by Jim Cobb, reposted with permission
In one of the survival FB groups a while back, there was a discussion about dealing with high temperatures during a power outage, specifically while residing in an apartment building. The question was – in the absence of A/C, what can be done to deal with extreme heat?
As I would have predicted, there were several comments along the lines of:
- Suck it up, buttercup.
- Just get used to it.
- If A/C is a concern, boy are you in for a rude awakening.
- A/C is a LUXURY, not a NECESSITY!
Sure, human beings survived millions of years without A/C, but for someone with COPD, heart disease, or other chronic health problems, high heat can be a serious issue. While it is just a comfort thing for most folks, for some it could truly be life or death.
Survivalism or prepping, whichever term you prefer, seems to encompass two distinct approaches. The first is to EMBRACE THE SUCK. Great pride is taken in just how miserable one can make themselves and still survive. The second is to THRIVE, NOT JUST SURVIVE. The idea here is to go beyond basic survival and look for ways to make the situation better.
Both have their merits and advocates. You might feel the best way to look at preparedness is to carve away everything that might be “civilized” and drill it down to pure survival. Someone else might decide they want to invest their time and resources into making their life more comfortable during a crisis.
The only thing wrong with either approach is when ego gets a seat at the table during the discussion. As long as you’re taking logical, practical steps to being better prepared for emergencies, you’re moving in the right direction. Do what you feel is right, which might turn out to be a blended approach. A little bit from Column A, a few things from Column B, and away you go.
Hell, if you get right down to it, an awful lot of what we consider a necessity in our survival preps would have been considered a luxury at some point in time. A modern steel knife may have been seen as otherworldly to a primitive culture. A Bic lighter would have been akin to magic to a caveman. We humans have a long and proud history of innovating solutions to make our lives easier, and there’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of that. Just as there’s nothing wrong with seeing just how much you can do without and still get by.
The takeaway here is this – there is rarely a one-size-fits-all solution. Any instructor who insists their way is the ONLY way is likely doing so because they have a financial stake in the solution they’re offering. Take and use what works for you, leave the rest for someone else.
And if you’re still zeroed in on the no A/C situation posited at the outset, you’re focusing on the wrong thing here 
