Duct and cover, anyone?

[Betsy]

Anyone go shopping for supplies? It's an odd time we are living in...

Betsy

[juliemarie]

Ok. It took a bit for me to get it. Tonight at dinner my friends told me what this was about. It appears some simpleton in the federal government told people to buy duct tape and plastic sheets as a safeguard against terrorism eh? Wow. I guess I missed a bet on that one. I understand there is now a run on duct tape in our area. Perhaps someone from a company that manufactures duct tape started this one...

Juliemarie

[Betsy]

You should see the lines at the Home Depots here in NJ and NY area! The simpleton was our appt defense sec'y...

And no, I have gone with the pack. My high school physics and chem classes taught me how it won't work.

Betsy

[Jules]

The duct tape is for tapeing up your mouth, nose and ears in case we get hit with anthraxs. Don't tell me you didn't buy any!! :)

[Andi]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Originally posted by Jules
The duct tape is for tapeing up your mouth, nose and ears in case we get hit with anthraxs. Don't tell me you didn't buy any!! :)

[Glenn]

Someone I work with was actually trained on how to do the plastic and duct tape trick correctly. If there is something like bad dirt in the air, it could help keep the dirt out of your home - if you apply the plastic correctly, seal all the edges, etc.

Other than that, it's just added profit for Home Depot.

*sigh*

Nice to know our government is gullible enough to call a major alert based on unverified rumor from a prisoner... Are they trying to make us feel more intelligent?

Glenn

[Ashley]

If you think about it and the use chemical or biological, nuclear wepons agains us what good is the earth after that , I know I would just as soon go home to my lord as to stay here and live in hell., Just my thoughts

[PJ]

Hi... actually I have a masters in Emergency Management from UC Berkeley... in some cases, toxic chemicals can be warded off by the proper appication of taping your windows and doors with plastic sheets. It certainly does little to prevent radiation and/or most biological agents... but it is standard in the SF bay area defense planning. So, if there were chemical weapons used, it could be of benefit. - PJ

[Wohali]

Duct tape and plastic will not stop radiation. Think about it you can seal up your home, but nothing would stop water supply from being contaminated if something was in the air. Also if you seal up a home air tight then what will you breathe?

Personally I think people are going overboard. The media is again putting people in hysterics much like the Y2K thing. And before that living on the East Coast back in late 1990's everyone was saying a big earthquake would break all the gas lines and cause the whole Southeast to blow up. Before that people built bomb shelters in their backyard and were afraid aliens would take over the Earth. And centuries earlier people thought they would die during solar eclipses. Face it people when your number is called, you're going ...duct tape or no.

Take a deep breath...think for yourself, don't let the media program your mind into hysterics.

Meanwhile I think it is absolutely ridiculous that my landlord will no longer receive UPS or FedEX packages and hold them in her office till we get home from work. All because of possible terrorist threats. So I have to find another way of getting my vitamins, pet supplies & clothing as almost everything I buy has to be mail ordered because of where I live.

Angela

[Andi]

Well, as much as I think it's good to take precautions, I also think if someone is determined enough, there's little that can be done about it. It's just like locking your doors...a determined thief will find a way into your house if he/she really wants to, but I still lock my doors to make anyone thinking of breaking in here have to work for it. I guess you should just do what makes you feel most comfortable in this situation.

[Betsy]

What I would like to know, is how we would even know there was a chem attack to protect ourselves against?

In today's NYTimes, there was a great editorial about duct tape. The best line was that statistically, you have better chance dying driving to buy duct tape than you do if you need the tape!

Betsy

[PJ]

OK - the thing is... SF gets a lot of earthquakes, right? So, there is always some factory or plant leaking into the air with their toxic chemicals around here... so we have a phone system and a siren system that tells us when there is that danger... also we have radio frequency totally dedicatd to giving us the information... do your local govts have this? - PJ

[Wohali]

The town I moved from had probably the most advanced warning system in the US, but that was because there was nuclear weapon factory there. But now that I live in Arizona half the population doesn't even have a phone so no way to warn them. The area is too vast for warning sirens to be of much use. It would take more than duck tape to seal your home. Chemicals that settle can go down the drain pipe on the roof and come out the drains in your sink & tub. And of course stuff can come in through holes in walls where pipes come in. People should worry less if they have enough duct tape and worry if they are spiritually ready to die. But come on folks its more likely to be struck by lightening or die of cancer than to die of terrorist attack.

I've been told by Native American elders that this war will last close to 6 yrs and many will die. Maybe quit worrying over duct tape and concentrate on preventing war. In the words of Dhyani Ywahoo, prayers can pull fighters from the sky.