[RIKA]

I expect the number of heat related deaths to greatly increase during shtf - or when any power outage takes place for that matter. Young and old will be affected most seriously. Thats a good reason for talking about keeping cool.

First thing that comes to mind is doing heavy work during the early morning and evening hours - lounging around or taking a nap when the sun is at its highest.

Plenty of water is a must. I like to wet a bandana and tie it around my neck. Since my face and head likes to perspire very heavily, a sweatband keeps some of the sweat from dripping into my eyes. Unfortunately my glasses still want to fog up and I haven't found a solution for that.

A cave or earthen home dug into the ground would offer a cooler place to stay though most of us don't have that available. I've read that the ancient Romans hung lightweight curtains from ceiling to floor in front of breezeways and wet them with water. The evaporation would create a cooling effect.

Dad told me that when he first arrived in Viet Nam, the troops were given 10 days to beccome acclimatized. They only attended training classes and did light duty. Getting used to the heat seems like an excellent idea. Salt tablets were taken twice a day when out in the field but this could be dangerous to some people with certain medical conditions.

So, what thoughts do you have on how to to keep cool?

RIKA

 

[mrostov]

Move to the mountains? Have the natives do the hard stuff while you supervise and slam down your 20th martini......

Well, a lot has to do with the way you dress, especially in a super hot, usually very dry climate like Arizona. Even AZ gets frigging humid sometimes. Yes, even 75% humidity will feel like something when it's 112F to 115F outside every day.

A lot of Americans don't dress well for hot weather in the desert and prolonged exposure to the sun. They still approach hot weather with the sun worshipper's attitude of maximum exposed skin, while the Arab approach of loose fitting, airy clothing protecting you from the sun works better over the long haul.

LOTS of water is also needed for health. Everyone in Phoenix usually has a water bottle in their hand or close by in the summer and it's against the law for a business to deny water to anyone who walks in. It's also extremely illegal to leave kids in your car.

You also have to keep in mind that out here in the desert, the bare ground/surface soil temperature OFF the pavement can get in excess of 165F. Even a suguaro cactus has to have a 'mother plant' like a palo verde, for it to grow under in the shade till it gets big enough to handle the heat.

Earth sheltered and adobe housing works well, and they are relatively bulletproof too.

There is also a reason the Mexicans developed the tradition of the 'siesta', because it was too hot to do anything in the middle of the day. Lots of road crews, farmers, etc, prefer to work at night.

 

[John in AR]

Exposure in general would be a MAJOR factor; whether heat, cold, wet, whatever.

Even now, you hear about people dying during a simple one-day power outage. We definitely live in the land and time of the wimp.

 

[andy]

we have 10-20million who will die within

a WEEK of the power's going off. they are on life support, MUST have heat, air conditioning, refrigerated meds, etc. It took ww2 1-2 years, all over the world to produce that many corpses. The bulldozers will be hard pressed to bury them in mass graves, before the rotting produces LOTS of diseases. Dog packs will come to view humans as a DIRECT food source.

 

[RIKA]

I can always count on you for a cheery thought GK. Your thoughts on how to keep cool are appreciated.

I think that your view of the number of deaths after shtf are greatly exaggerated though because you nor anyone else can see the future.

RIKA

 

[andy]

Lady, people r 2 LAZY to tie garbage bags,

or even flush a toilet or a urinal. 5-10% will just give up and DIE,when there's no frig, no microwave, no videos, no radio, no tv, no cold drinks. U have no IDEA how many sick, elderly, essentially HELPLESS people there are in the US. Get an ALMANAC.

Average life expectancy 80years, that means 10% of the population is over 70 years of age. Since well over half are smokers, many who are not are obese, or drinkes, GUESS what their health is like, even at age 60, hmm? Diabetics number in the MILLIONS, so do those with hepatis, HIV, TB, etc. Without CONSTANT med care, MOST of those will die, and QUICK, too.

 

[andy]

no power,no burglar alarms, no lights.

REMEMBER what happened in LA, when people SAW cops weren't doing anything about looting? 20-30% of the young people went on a SPREE. Let guys THINK that power-order AINT gonna be restored,and they will shoot EVERY uniformed cop in sight, and THEN go after every cute little female that they see (or know where to find), and everybody who ever PO'D them, owed them money,etc.

 

[RIKA]

I never said that you were a liar, just that you were overstating things.

Can't you contribute anything positive?

RIKA

 

[andy]

girl, go LOOK at the hundreds of posts

i have here. NEARLY ALL of them TEACH something of value, mostly about guns and shooting. I have 100x the "postive contributions of EVERYONE ELSE HERE COMBINED.

 

[Garand]

Like your unproven shooting ability, you have provided us with little of value! Most postings are repetitious and just plain boring. Get a life gunkid. By the way, I'm shooting a 3 gun match tomorrow, how about you?

 

[Magnum88C]

There's the idea of sod houses. Just reactangles of grass stacked like bricks to form a house.

An interesting thing I ran across is the old "Florida house" concept. Basically, it's a hous ewith high ceilings (to let the heat rise above head level), and a central shaft that can be opened up. In the days before air conditioning, people would open the windows, open the louvers in the central shaft and the rising hot air would create a venturi effect, drawign cooler air in throught the windows and letting the hot air out through the top, creating a constant breeze.