[LINK] Give me shelter from the 'experts'

[Bernard Robertson-Dunn]

<brd>
and not a volt, amp or MHz in the whole suggestion.

My view is that we need to be careful that we don't end up falling into 
the same trap as the military - they always seem to be planning to fight 
the last war, not the next.

There will be other disasters, probably different from the last. There 
needs to be a range of survival strategies and implemented depending on 
the specific risk/circumstances. Unfortunately we are not always good at 
identifying the risks, never mind preparing for them. 
</brd>

Give me shelter from the 'experts'
Bill Avent
February 18, 2009
Heclker column
SMH
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/give-me-shelter-from-the-experts-20090217-8a9c.html

Even minor irritations can make my blood boil when they seem to be 
designed to endanger lives. Recently we've seen far too much unnecessary 
death and suffering. Now experts are offering the wider world their 
poorly thought out advice.

Who appoints these experts and foists them upon us? Is there a panel of 
experts on expertise to decide who should be deemed an expert? Is the 
title "expert" reserved for those with no practical experience and the 
lack of ability to even think sensibly about the topic on which they 
pontificate?

Latest expert offerings include the advice that building underground 
bunkers for protection from bushfires is a bad idea: better to have 
steel shutters on windows, and a sprinkler system on the roof.

Never mind that the house is made of wood; and in fires like those in 
Victoria any water sprinkling on the roof would evaporate long before it 
could wet anything. The advice goes on - a cellar under the house would 
be a death trap because the wooden floor might burn and fall into it. As 
if someone building a cellar as a fire shelter would be stupid enough to 
cap it with a wooden floor.

But yes, a bunker under the house would be a poor choice. Heat radiating 
through the concrete floor of the burning house above it may well kill 
the inhabitants. Better to build the bunker a short distance from the house.

My advice, not expert but sensible: you have two options. One is to take 
your cue from the birds, who departed before the fire could reach them. 
For we flightless mammals, restricted as we are to roads leading through 
burning bush, that option is fraught with danger.

Better to take our cue from the snakes, lizards, insects and small furry 
creatures now emerging from their cracks and holes in the blackened 
ground to stare about them in wonder. Shelter underground.

Dig a trench. Cover it with corrugated iron. Shovel the excavated earth 
over the top to a thickness of half a metre. If fire threatens, take 
your family into the shelter. Be prepared to sacrifice half an hour of 
your life to nervousness and discomfort.

When the fire has passed, emerge, and stare at the hideous new 
landscape, as the animals do. Devastated at your loss, but alive. The 
landscape will recover. So will you.

-- 
 
Regards
brd

Bernard Robertson-Dunn
Canberra Australia
brd at iimetro.com.au