caught me

and sent back into the madness :rant:

...or you die of mercury poisoning from the salmon...

[Cedars]

The premise: Civilization has been destroyed. Forget about the cause - it's not important. 99.9% of all people are dead and gone.

 

The question: How would civilization react? Would we revert back to the Stone Ages, or Dark Ages, and over hundreds of years start to revere the mystic ancients who left behind all these spectacular relics - or will we quickly re-invent society?

Anything that could reduce the numbers this low would take time to implement in the best circumstance, and worst case would be something such as a huge comet hitting the planet, sending devestating firestorms across the planet vaporizing life in its path or even worse, tipping the earth off it axis or orbit, even slightly such as a few degrees. Even if this "wobble" only occured for a short time, I imagine it could disrupt climate patterns for a very long time, possibly altering ocean currents because of increased geological activities. So we do need a cause to ponder this reduction and what could be the result in the society of humans.

 

Time factor being long. Example:Global warming. There will be much strife and conflict as human populations migrate to areas that can sustain life. To devastate the population as you suggest would involve wars, disease, migrations (I would imagine multiple). Depending on where on the globe persons can survive, would impact what resources are available. The survivors would struggle with resource availablity. The places you have migrated to do not have the natural food/fuel in place. I imagine you would be trying to grow forests on a recently thawed tundra. Sod homes? Trial and error on what crops survive? A soil content that would be changing every few years as this thawed material begins a completely foreign life cycle. Washing away with each acid rain. The remaining population will be lucky to be dark ages type at this point, say 20% of the original population. The success rate would be similar to the biosphere in the desert I would imagine, so by the time you did finally achieve the .01% population, you have done this by reverting to the stone age survival skills. I do not know how many generations it would take for the planet to stablize enough for the migrations of people to begin again to the middle parts of the planet.

 

Time factor being short: Comet/Sun/cosmic. I think in this case, the reduction would be so significant, the human race would disapear in a matter of years at most. If the human population is reduced to .01% suddenly, you also reducing the other life forms to a proportionatly dimished capacity. Where are you going to get the "seeds" for your substanance farming? Where are you going to get the deer hides to cover your naked self? Where are you going to salvage items from the past from, to use in this horribly changed future?

 

So to answer your question, should a human population reduction occur on the proportion you suggest, I think the surviving population would de-evolve culturally and would be lucky to maintain a stone age type society, orally reciting a handed down Atlantis type myth of what once was the dominance of the human race. And if recovery were to happen, it would take many more years than the destruction of that past greatness.

 

~ cheers :P