If I were king of the country I would:

Tell the people whats going on. Australian govt. already has TV spots announcing the problem. Panic might ensue, but I don't think we would panic for 18 months. Panic can be very exhausting.

Set up food and water distribution centers in all major population areas. This would serve to calm the public and keep the population from aimless wandering, food riots and reduce criminal acts.

Empower FEEMA now. Not wait till we are in chaos. Of course we will give up some freedom and liberty. Ask anyone who lived through WWII how much freedom we surrendered for the better good. Be honest with yourselves. How many of us could survive living a life of "Little house on the Prarie"? (with or without a piano) What do you do with that rotting, stinking looter that just shot? He is on your doorstep you know, and he weighs about 160 lbs. Do you shoot his kids who were waiting for him just beyond the tree line?

Focus all remediation efforts on the power, water and sewage utilities. Without these utilities there is no hope.

Stop giving our money away to Russia, Japan, Indonisia and all the other countries that are in trouble. They are toast anyway.

Please add to this list. I know I have forgotten a lot of things

-- Bill Solorzano (notaclue@webtv.net), July 15, 1998

Answers

I'm willing to bet power, water and sewage? will be ok, some finance and business will not be. That raises a survival question, what contingency measures are there for the wholescale failure of the highly digitised sewage disposal system. Home cesstanks must be available.

-- Richard Dale (rdale@figroup.co.uk), July 15, 1998.

1. Completely reverse agricultural subsidies and try to double or triple agricultural output over the next 18 months. We only have one more growing season left, and we feed the world. 2. Same with propane, medicine, other contingency items. 3. Ask Americans to try not to conceive any more childen from now on---shades of the Chinese, I know-- and boost formula production. 4. Retrofit all multi-story residential housing with propane-fired boilers, where possible. 5. Have childen re-vaccinated, just to be safe. 6. Make sure capacity exists to manufacture 500 million can-openers. 7. Quadruple fireman reserves. Amateur use of emergency heating could cause fires that could evaporate all Y2K planning/stockpiling a community could accomplish. 8. Ridiculous dream (I work in Systems): make sure every system has a black box to deposit their 12/31/99 backup tapes in (assuming those systems still exist) and, in 6 months, when most of the problems are identified and fixed or the applications abandoned & disengaged from compliant systems, RELOAD repaired 12/31/99 data! Start from (pre-Y2k) scratch! Stupid fantasy, I realize. 9. Stock up on half of Arabia's oil now, and be happy to pay double for it, for who knows what the rollover will do to them and what they'll consequently do to each other. 10. Insist that other nations do the same or no more aid. Send in UN troops to verify/inspect food stockpiles. Ha!

-- ljb (lisa@comp.com), July 15, 1998.

Lisa:

I abdicate my thrown and dub you queen. Those were great ideas. You deserve the title and all the benefits attributed to such. The reason I started this thread was because I was so mad at the Prez's speach. Then I started thinking about what I would do. I think it is healthier to think about what should be done rather than whats not being done.

-- Bill Solorzano (notaclue@webtv.net), July 15, 1998.

Lisa:

I abdicate my throne and dub you queen. Those were great ideas. You deserve the title and all the benefits attributed to such. The reason I started this thread was because I was so mad at the Prez's speach. Then I started thinking about what I would do. I think it is healthier to think about what should be done rather than whats not being done.

-- Bill Solorzano (notaclue@webtv.net), July 15, 1998.

One thing people forget is that the DEMAND for all the stuff that's going south will still be there, and if everybody can manage to stay alive & healthy for however long it takes, the free market will handle this problem, too. May be a few more monopolies than we're used to, and we may lose 5 cable channels when it's all said and done. This is assuming the whole WORLD plans for the event, and it looks like 7/14/98 was the turning point for awareness.

My biggest fear is the middle east and whatever millenium score-settling they may have in mind for each other and the US. US martial law: the math says Americans outnumber the military 750:1, so I don't think that will even be attempted, except in areas where racial clashes are expected.

Incidentally, to "abdicate the throne" can mean something totally different to some people.

-- bill's new queen (lisa@comp.com), July 15, 1998.