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Old 08-04-2011, 01:13 AM
 
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What would get to people in the interior is the lack of available Vitamin C. People would be dropping like flies from scurvy.
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Old 08-04-2011, 01:18 AM
 
Location: Not far from Fairbanks, AK
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Metlakatla View Post
We really can't farm here in southern SE...but we certainly can forage, and things can be grown in greenhouses. Plenty of game and fish; we could get by on wood heat for quite some time and since we live in the woods there are enough trees withing whacking distance that gas wouldn't be an issue. Probably have some cold nights but it rarely gets cold enough for anyone to freeze to death.

I imagine that in the event of cash becoming worthless...some kind of black market of sorts would materialize; enough of my customers are among the very rich that I'd probably be able to get some benefit from that, provided they have access to fuel that the average people don't.

We could live with a fiscal disaster here, I think. But we couldn't live with an environmental one.

It all comes down to food. Like Marty said, it's abundant here, and there are also a lot of people here who are skilled in the procurement of food without using fossil fuel generated means.
Yes, I can only agree with you about your geographical location. You have fish, game, firewood (all nearby), the weather is relatively mild compared to Fairbanks and vicinity. I imagine that Ketchikan would be somewhat similar (?).
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Old 08-04-2011, 01:20 AM
 
Location: Manhattan Island
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Oh ok good, so we're just playing what if. Well, I would go to a village and marry a native woman and somehow work myself into the subsistence stuff and just live out the rest of my days in Unalakleet. Why Unalakleet, you ask? Mountains to the east, ocean to the west, and a population that seems just about right at about 750. Of course, the likelihood of a young, bearded white man like myself just showing up in UNK and finding a wife and becoming an Eskimo like Sity is pretty low, but hell, that's what I'd want. I want to live in Alaska, way way up there in Alaska, not down there next to British Columbia (no offense to you SE'ers, it's a beautiful place, just not my ideal dream location).

Ridiculous Arctic/sub-Arctic plan notwithstanding, I don't know what the hell I would do, being a person who is finishing up a college degree and having absolutely no ties to any sort of jobs. I think what I would do is go to Palmer and start farming. Not sure what I would farm, maybe some sort of grassy product like hay or wheat grass or something. Would that even grow there? I think it would. Palmer is beautiful too, great place to sit and watch the apocalypse. Or, I would go up the Porcupine River and find Heimo's well-hidden cabin and plead with him to teach me how to trap and do what he does. Then I could truly not depend on the dollar. Well, sorta.
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Old 08-04-2011, 01:21 AM
 
Location: Not far from Fairbanks, AK
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Originally Posted by Metlakatla View Post
What would get to people in the interior is the lack of available Vitamin C. People would be dropping like flies from scurvy.
We can have some of that late in the summer with all the berries around, but we would have to compete with the bears The same for vitamin D, but during the summer with all the sunlight.
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Old 08-04-2011, 01:25 AM
 
Location: Not far from Fairbanks, AK
20,243 posts, read 36,919,586 times
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Originally Posted by ShipOfFools42 View Post
Oh ok good, so we're just playing what if. Well, I would go to a village and marry a native woman and somehow work myself into the subsistence stuff and just live out the rest of my days in Unalakleet. Why Unalakleet, you ask? Mountains to the east, ocean to the west, and a population that seems just about right at about 750. Of course, the likelihood of a young, bearded white man like myself just showing up in UNK and finding a wife and becoming an Eskimo like Sity is pretty low, but hell, that's what I'd want. I want to live in Alaska, way way up there in Alaska, not down there next to British Columbia (no offense to you SE'ers, it's a beautiful place, just not my ideal dream location).

Ridiculous Arctic/sub-Arctic plan notwithstanding, I don't know what the hell I would do, being a person who is finishing up a college degree and having absolutely no ties to any sort of jobs. I think what I would do is go to Palmer and start farming. Not sure what I would farm, maybe some sort of grassy product like hay or wheat grass or something. Would that even grow there? I think it would. Palmer is beautiful too, great place to sit and watch the apocalypse. Or, I would go up the Porcupine River and find Heimo's well-hidden cabin and plead with him to teach me how to trap and do what he does. Then I could truly not depend on the dollar. Well, sorta.
Potatoes grow well in the interior, and so barley. But summers are very short, and you would have to buy some land, or just work for a farmer. As a single person this would be easier for you to do that for another with a family. Again, summer would not be a big problem, but winter will be extremely difficult to survive.
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Old 08-04-2011, 01:31 AM
 
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Originally Posted by Bideshi View Post
No, "we" didn't. It was an entirely different generation of self reliant, hard working people who knew a lot more than we do about living rough and living simple. They had more of a community spirit and were more willing to share. We are the "to hell with you buddy, I've got mine" nation. They trusted in God and family, and many of them had a family farm to go back home to. The dust bowl refugees were able to find work in the Cali fields and orchards because there wasn't any work that "Americans won't do". They made it without turning on one another.

How will we do in comparison?
The Depression generation was only about twice removed from their agricultural roots, so yes, you're right about that generation being more prepared for hard times.

Some of them did all right but make no mistake....the Great Depression ripped apart families and lives. The "Grapes of Wrath" was not exactly a work of fiction. In many cases, the workers in the California fields turned on one another...though the last paragraph in the aforementioned book did make a very strong statement about solidarity and sacrifice.

How will we do in comparison...depends, I suppose, on where we are and who we are. Urbanites have little chance, whether in Alaska or elsewhere.

Back to the original question, I don't think that very many people in the interior would be able to survive for very long except for the ones who are already skilled in primarily living off the land.

People think about putting up food and they're thinking primarily fish and game. They can have all of that in the world and still die of scurvy...that's what killed a lot of the gold rush people. If I were trying to survive in the interior I'd make putting up berries a priority.

Here in SE we can get beach asparagus during a good portion of the year so scurvy isn't the issue that it is farther north.
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Old 08-04-2011, 01:38 AM
 
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Originally Posted by RayinAK View Post
Yes, I can only agree with you about your geographical location. You have fish, game, firewood (all nearby), the weather is relatively mild compared to Fairbanks and vicinity. I imagine that Ketchikan would be somewhat similar (?).
Somewhat, but Ketch also has a greater population that would be competing for the same resources.
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Old 08-04-2011, 02:09 AM
 
Location: Fairbanks, AK
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Metlakatla View Post
The Depression generation was only about twice removed from their agricultural roots, so yes, you're right about that generation being more prepared for hard times.

Some of them did all right but make no mistake....the Great Depression ripped apart families and lives. The "Grapes of Wrath" was not exactly a work of fiction. In many cases, the workers in the California fields turned on one another...though the last paragraph in the aforementioned book did make a very strong statement about solidarity and sacrifice.

How will we do in comparison...depends, I suppose, on where we are and who we are. Urbanites have little chance, whether in Alaska or elsewhere.

Back to the original question, I don't think that very many people in the interior would be able to survive for very long except for the ones who are already skilled in primarily living off the land.

People think about putting up food and they're thinking primarily fish and game. They can have all of that in the world and still die of scurvy...that's what killed a lot of the gold rush people. If I were trying to survive in the interior I'd make putting up berries a priority.

Here in SE we can get beach asparagus during a good portion of the year so scurvy isn't the issue that it is farther north.
That's why we have sourdough, to prevent scurvy. Also, cabbages grow very well up here so a winter's worth of sourkrout would also work against scurvy.
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Old 08-04-2011, 02:24 AM
 
Location: Palmer
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Originally Posted by 1stimestar View Post
That's why we have sourdough, to prevent scurvy. Also, cabbages grow very well up here so a winter's worth of sourkrout would also work against scurvy.
A garden full of cabbage is almost a guarantee to bring in a moose or two...fresh meat for the winter. Now your set, you can live off cabbage and moose.

Can sauerkraut prevent scurvy? I've got about 7 big huge cabbages in my yard right now. The moose already munched on one.
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Old 08-04-2011, 06:24 AM
 
Location: Homosassa, Florida
2,200 posts, read 4,342,647 times
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Worst comes to worst. United States government could close down the enter gates into Alaska. Let Alaska defend for it's self in economic will power for it's own people. Keep the vast wild Alaska land a open zoo food source for Alaska people. Year 2062 Alaska oil will be used up and Government might agree to close up Alaska. Canada at that time have entered the World military powers. Anchorage International airport will become a space port with flights to Moscow, Russia and to Mars. Closer to our time line in life. Year 2018 coca cola will introduced dry storage soft drink pouch with built in fizz making motor. One would only have to add water to the 32 oz coca cola pouch. Saving heavy transportation costs. Year 2024 custom made office building modules that come out of place and become helicopters flying high above cities with office suites. Move Government offices into other locations when needed. Flying building modules...
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