Most people are programmed to handle stress fairly well. After all, a lesson we learn early on in life is that life is not always fair. So we go about our day, doing our best to cope and to stay focused on the bigger picture of life.
Alas, all of the normal coping rules and mechanisms fly out the window following a disaster. At times like this, there can be a massive physical impact to the landscape and to everything considered normal. Homes may be damaged, the workplace may be destroyed and common services such as water, power and sanitation may not be functional. Add to this the injury or loss of human life and we are talking about a huge emotional impact on those living through the moment.
Sitting around the holiday dinner table, my guess is that at some point the conversation turned to the economy, natural disasters and the need to prepare. And, it is also my guess that there were a lot of roll-eyes as your companions thought “Oh boy, here we go again”.
Okay, perhaps I assume that you live and breath preparedness like I do but even if you don’t, I am certain that you have run in to people that are in what I like to call “Disaster Denial”. So what signs do these people display? (And no, I am not referring to the “I am blindingly stupid to reality” sign.)
Listed below are some common excuses for not preparing.
It is what it is. If my time is up, so be it.
The problem with this is that if there is a disaster of any type, there is a strong likelihood you will survive. And if you are going to survive, you might as well be safe with food, water, first aid and a way to defend yourself and your property.
Those of us in the Western world often take good health for granted. But there are times when we all get sick. If we are lucky, we are near a clinic or medical facility and if not, well, hopefully we will be prepared with sufficient first aid items to get us through.
There are times, though, when that is not enough. If there is no doctor around, your best bet is to practice some do-it-yourself doctoring. A couple of months ago the Hesperian Health Group issued newly updated versions of some of their books, including the following two must-have volumes.
Where There Is No Doctor: A Village Health Care Handbook (October 2011)
This manual provides practical, easily understood information on how to diagnose, treat, and prevent common injuries and illnesses. Special attention is focused on nutrition, infection and disease prevention, and diagnostic techniques as primary ways to prevent and treat health problems.
Where There is No Dentist (September 2011)
This basic dental manual uses straightforward language and step-by-step instructions to discuss preventive care of teeth and gums, diagnosing and treating common dental problems, and includes a special chapter on oral health and HIV.
I mention these two, updated books today as a reminder that in addition to being available in a traditional book format, they are available as an eBook in PDF format absolutely free of charge from the Hesperian web site.
Once the prepping bug hits, it is easy to want to go for it. You know what I mean: Let’s do it and let’s do it all Right Now! There…
Three weeks ago if someone mentioned a CME was on its way I would have looked at them with a raised brow and a questioning look, not even pretending to understand. For the uninformed – as I was until a week ago – CME stands for Coronal Mass Ejection. In simplistic terms, this refers to large plasma ball full of charged geomagnetic particles that is emitted by the sun.
So why should we care?
Well for one, by the time you read this or shortly thereafter, a large strike will hit earth with the potential to disrupt our daily lives in an unpredictable manner. You see, from what I have discovered, scientists are now anticipating if not predicting a high-consequence, low-frequency event. Or, what, in layman’s terms, we call a 100 year storm.
NASA astronomers report that the sun is entering the most violent period of its normal 11-year cycle. This interval of high activity, called the solar maximum, is expected to peak in 2013. Will 2013 be the 100 year event? Who knows. What we do know is that in the meantime, we are starting to experience the precursor to the big event now and that scientists expect this latest solar burst to trigger one of the most violent geomagnetic storms ever recorded.
One the major components on any serious prepping effort is having adequate facilities for cooking outdoors. In my case, I have a fancy stainless steel gas grill but that was not going to do much good if there was no propane or the fuel line that delivers our propane was destroyed. I also have a cook-ready fire pit that utilizes wood but that is large an bulky (even though it looks very cool in my back yard).
The practical answer was something portable that could burn charcoal briquettes or, in a pinch, kindling, twigs or other pieces of wood found out and around the wilderness. After doing some research, I set my sights on the Volcano II Collapsible Stove and purchase once directly from Emergency Essentials. It arrived in three days even though I ordered the standard shipping. I was impressed. But alas, with other obligations, I did have have a chance to use it until this week.
Here is the scoop.
The Volcano II is collapsible. And when I say collapsible, I mean it. It measures about 5” high and 13” across in its collapsed state. The whole thing fits nicely in an included pouch that appears to be very sturdy and although this is a heavy sucker, it is completely transportable.
The complete kit includes:
The Grill
Two grates: and upper grate for grilling and a lower grate for charcoal
Heat Deflector Plate
User manual
Carrying case
There is also an option as well as a kit that includes a propane attachment but since my intent was to use this as a survival grill, I did not bother with the extra expense.
This week I would like to explore some of the special preparedness needs of the senior and elderly members of our families and communities. At first blush, you may be saying, “Yes, I understand that there are elderly people but how would their needs be any different than mine?”.
That is a great question and certainly one that I have asked myself. But consider this: the elderly are less mobile and far less likely to be able to evacuate on their own. Their eating habits may be more finicky and, for health reasons, restricted. The need for life-sustaining prescription medications increases as with age, and perhaps most difficult of all, the sense and of fear may result in profound depression as the familiar and comforting world around them has changed.
For those embarking upon the family preparedness lifestyle, it is important to consider the special needs of elderly adults and to help educate and assist them now, before they experience a true SHTF situation caused by a natural, man made or economic disaster.
The checklist below is designed to be shared one on one with members of our older adult population (our moms and dads, grandparents, and neighbors). Review this list and use it as a guideline for initiating a discussion with these important members of our community.
This is the year of the Prepper. Or so it seems. For the first time, the Prepper is coming into respectability. No longer is the individual or family putting a…
Disasters come in all flavors. If you are reading this blog, you probably know that but still, there is a huge contingent that thinks “it will never happen to me”. Think again.
Today, for the uninitiated who are considering the prepper lifestyle but have not committed, I have prepared a list of varying types of emergencies from natural, mother earth types, to the horrific, man-made types. Read through the list and you will understand why you need to adopt a family preparedness lifestyle.
Shall we start?
As difficult as it may be to fathom, the current lousy economy may not be the worst case scenario. All I have to do is look around and be observant…
Following a tip from a fellow blogger, I watched the 2009 documentary, Collapse. In this film, investigative journalist Michael Ruppert details his unnerving theories about the inexorable link between energy depletion and the collapse of the economic system that supports the entire industrial world. Unnerving is putting in mildly. Ruppert’s view of world collapse is frightening and depressing.
After watching that piece, I was nosing around on Netflix and saw that another collapse-type film was available for streaming so tonight I settled in to watch National Geographic: Collapse. This time I got another view – a far less gloomy and cautiously optimistic view – of world collapse.
Unlike the Michael Ruppert, documentary, this National Geo film spins our world situation in a a bit more optimistic manner. It suggests that there is room for change and if we do so our society will sustain. But I digress. Let me begin with the question:
Is our civilization so absorbed by the spoils of our success that we can not see the dangers right in front of us?
127 Hours is a movie about real-life mountain climber Aron Ralston who slides into a canyon crevasse while climbing in Utah. His arm is pinned under an bolder and he has very little food and water. After being trapped for 127 hours, he literally cuts himself loose from danger but amputating his arm and lives to tell about it.
During his 127 hours stuck in the crevasse, Ralston must resort to his basest survival instincts. So what are the lessons learned from this true story?
1. First and foremost: Use your head! To quote Joel at Survival Cache: “Your number one survival tool is the grey matter that keeps your ears apart.”
In the movie, Aron took off on his climb in a remote location without letting anyone know where he was headed. That was not using his head! He also took very little water and food with him with no plan for contingencies. On the other hand, he figured out that the only way out was to disengage from the bolder so with much bravery, he cut off his arm.
Freaking out over water or simply a water freak? I suppose it really does not matter since when it comes to water, I am a hoarder. In addition to my 55 gallon water barrel, I have cases of bottled drinking water in the cellar and another case or two in the garage. Is that enough? Don’t know. Actually, I hope I will never have to use my stored water.
How about you? Did you ever purchase that water barrel along with a siphon and a bung wrench? Or, if like a lot of folks, have you put off that purchase due to financial or space limitations?
It was recently pointed out to me that barring the acquisition of long term storage facilities (such as the water barrel), there are numerous ways to collect and store ordinary tap water for free. Not a bad idea, actually, especially when you take in to account that you may also use the free, short term water supply for cleaning, laundry, toilet bowl flushing and more.
So how can you safely store the water right out of your tap?
I am finally back home after a week long hiatus to the big city. Traffic, dirt, noise . . . yuk. Anyway, I am very thankful that I have my quiet little cottage here on San Juan island. Enough personal stuff; it is time to get back to the business of prepping.
The horrific storms sweeping through the southeast have not gone unnoticed from my place here in Washington State. As with the Japan quake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown (which, for some reason is no long newsworthy) the massive destruction to homes and the fabric of normal life are gut wrenching. I keep thinking about the folks who thought they were prepared: plenty of extra food, water, auxiliary power and cash to get by in the event of a crisis. They too lost everything.
So once I again I raise my hand and say “What happens if my home is swept away along with all of my precious preps?” Now that is one heck of question, especially since we personally (oops, here I go again with the personal stuff) have made so much progress this year in preparing our little homestead to be self-sufficient.
Below is a list of the lessons I have learned from this latest disaster in Alabama, Tennessee and other areas of the Southern United States.