Concerned governments, organizations and individuals have been preparing for some time for the millennium bug. Following are some of the steps they're taking and recommending:
It's good to begin preparing now
In the words of Michael Hyatt, author of The Millennium Bug: "In previous generations, emergency preparedness was a way of life. No one was seduced by the 'myth of continuity'; everyone assumed that life would be periodically interrupted by crises. But many of us have never really had to face a widespread social crisis. War, famine and pestilence are outside Americans' realm of firsthand experience." When he was a boy in rural Nebraska, Mr. Hyatt recalls, people had a storm shelter and a pantry for protection against tornadoes and severe blizzards. And neighbor was always ready to help neighbor. (Neal R. Pierce, The Washington Post).
Britons have been warned to stock up with two weeks' emergency food rations in anticipation of millennium bug-related shortages. In an unprecedented statement indicating the level of panic in official circles, the Department of Trade and Industry-funded task force, charged with minimizing potential damage caused by the bug, has said that contingency planning for a worst-case scenario should start as soon as possible.
"We are talking about people having a judicious amount of surplus food in their kitchen cupboards. Anyone sensible would plan for this," said Gwynneth Flower, head of the government's millennium bug taskforce Action 2000. "Because we don't want to see panic buying in the weeks leading up to next Christmas, consumers should think about this in advance." (Nicole Veash, The Guardian).
Mormon leaders have always admonished their followers to have a one-year food supply, but now many others are stocking up as well. "We have everyone from stock brokers to nuclear engineers buy our products," one maker of survival food said. A survey from CIO Magazine, a publication for chief information officers, chief executives and vice presidents of large corporations, shows the concern among business leaders. Of 330 executives surveyed, 56 percent said they believed the millennium bug would not be fixed in time. 10 percent said they planned to stockpile canned goods, 11 percent were buying generators and wood stoves, and 13 percent were upgrading personal security "with alarm systems, fencing and firearms." (Joel Campbell, Deseret News; New York Times News Service).
Joel Skousen is a consultant who has designed high-security, totally self-sufficient residences and retreats in every state of the Union plus Canada and Central America. Most of his clients have been wealthy people who either live in high crime areas or possess vacation homes in forested land where electricity is not available. But he has also designed safe havens for Christian conservatives "who have significant concerns about the future of government and society."
For those opting to stay put when we usher in the new century, Skousen has some recommendations:
No one can guarantee that a Y2K disaster will happen. What concerns the new Y2K survivalists is that no one can guarantee that it won't. "It's not a question of who's right--it's a question of mitigating the consequences of who's wrong," says Paul Milne, a vocal Y2K survivalist. "If I'm wrong I'm still here, the birds are chirping, the sky is still above. But if they're wrong, they're dead."
Programmers and hardened survivalists are now debating how to defend themselves against what they jokingly refer to as "Cannibal Welfare Mutants"--violent city refugees who may be hunting for food in the early months of 2000. (Janelle Brown, Salon Magazine).
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