> Earlier this year the hands of the Doomsday Clock moved to two minutes to midnight, as atomic scientists announced that the world is closer to annihilation than it has been in decades.

> As global anxiety takes hold, an increasing number of people are preparing for the worst-case scenario

Am I the only one not in the loop whith this?

And if we're really facing 'global nuclear annihilation' I don't think grownup men running around the bush with plastic compass and god damn bow, roleplaying Metro 2033 are solution to this.

> “We live in an era that, within 15 minutes’ notice, nuclear weapons could be crossing the continents bringing about great devastation. Yet we deny this, go about our business.

Also every person you pass on the street can end your life in minutes or less with few dollars worth of steel. Yet we go about our business.

That possibility is just the cost of living near people. With nukes "near" means "on the same planet".

I am completely unprepared for any degree of civilization collapse.

Articles like this, however, make me wonder if there is a strategy that will leave me more prepared than the average person, but not involve devoting my entire life & pool of resources to a bomb shelter in the outback. We insure against other unlikely but catastrophic events through various types of insurance - are there any demi-preppers out there?

A blog post I ran into a while ago and found very sensible: http://lcamtuf.coredump.cx/prep/

You don't have to be a nutcase to prepare for disasters.

The irony of this is that what I have seen from modern societies in collapse* is that people band together more with their neighbors or tribe and there is less place for individuals. So maybe it is not going to be you running around in the woods with a bow, but instead a big group from a nearby camp (or a wandering tribe) dragging you out of the woods to pump water or prepare food. Collapse may be disappointing for prepers.

* I am thinking Katrina, Iraq, Syria-- modern places where things have really fallen apart.

Well, there is some sense to this. Supposing TSHTF event happens and it is a nuclear war, there is a good chance that Western Australia will be passed over in everyone's haste to kill off more threatening enemy targets first.

"He acknowledges there might be stigma attached to the word 'prepper' but stresses it is just about being prepared – whether that is for the armageddon or just for a flat tyre is up to the individual."

In the US, at least, I recall the term 'prepper' coming along relatively recently, as a softer, more friendly-sounding replacement for the previous term, "survivalist," which had acquired a connotation of "irrational, paranoid gun hoarder type."

Is this a case of the "euphamism treadmill" in action?

The nice thing about urban preppers is that's the place to go in a doomsday. They have a ready supply of water, canned goods, and ammo.

I am sure some preppers will in fact be ready, guns loaded, and should not be approached. These are also likely to be the ones avoiding urban areas anyway. But the ones I know (fortunately none of whom read HN AFAIK) well enough to know their prep...are unlikely to actually have their guns readily available.

Everyone has a hobby. This seems like a pretty bloody useful one.

I hear people say they're ready to survive off the land in a remote location, and I wonder why they don't just move there now & start doing it.

A government report estimated 90% die off after 1 year if the lights go out due to solar flare or EMP. You can get a basic 1 year supply of food that will last 20 years in cool storage for under $1000 shipped. That is 3 months for a family of 4, cheap insurance and peace of mind.

didn't expect theguardian to report on oddballs as if they're the norm for something bigger. everyone have hobbies

Doomsday clock == bullshit.

I can't believe people fall for such horseshit.

Climate-based migration? It's been going on for the entire history of the human race.

Prepping and "bugging out" is a waste of time if 10 million other people have to do the same thing, I hope you like the taste of "long pork" because that's all there is going to be to eat. No matter where you go, you will end up having to fight off hordes of other people to protect your one can of baked beans. And correct me if I'm wrong, but Australians turned in most of their guns (idiots) so I guess it will be pretty medieval there if things really do go bad.

As a civilization, the West has completely lost its way in terms of self-sufficiency. If the just-in-time delivery process in the US suffers a major blow, millions will starve and become feral very rapidly. That's what all the "zombie" bs was about--a nice way to approach a not so nice issue of city people who live hand to mouth coming for those who have whatever food exists.

I live just outside a major metro area. I have no illusions about how bad things will get if modern delivery systems falter or if the US Govt. stops paying people not to work. It is all very precarious, but it if and when it fails, the prepper types just live just a tiny bit longer than everyone else, or maybe less since they will be pillaged.

The preppers hunker down the un preppered become migrant caravans / climate based migration is already happening