Hypothetical question - Living off the land
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I dunno, civization is that which has drawn us away from natural law, in the true sense rather than that represented by the Yogic political party 
Thanks for that Rich ... in fact, that fits in well with War Office/Civil Defence papers that I read that said that the UK was capable of sustaining 30 million people ... and that was during the 1960s.
This is an excellent thread!
This is an excellent thread!
The proof of the pudding is in the eating - good old Jack H.
Anybody read Ishmael by Daniel Quinn?
Anybody read Ishmael by Daniel Quinn?
Hmm, read any of the ones relating to Emergency Powers?
They'll make you think a bit about how much use your Bushcraft skills, equipment and supplies will be to you if things ever get really grimy.
Interesting stuff & I couldn’t resist chucking in my tuppence worth. Maybe the potential sustainability is actually pretty irrelevant. Barring some sort of mass spiritual awakening, the only reason western “civilised” populations would return to the land would be as a result of some massive catastrophe – nuclear war, meteorite strike, sudden cataclysmic climate change, wildfire epidemic disease etc etc. In this case, there would probably only be a relatively small population of survivors. These few could scavenge off the carcass of our technocracy for some time, whilst the ecology recovered and they painfully re-learnt the skills of the hunter-gatherer & subsistence farmer. I think life would be rather brutish and short for most, but I’d like to think there would be a few wily bushcrafters able to escape into what’s left of our remoter wildwoods and sit out the storm in relative comfort.
Maybe I’ve read too much post-apocalypse sci-fi!
Ted W
Maybe I’ve read too much post-apocalypse sci-fi!
Ted W
Gary said:
Quite agree. I was trying to make the point that damaging and sometimes destroying ecosystems is what humans do whatever part of the world they come from; its just a historical accident that Europe came up with a set of ideas that have caused so much more despoilation of our world than any other indigenous people.
I'm quite aware of how much damage European civilisation has done as it exported its ideas, peoples and technology across the globe. As you said the 'Enlightenment' has got a lot to answer for.
Yes, but as I said "those that could not survive" - ie the number of people too great to be supported by the land. And they grow cash crops as it's better for all concerned - they actually get a better standard of living that way, however terrible it might be by our standards. A surprising number of people rely entirely on aid - in Ethiopia there are people who have given up farming because from abroad they get free food 
grr
grr
arctic hobo said:In Ethiopia there are people who have given up farming because from abroad they get free food
Yes and in the UK there are a growing number of people who have given up on work because they get hand outs from the state
.This is a game I sometimes play in pubs with mates who do bushcraft type stuff but to make it more amusing we try to decide WHICH people would survive. We call it evolution... take away the artificial support of imported food and who would spend their time in a queue outside the supermarket rather than gathering their own food.
It's the same with our energy reliant culture, if the power went down for 6 months how many would die in front of a blank telly waiting for the next episode of Eastenders to come on?
Not an impossible situation, there have been plane crashes where rescuers have found most people survived the crash then starved to death without even undoing their seatbelts.
It's the same with our energy reliant culture, if the power went down for 6 months how many would die in front of a blank telly waiting for the next episode of Eastenders to come on?
Not an impossible situation, there have been plane crashes where rescuers have found most people survived the crash then starved to death without even undoing their seatbelts.
How many modern families would survive if the had to actaully make their own evening entertainment as I did as a kid, and how many of them would know how to cook anything that doesn't have on the packaging "Pierce film several times and microwave on full power for 3 minutes"...leon-1 said:Quote:
Originally Posted by arctic hobo
In Ethiopia there are people who have given up farming because from abroad they get free food
Yes and in the UK there are a growing number of people who have given up on work because they get hand outs from the state
Its a sad sign of the times that the main topic of conversation in many workplaces is what Den did to Sharon and that most kids who go to university don't even know how to boil an egg...
Not an impossible situation, there have been plane crashes where rescuers have found most people survived the crash then starved to death without even undoing their seatbelts.[/QUOTE]
As stated early our will to live is being diluted!!
Back in the 90's a search and rescue team in the usa found the body of a lost hiker within 72 hours of him being reported missing - the guy had taken off his shoes and his watch placed then neatly beside his head and then curled up and died!
Remember this was an outdoors type - what would your average, never been in the wilds type bod do in the same situation?
As stated early our will to live is being diluted!!
Back in the 90's a search and rescue team in the usa found the body of a lost hiker within 72 hours of him being reported missing - the guy had taken off his shoes and his watch placed then neatly beside his head and then curled up and died!
Remember this was an outdoors type - what would your average, never been in the wilds type bod do in the same situation?
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