Science question about underground survival.

[Carol]

Tonks wrote:
>
> OK.. let me try this again.
<snip>
> On an smaller scale than the government has, how would a person live
underground as far as oxygen is concerned if you had to concerned
about poison in the air. And other than food and water, is that all
they would need if they had to stay there for 6 months? 

carol responds:
I can't answer your technical questions, but it wouldn't hurt to have
plants because they require carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, the
opposite of animals and humans. However, plants need light and water
to stay alive, and I have no idea how much oxygen a plant produces.
(Maybe you could grow hydroponic tomatoes, as they do in Antarctica.)

I'll tell you one thing, though. The people who stock up on toilet
paper as well as staple foods are being sensible. I'd stock up on
Kleenex (sorry, tissues), too, and anything else you might need, for
example, a first-aid kit, several flashlights, a solar power generator
if feasible (probably not in an apartment), some sort of battery
operated radio (maybe a two-way radio), and a stock of books, puzzles,
games and other forms of entertainment because, believe me, if you're
going to stay in an underground shelter for very long, you're going to
be bored! I'd bring writing tablets or notebooks and a journal, but
that's just me.

Carol, sorry that she can't provide you with any practical advice in
building the survival shelter itself (especially if your building,
like mine, has no basement)