Supervolcano beneath Yellowstone update: Caldera Volcano shocks researchers

I was living in the arctic before you were born, when do I get my $1.69...

that civilization is no older than any other...you'll starve at the same rate as the rest of us...

and that can be applied to every people on the planet...and will do you no good surviving a super-volcanic eruption...

your racist attitude is appalling...

 

survival requires a community, an individual may initially survive on their own for awhile if they stay out of sight but that the amount of simple technological knowledge we've lost is enormous...can I make clothing? no...can I make shoes?no...can I make a candle? no...can I deliver a baby? no...can I make a wagon wheel?no...can I preserve food? no...the simplest things we haven't used in decades are lost...eventually the loss of basic knowledge will kill most...

and what about the size of the eruption? farm crops maybe out of the question for years but each year farmers would need to plant crops just in case that is the year to begin...so how many years of seed crops need to be stored? 2, 3, 4 5yrs? and for every years worth of seed a corresponding amount of food...who stores that much food and seed crop?

I like the Inuit's chances, the knowledge to live of the land and survival skills are still there if they're needed...they had a low tech existence before Europeans/Canadians arrived, completely self sufficient...hunter gathers of the amazon still live like that as do the Kung and Pygmies in africa..

there was a program on tv last year about survivalists and their plans for surviving the apocalypse, most were very deluded and had no comprehension of how difficult it will be or what it will require...I laughed when one woman said she would negotiate her body/sex for food, what ever gave her the idea that men will feel the need to negotiate? she'll be property...

 

Well...since there are so many of you, you could eat each other.

There have been times in your history your people have starved and the Chinese are buying up cropland all over the world to feed their massive population. And the Han...just another royal family.

 

True.

In fact, most Eskimos have no more real odds of living through an Armageddon type situation then any other American Indian groups would.

Like most of us, they have jobs, buy their groceries at the store, and drive cars not dogsleds. But on the whole they would probably do better both because of lower population densities, and a higher percentage know how to hunt and fish then your typical American can.

Of course, how many could survive the following global temperature drops is another matter however. But I do think as communities they are more likely to survive then most other communities.

This is why I have very definite plans if the SHTF.

My first one is to get the hell out of Dodge. I have 2 "survival vehicles", which I would use depending on the situation.

First is a Winnebago, my first choice. Self contained, and my wife and I could live out of it for quite a while. The secondary back-up vehicle is my Goldwing, with a pull behind tent camper. Good if I could not get out fast enough, and have to go off-road a bit. And if possible, I would drive the bike and trailer as the wife drove the motorhome.

My first plan, get into the Sierra Nevada range and then lay low. I have fishing gear, a rifle and pistol (rifle is only .22, but good enough for rabbits and small game), and the knowledge of how to survive in the wilderness (all my military background is good for something).

But no "Rambo Crap", I would find the most distant and remote road and go as far as I could, trying to stay completely out of sight. Then stay put for probably 1-3 months. After that, if everything has still gone to hell, I make my way to Idaho to my uncle's claim.

And thanks to my "part-time job" and my own collecting, I have an amazing amount of survival gear. Kevlar helmets, body armor, enough canteens-camelbaks for about 5 gallons of water (as well as 4 5 gallon water jugs), tents, cold weather sleeping bags, tarps, ponchos, and enough other miscellaneous gear to support my wife and 3 or 4 others in addition. Most of it already packed into duffel bags and stored either in the bike trailer, the motor home, or in the closet.

I laugh whenever I see these "Doomsday Prepper" shows, because I bet most would be dead within 2 weeks. Once others realize they have food, they will get swamped. And all their guns will be of no help when some people decide to say "to hell with them", and resort to human wave attacks, decide to just firebomb their little bunker, or use something like an armored car to just bash in the wall. My survival instinct tells me not to dig in, but get the hell away from as many people as possible.

However, in a "Supervolcano" type scenario, I would not worry to much about breakdown of services, and get as far South as I can. Get away from the ashfall areas, dust masks at all times (yea, about 100 surgical masks in with the equipment), and then do what I can to get by.

 

there aren't a lot of cars in Canadian Inuit communities, many of these communities are isolated with no roads and no where to go everything comes in by plane or the occasional ship in summer, they can get along fine with out their trucks...snowmobiles, there are a lot not many people keep dog teams but there are a few...long hunting excursions in conditions no southerner would dare attempt are still done(every so often there is helicopter rescue mission to pluck a hunter or two stranded on an ice flow), they can if need be still get all the food from the environment and being okay with a raw meat diet is invaluable...their population has increased to a point many will die but as a community they still have the skills to survive without modern technology...of coarse that's also dependent on just how severe a super eruption will be...

let me play devils advocate here...getting out of dodge, you won't be the only one there will likely be millions with the same idea...this is your first hurdle...

Winnebago fuel guzzlers, fuel will be difficult to access, they're slow, cumbersome and not bulletproof okay for shelter once you get where you're going but you need to get there first...I'd trade in the goldwing for a large CC capacity off road dual purpose bike, KTM, BMW, Yamaha...I'd want strong off road mobility if forced to leave the Winnebago behind, goldwings are a two wheeled Winnebago...

your 2nd hurdle, if you can reach your destination and hope thousands of others are not on your tail, hunting by millions who have left the city will quickly deplete the game...but ya if you can survive the first 3 months most people will already be dead, then it's time to find out who your neighbours are and make friends quickly you'll need each other to survive...but who can you trust?...

all good ...but where's the food? I wouldn't count on game...one week in and you'll really be hurting if you run out of food the occasional rabbit won't cut it...

ya I saw one prepper from Boston If I recall correctly, who was armed to the teeth and figured he be safe in plastic and tin (bulletproof ) trailer, he had it parked within an easy drive from NY and Boston I guess he expected the millions of urbanites all to stay at home and not bother him...getting far far away from everyone else as quickly as possible is very important...

so you have masks, what do your vehicles have?

 

Rats. Foiled. i did spend a summer in fairbanks....? id give you ten but this may be impractical.


Where in the Arctic have you been?


But you ought to know that "inuit" is not the same as "Eskimo". Most of the ones I met were Yupik

Depends on what you call "civilized".

You dont think it means anything if one group is more successful than another?

Its not racist to point out that most eskimos live on welfare and havent a notion how to really hunt. What did I say that is racist?

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A strong cohesive community would probably be essential.

 

Hey yuck how is that going to work? Im vegetarian! or hmm.
i see where this is going.

As for the Han, its an awful big family.

 

Actually, the first reaction of the majority of people is to play turtle. Sit tight, and wait to be told what to do. You could have a nuke fall on DC tomorrow, and most would just sit at home and wait until they are told what to do or where to go. I would be among the first to boogie out of town, not waiting to be told I should do so.

Winnies may be gas hogs, but I can get from my home to my ultimate destination on only 2 tanks. Oh and I have an electric siphon pump for scrounging fuel if needed.

And in the Sierra Nevada off-road is not really an option. The terrain is simply to rough to do so. However, I have both a good GPS with TROPO maps, as well as a map program with TROPO as well as a USB GPS unit for my laptop. And in the vehicle I also have more then 2 months worth of food (MREs and other long term foodstuffs) as well as a 40 gallon water tank.

Of all the things commonly overlooked in a survival kit, good topographical maps (either on paper and/or GSP) is an invaluable tool. Most people will be sticking to the main roads. Me, I can search for roads knowing the terrain and elevations, load them to my handheld GPS and go around any gridlocks or congestion. Remember, most people will be sheepishly following the main roads (I-80, I-5, US-99), or getting lost taking random back country roads with nothing better then Rand-McNally Road atlas which only shows main highways. I already know several backroutes to Nevada thanks to prospecting trips I have done, and have a few good hideout locations picked.

 

If "the bomb" goes off or a large volcano erupts I want to be standing right under the bomb or right on top of the volcano.

Why prolong the misery?

 

Just stay outta my way, that's my place.

 

geographically I'm too close ground zero too care, there is no where to run...

 

where did I say eskimo? it's a derogatory term...

you use the word with an arrogant superiority...

completely irrelevant...successful being a very subjective term...

what's racist is you claiming racial superiority...the last time another people claimed their "civilization" was "superior" and followed that ideological path many millions died..

 

I did and isnt. You seem to have this idea that racism lurks everywhere.
And that "Inuit" is an inclusive word for all eskimos, which it is not.
Questioning your expertise on the far north.

I dont. You see things that are not there and dont see things that are.

its completely relevant to who shows they have the qualities to survive and prosper

Han Chinese is not a race. Anyway, you've Godwined yourself.

 

question your own expertise "eskimo" is not their proper name, they refer themselves as the "Inuit"... eskimo is the name given them by the southern Algonquian tribes and picked up by europeans...I can think of a few names that the Han are known by and none of them flattering, not surprisingly they're not mandarian or cantonese in origin but according to you that doesn't matter so I can use them right?

operating dirty little shops all over the world offers no advantage in surviving super volcanoes...

being a racist doesn't require a race...godwin is an internet meme and irrelevant...

 

wyly;1063490172]

Not only do I question your knowledge but your ability to learn when you are handed something.

You can ask a Yupik eskimo if they call themselves Inuit. Do you STILL think its a generic word for Eskimos from Greenland to Cook Inlet?

I met a number of Eskimo students at UAF, they called themselves Eskimos.
The algnoquin thing is just a theory of origin for the word.

If Eskimos call themselves Eskimos, and in no way take it as an offense, and dont mind if I use the same word, then thats good enough for me.

So your "according to me" is just something you made up in an attempt to be insulting.

The word "dirty" is uncalled for. Nor did I say that it offers an advantage to run stores. i was pointing out that
chinese are in large numbers all around the world, not just found in China. So the ten thousand could come from anywhere, not just from the vilest slums of guang dong. Being able to be successful anywhere is kind of an indicator of adaptability.

Mark Twain wrote about how while everyone else was moaning about the mine closing and how they had no money or job, the Chinese were busy melting solder out of cans at the dump, doing laundry, cooking and tailoring and doing fine. Their descendants of course are now professors and bankers.

And, I was pointing out that that chinese nationals control the economies of all the nations of SE Asia. Everything from the banks and industries down to the village stores. its a cultural thing.

I dont know if any particular ethnic /cultural / racial group would be more successful than any other.

I just thought it was fun to think about, and you are making it into me being a racist.

if you just grabbed ten thousand american indians, you might not like what you got, if what I have seen of reservations is any indication. If you got their ancestors from 500 years ago, then
that would be mighty different. Same with eskimos, who are mostly welfare people with no notion how tu live without modern conveniences, and dont tend to have very good health.

Social cohesion and work ethic are probably pretty good indicators of who will survive. native americans dont have a good social structure for the most part.

Calling me a racist is a cheap shot. Im not. Godwins law is for people who resort to
nazi comparisons, and its always relevant. Same reason that (other kinds of )bankruptcy always is.

 

Eskimos Ohhh!..........that actually might be the best one of all of them actually. They are able to eat foods with high levels of fats that would be harmful to any other race because of their genetics. They also have the Asian eye flap like the Han Chinese for dusty conditions (I believe that is what it was for its been awhile since anthropology class). They might have the best of all the genes. I don't remember if they have long nasal cavities for filtering air out though.

 

That is the Epicanthic Eye Fold, and it is common throughout Asia (including Russia), as well as North and South America, as well as in Africa.

And they are not sure why some regions had this develop, it is kind of like an appendix really, and it seems to simply be something that people in those reasons found attractive, so it continued.

 

the fold could as simple as sexual selection and isn't a physical adaptation to anything nor does it appear to have any advantages ...

appendix is now thought to have an active use, acting as bacterial reservoir for the gut...

 

eskimo is not an Inuit, Yupik or Aleut word...it's Algonquin derived...the yupiks and inuit closely related with language differences but neither are eskimos, that's the result of ignorance and destruction of their culture, the Inuit's of canada have rejected the eskimo label as not of their culture...

there, now you learned something let's see if can be mature and accept that you don't know everything...

no better than the English, Dutch, French, Germans, Filipinos, Spanish, Portuguese, sub-Saharan Africans that can be found everywhere , immigration is not indication of racial superiority... if it wasn't for the english imposing themselves on hong kong and transporting cheap chinese labour around the globe they would still be there...

anecdotal mythology...no more successful than any other ethnic group, I know a lot of their descendents still doing laundry, cooking, tailoring and pulling garbage out of bins to recycle...

your the one the made the claim of superiority of ethnicity for no other reason than ethnicity... to believe that running a business can prepare you in anyway to survive a volcanic cataclysm, that's an simplistic arrogant claim that defies belief...

right, let's crap on a people who've had their culture destroyed and gutted by europeans and compare them to a culture who have never endured anything remotely comparable...

ask me or anyone if given a choice to live with a group of people after a volcanic catastrophe who they would prefer to take their chances with, a community of Inuit or Yupik welfare recipients or an assortment of han shop keepers cooks and bankers hmmm...that might take me all of a millisecond to make that decision...

they're tough as nails and very resourceful...

"The Han are so ethnically superior that they can survive anything, not because they actually have any relevant survival knowledge oh no it's just because they're Han" ...you need only replace Han with Deutschfolk and we all no how that story goes...

and ya I know all about the "superior" han attitude, I'm married to one....

 

I thought it was pretty established as the Chicxulub Meteor though I believe in the Red Queen theory of Baker myself, I used to get into SUCH arguments with my fifth grade cousin.

Great book. Odd that more on this haven't been written. It's sort of a perennial subject on the Science Channels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2ZXco32IRU

 

I think the thing with the high fat diet is that it is from seal / whale, a very different sort of
oil than what you get from a beef critter.

What you see now is a lot of obesity and diabetes. Tater tots, hot pockets, pepsi will do it every time.

 

In 1977, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference meeting in Barrow, Alaska, officially adopted Inuit as a designation for all Eskimos, regardless of their local usages.[citation needed] The Inuit Circumpolar Council, as it is known today, uses both Inuit and Eskimo in its official documents so the term is still use

See above, and drop the cheap shots.

this justifies your use of the word "dirty".

Asians in the USA have the highest level of income and education.

You can make things up and then disbelieve them as you like.

Im not the one who invaded their country and crapped on them. Im describing the current situation.

Why not refine it further? Han elderly cripples, or strong young native men and women?

Describes some small percent of any population.

Inventing an attitude, inventing a 'quote" to back it up, and then doing the Godwin bit again, now THAT is some proof you must be right!

Well, too bad for you. You dont know all about me, you just make things up.

 

One question I have is why does everyone assume that all civilization would inevitably collapse in the face of a huge disaster causing widespread death and destruction? WWII was just such a thing and while many people indeed did die not even the occupied nations went back to the stone age and stayed there. Additionally, and partially as a result of WWII and the Cold War, we now have a society where many things are made to be very resilient in the face of great misfortunes. Probably the best example is the Internet, which was specifically designed by the Defense Department to keep working even in the face of Global Thermonuclear War. It would slow down precipitately, yes, but it would still work. (The Interstate Highways, btw, were designed for the same purpose, though I don't know how well they'd work at it today.) The Armed Forces of almost all nations have contingencies for disasters and if we rely upon them to protect us from hostile nations why don't we believe they could as easily function against a hostile disaster?

It would not be an easy decade, no, but the idea that humanity would lose several thousand years is wrongheaded on several levels. Just one should be illustrative. What will all these eskimos...er...inuit...er...ariel tweeto's people.....hunt? Won't the volcano have killed most of the wild animals too? Hunter-gatherers, in fact, require a fairly rich environment and this is one of the reasons mankind didn't spread into many areas until after the invention of agriculture.

 

Aleksander - I believe your second paragraph answers your first question. Not only would animals die off, but so would the plants they (and we) eat if the explosion were truly big. As if the ash weren't bad enough, we would experience a "nuclear winter" for perhaps years. It's difficult to see how much terrestrial life would survivie. Should mankind's numbers be reduced on a proportional basis to that from the Tabo eruption, surely we would be set back many, many decades. I agree that that is not "several thousand", but plenty bad enough!

 

ww2 would be a minor event compared to cataclysmic super eruption the assumption being a super volcano will cause agricultural collapse quickly followed by social collapse...19th century volcanic eruptions in Indonesia were felt globally and it was a small volcanic event compared to what Yellowstone could be...do a web search into the year without summer, northern hemisphere crop failures due to volcanic activity...a super volcano could cause global crop failures for several years or longer, Imagine an ash cloud blanketing north america alone and the dent that will put into food production...my city has at any time only a 2 week supply of food, any disruption in the global supply of food will be felt instantly...

yes many animals will die, how many is dependent on the severity of the eruption...people closest to their previous hunter gather lifestyle are best equipped to survive a total collapse, the Inuit have advantages, their food supply wasn't based on agriculture, it was fish, the animals that prey on fish and caribou that live on the most marginal of land, fish(and the seals that eat them will not be as effected by an eruption as will land animals...secondary advantage no one else will be going into their region to compete for the same resources...hunter gathers generally live of off food sources the rest of don't see or even recognize as food, they'll survive in conditions the rest of us cannot because we have lost that knowledge....