I’m not sure how you’d work your way to this setup (given the scenario in the book), but what about leaving the land entirely via a large, ocean-capable sailboat? It seems possible that with enough preparation, you could get far away from the roving bands, and far enough away from land to be essentially unreachable and unfindable.
How long would sea life continue after the plants died? Or do we assume the death of plants includes plankton as well? I’m not sure how the ocean food chain would be affected by what I read in the book. I also don’t know how complete an ocean-based diet would be.
I have an acquaintance ( FOAF ) who lives aboard a large sailboat and spends consecutive months at sea. He has two separate saline->fresh watermakers, one powered by the generator and a smaller one that is actually towed* behind the boat. According to him, the small one produces sufficient drinking water for two (I don’t know about cooking tho). In his case, he has very large fresh water tanks and uses the two watermakers to keep them topped off. He says failure of the larger watermaker invokes some rationing and an immediate course for shore, but that the tanks themselves are good for about 6 weeks of careful water use (for two), with the smaller towed version to add a comfort factor.
I have no idea how much rainwater could add to this. Any actual sailboaters here who could comment? Seems like careful use and catching rain could prolong a journey, although not indefinitely.
*On one cruise, he found something had bitten through the cable and water return lines… apparently eating his watermaker. I’m pretty sure this would’ve kept me awake at night, wondering exactly what was following me…
On edit: It just dawned on me, in the OPs scenario there probably aren’t many water-maker repair shops left. So much for that idea.
I don’t think you’re supposed to take The Road in any literal sense; it’s a book about what it is to be human and what it is to be a father. IMO.
To that end, the lack of ammunition provided a key plot device, in particular a dilemma for the father.
I would have thought fishing in the ocean was the way forward. Perhaps deep, but life would live there longer than anywhere.
Fwiw, having just looked at another thread here, a solar flare might work as the apocalyptic event.
I don;t know where people are getting this idea that life remains in the sea. The book gives no explanation for what happened or how it happened. There is no actual event that could produce the effects described. When the sea is encountered, it is just as dead as the land.
As far as the idea of living at sea, water is really not an issue. A great many islands have freshwater streams, and with no plant life, nobody will be living on them. Even mainland water sources are not a serious risk. Even today, you can land on thousands of beaches with freshwater streams and never see anybody. With 99.9% of people dead and the survivors scavenging around cities you could refill your water tanks as often as you like with no risk at all.
But of course, there’s no more food at sea than on land.
Only to the same extent that bad case acne might work.
Solar flares are mostly harmless to life. In the event that flare was so massive that it did have any appreciable effect on life, it would kill humans just as much as any other species. It would also have no long-term effects at all. As soon as the flare was over, you could start growing crops again.
The effects of a solar flare are less like what is described than the effects of bad acne.
This was my take.
I think the pain would come from retaining your morals while doing whatever horrendous thing was necessary for survival. Choices…luck…destiny?
Could a large meteor strike have similar effects? I remember that the rain was filled with ash in the book, and the snow was gray - that would be from the particles of dust filling the air. The dust would block sunlight, killing plants, which would then eventually kill all life forms. The particular area of land they’re traveling in is burnt, as if a fire had spread hundreds of miles; they could be near the site of the actual impact. Also, the sky was always overcast and gray.
If the percentage of oxygen in the atmosphere seems meaningless to you, I can’t help you understand.
I did my research on scientific sites outside these boards. Estimates on oxygen depletion in this scenario, evem without not factoring in CO2 accumulation, vary from 1,000 to 10,000 years. IOW, no one really knows, there are just too many variables. Throw in CO2 and it becomes even more complex.
:eek: