Survivalists Go Suburban

What’s the hottest new trend for the summer? Emergency stockpiling. “Emergency supply retailers and military surplus stores nationwide have seen business boom in the past few months as an increasing number of Americans spooked by the economy rush to stock up on gear that was once the domain of hardcore survivalists,” reports the Associated Press. Camping supply retailers and military surplus vendors have seen sales spikes of, in some instances, 50 percent. SurvivalBlog’s web traffic has tripled in the past 14 months, as has its owners $100-per-hour survivalist consulting business. It seems to be the first time that customers are citing the prospect of financial disaster, not natural disaster, as their motivation. “Top sellers include 55-gallon water jugs, waterproof containers, freeze-dried foods, water filters, water purification tablets, glow sticks, lamp oil, thermal blankets, dust masks, first-aid kits and inexpensive tents.”