Second in a series of three stories

By JOHN NORTH

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FORT MILL, S.C. — Despite repeated and increasingly numerous catastrophic weather events around the United States and threats of an economic collapse, terrorism and another world war based on Middle East tensions, most Americans are experiencing “cognitive dissonance,” believing that “something that bad can’t happen” to them.

At least that was the viewpoint of Steven Nolan, who spoke during Charlotte PrepCon on July 14.

“Americans are narcissists ... Ninety-nine percent of Americans are totally unprepared” for a catastrophe — “nor do they care,” Nolan told the crowd of about 500 people at The Pointe Arts & Rec Center, adjoining the Charlotte Knights Stadium. Among the attendees were about a dozen residents of the four-county Asheville metro area.

On the positive side, he complimented “the one percent” of the population, including those attending the preppers conference, for their interest and efforts.

Nolan’s presentation, “Thinking the Unthinkable: Life After an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) Event,” told of what he could be a return for Americans to a lifestyle from several centuries earlier.

Noland is co-founder of SurvivalWeek.com, a daily news aggregator monitoring more than 100 websites daily featuring more than 10,000 articles, practical tips and breaking news serving the prepper community.

Nolan also is publisher of The Beacon, a monthly eMagazine dedicated to likeminded Americans interested in becoming more self-reliant. In addition he is the author of the “Thinking the Unthinkable” series of white papers.

He began by asking, “How many of you knew we had one (an EMP event) last Thursday (July 12)?” 

Specifically, Nolan said the “event” was a solar flare, and — fortunately — its damage was “very limited,” instead of a “black swan.”

He noted that a “black swan” is an event that comes in out of the blue. It’s an unexpected event” that has a major impact.

Nolan then spoke briefly of his personal experience as a prepper. “My (prepper) journey started when I was doing research on a screenplay,” he said.

At that point, Nolan noted that his prepper experience, in a way, has been similar to that of Neo, the lead character in the film “The Matrix.” In the film, Neo is told he could take the blue pill and go back to sleep, or the red pill and get an idea of what is actually happening. When Neo elects to take the red pill, he is propelled into a world that is both shocking and challenging.

“Well, my red pill was a stack of books at Barnes & Noble (bookstore),” Nolan noted.

In his research, he studied the Mayan prophecy, which, he said, states that the end of the world will occur on Dec. 21, 2012. He said the prophecy merits a look because “they (the Mayans) were at their cutlural peak when Europe was still in the Dark Ages.”

While he has mixed thoughts on the prophecy, he said that there are some unusual natural phenomenon expected to happen on that date. “On Dec. 21, our planet and the sun will be directly in line with the solar system.” Coincidentally, “right now,” Nolan asserted, the earth is “in a period of a high probability of solar flares.

As for why he was discussing preparations for an EMP attack, Nolan said, “If you can prepare for them, you’re prepared for anything.”

In his definition of an EMP, which results in a highly charged electron, he said it could be a solar flare or a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse, which explodes in the atmosphere above the earth — and fries the circuits in all digital devices.

The ramifications of an EMP attack are “what keep me up at night,” Nolan said.  “Iran — they could put a scud missile in a boat off the coast” and explode it over the U.S., sending the America back to the 18th century, with no electrical grid and barely any technology that would still function. 

During an EMP attack, “airplanes are just going to drop out of the sky” as their engines are rendered inoperable, “and most cars will die on the road.” For those pre-digital vehicles still running, “it takes gasoline to run gas pumps,” so fuel will be hard to obtain.

Besides Iran, he also worried about EMP attacks from other enemies, including North Korea, China, Russia and “terrorists in general.”

If the grid goes down, Nolan predicted, many people will die because one percent of Americans feeds the other 99 percent.” And today’s agriculture, he noted, is based on high-tech equipment that no longer will work.

“The train system is computer-based,” as are many other mass transit systems, so chaos will ensue, he said.

With a high-altitude EMP attack, a long-term power outage could take years to restore, especially since “all the equipment is made in China.”

As a prepper, he added, “I try to make sure my car always has at least three-fourths of a tank of gas,” to give him flexibility if catastrophe hits.

“The average American only keeps three weeks of food in the house and three days of water,” Nolan lamented. “People get testy when they can’t feed their families.”

Under cataclysmic conditions, “the breakdown of society occurs in a matter of days. When you can’t buy anything, people will start looking” at what their neighbors have.

“What about prisons? Do you do the humane thing and let them (the inmates) out?”

Armed gangs will take over in many cases and “the bottom line is you don’t want to do it (try to survive) alone,” Nolan said.

“Look back at (Hurricane) Katrina (in New Orleans) ... where house searches and gun confiscations” occurred.

“If you do bug out, you need to have a place to go ... Historically speaking, refugees never fare well ....

In general, Nolan said, “Water storage is a key to prepping ... Water is the most critical component to prepping. Be able to filter water at your shelter or on the go.”

In citing many examples of the U.S. government’s mishandling of disasters, “The bottom line is you don’t want to depend on the government” when a disaster happens.

“You need to have physical gold and silver on hand — even junk silver ... Get to know your neighbors ... Get serious first-aid equipment and learn how to use it.” 

Further, Nolan said, “Learn how to barter. Learn a new skill set — maybe small-engine repair ... Ham radio — learn it. To get started, make plans. Keep your faith — without it, you’d just be a basket case.”

During a question-and-answer session afterward, Nolan was asked of the cutoff on EMP-proof vehicles.

“I think it’s generally 1973 and back,” he replied.

Someone asked if cellphones would continue to work after an EMP attack.

“They may be fine, but the cell towers run off electricity” — and the grid will be rendered inoperable, Nolan said.

“What do you say to anyone if they say you’re all nuts?” someone asked.

Nolan grinned and prompted laughter when he said he tells skeptics, “I don’t really have a tin-foil hat — it’s life insurance.”

What is his view on a possible currency collapse? he was asked.

“I think it would be a currency issue, more than anything else,” Nolan replied. “I think one day there’d be a ‘bank holiday,’ and the currency would be devalued.”

Another person asked about bartering.

“Batteries are great” for bartering,” Nolan said. “Dental floss, sewing needles ... Personally, I think the next currency will be the .22 bullet ... Have silver on hand. Junk silver is a great way to go.”