Alert About Missile Bound for Hawaii Was Sent in Error, Officials Say
So I posted something along these lines in another, now-duped thread... but I know that many folks were caught completely off guard and started wondering what they would have done in case of a real threat. Many just cracked Twitter jokes about dying in a blaze of glory.<p>For folks who want to understand the actual dangers and survivability of an ICBM strike, I strongly suggest a book from the 1960s written by one of the folks involved in the US nuclear program during the Cold War:<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.madisoncountyema.com&#x2F;nwss.pdf" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.madisoncountyema.com&#x2F;nwss.pdf</a><p>It cuts through many of the Hollywood-perpetuated myths - the certain and painful death in case of a nuclear strike, or the 10,000-year radioactive wasteland that&#x27;s going to be left behind.<p>For example, it discusses why the oft-ridiculed duck-and-cover strategy is actually surprisingly effective. The primary threat from an air burst is very conventional - a shockwave and an intense burst of thermal radiation. Shelter - any shelter - greatly improves your survival odds.<p>The fallout from air bursts is comparatively modest (i.e., tends to be far lower than from an event such as Chernobyl) and while lethal, it decays very rapidly - dropping to reasonably safe levels in a matter of days, not centuries. Staying sheltered for 2-10 days greatly improves your odds, and the thickness of material between you and any surfaces that gather dust (roofs, ground) matters more than anything else. Here&#x27;s a handy chart:<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;static3.businessinsider.com&#x2F;image&#x2F;58cc34b9112f7043268b4bb4-1151" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;static3.businessinsider.com&#x2F;image&#x2F;58cc34b9112f7043268...</a><p>In other words, having enough food and water in your home to weather out a nasty stowstorm also makes you well-prepared for the nuclear apocalypse. Mattresses and bulky furniture provide decent shielding when all other options fail.<p>The long-term effect of fallout tend to be exaggerated, too; water from streams, deep lakes, or wells should be safe or get safe very quickly. Removing a layer of topsoil allows relatively safe crops to be grown. Mild radiation sickness, at the levels where people start experiencing vomiting and hair loss, is actually pretty survivable and has a relatively modest impact on your odds of developing cancer later in life.<p>(Plus, keep in mind that more than 2,000 nuclear tests have been conducted so far, including around 900 in Nevada alone; while they had some statistically observable negative effects, they have not turned the world into a nuclear wasteland.)<p>Of course, don&#x27;t get me wrong - even a single nuclear strike would be awful, and a large-scale confrontation would mean untold damages and loss of life. But the important point is that a lot of people would survive and would be able to do well in the aftermath - more so if we teach them about some common-sense preparedness steps.<p>The main reason why our understanding of the nuclear risk is so lopsided is because for decades, many nuclear disarmament activists (including many prominent screenwriters, celebrities, and pundits) had a vested interested in portraying the already-awful outcomes of a potential nuclear war as far less survivable and far more hopeless than in reality; the mockery of duck-and-cover, the &quot;barren wasteland&quot; imagery in the movies, and the largely-discredited scientific theories like the &quot;nuclear winter&quot;... all helped to advance (otherwise noble) goals, but at the expense of teaching people that there&#x27;s nothing they can do save themselves.<p>Plus, of course, after Cold War, we have fewer reasons to worry. It&#x27;s hard to top the Cuban Missile Crisis. There&#x27;s plenty of politicized hyperbole around nuclear tensions right now, but the reality is that a large-scale strike on the US is a lot less likely than throughout a good part of the 20th century.<p>PS. I have a short summary of NWSS and some other points about this topic (and other, more mundane but plausible hazards) in my &quot;Doomsday Prepping for Less Crazy Folk&quot; - <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;lcamtuf.coredump.cx&#x2F;prep&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;lcamtuf.coredump.cx&#x2F;prep&#x2F;</a>