I find it quite interesting, even entertaining at times, how some groups get all worked up over very minor changes in our climate. It’s as if a half a degree rise in temperature over the last 100 years somehow is both our fault and catastrophic as well. There are natural cycles that have occurred and will continue to occur for as long as the earth will exist.
The thought that the world population is significant enough to somehow affect the climate is very hard to imagine. Yes, there are a lot of people on this planet but relative to the size of the earth, not that many. In fact, if you took all 7 Billion of the world’s population, they would fit in the state of Hawaii – not shoulder to shoulder but each on 25 square feet of space.
So yes, the world’s population can indeed affect specific areas and regions of the earth but there is an ebb and flow on our planet and no matter what we humans do, we are subject to that cycle. Now, it’s not one simple cycle that we must deal with. Instead, there are a vast number of cycles on this planet that affect habitability.
One cycle is the rotation of the earth itself and the correlation between it and seismic activity.
Scientists have warned there could be a big increase in the number of devastating earthquakes around the world next year. They believe variations in the speed of Earth’s rotation could trigger intense seismic activity, particularly in heavily populated tropical regions.
With all this science and intelligence on our changing planet it seems we have muddied our own natural survival instincts. Did you know that there are signals given off by our planet to warn us of impending disasters?
We have so wrapped ourselves in distractions that we cannot take advantage of these signals with our physical body. Animals still react to these signals though, and while we have muted our own senses, we can rely on theirs as a natural ‘tell’ for what’s coming.
The Earth’s Natural Signals
There are many ways that our planet and its atmosphere convey approaching disasters and changes in the weather. Some of these signals can be measured by sophisticated human instruments, but they are also picked up and acted on in the animal world.
One of the most well-known is barometric pressure. You probably hear about this on the nightly news. Barometric pressure drops as storms approach. This is how animals know things like major storms and hurricanes are nearing. Hydrostatic pressure is similar, but affects the water pressure, and this is what sends fish to deeper water when the pressure drops enough.
Lesser known but just as important, infrasonic impulses are another sign the earth gives us. These low vibrations are emitted by natural disasters and can be early warnings for tidal waves, earthquakes or even volcanic eruptions. They all send the same message to animals that can sense them – trouble is coming.
Animal Signals
There must have been a time when we were just as perceptive as the animals on this planet, since we have lost much of that ability. Here are some signs and signals that you can observe from the animals around you that may clue you in to when a serious situation is heading your way.
Remember, we may not always have the weatherman to tell us when a massive hurricane is bearing down – but who needs a weatherman when animals give clear signals that trouble is coming?
The Birds and the Bees
Both of these animals are going to seek shelter if a disaster is imminent. You could watch your own bees or bees from another area head into their hive. Bees will take shelter before disaster. Birds may also be migrating in a new pattern before a serious storm. Birds typically fly south in the winter and north in the summer. Use this information to look for strange migration patterns.
Henry Streby of the University of California, Berkeley, and his colleagues discovered that golden-winged warblers take off from their expected locations more than 24 hours before storms hit. In this case, the storm in question produced tornadoes that killed at least 35 people.
On the Water
A lot of fish behavior can tell you about what’s coming. It’s a great fishing trick to get out on the water just before a storm. The coming front often turns fish on and makes them aggressive. When the storm is very close the fish can shut down. Jumping fish can be a sign of electric impulses in the air a
nd water, or even of pressure changes.
Frogs often head for higher ground, and can actually be seen climbing away from water bodies, before storms. They will also get quieter at night.
Down on the Farm
It is common for cows and other herd animals to head for higher ground before a storm. They sense the same pressure changes we discussed earlier. Horses and other pets might refuse food as well as exhibit agitated behavior. Chickens also feel the threat, and can slow or stop egg production as a result.
Man’s Best Friend
Dogs become agitated and aggressive before a natural disaster. They may bark more and be more anxious before a major weather event or other disaster. They could be wary of certain locations in the yard or on walks that they normally frequent.
Some scientists think dogs and other animals can sense the preliminary waves that signal an earthquake ahead of the destructive seismic waves. Humans can’t detect P-waves, but most animals have more acute senses than we do.
Picking up on how your dogs are acting can give you last-minute warning of an earthquake. You might not get a lot of warning, but it could be all you need to run outside where it’s safer.
Dogs are one of the best examples because you can observe them very closely for strange behavior.
A few other strange animal behaviors that could signal disaster are things like:
● Bats flying during the day;
● Lady bugs gather just before a heat wave;
● Monkeys can refuse food and become very agitated before a disaster. This is also true of human babies.
● Elephants have been seen to head for higher ground before a tsunami strikes. Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes, so it’s likely the elephants are picking up warning signs of the seismic shock.
A mixture of our pompous attitude towards our short-lived dominance of the earth, and an overwhelming reliance on technology, has put us at greater risk of falling victim to major disasters. We do silly things like filming tornadoes and storms rather than seeking shelter. We rely solely on the news to tell us when things are going wrong.
Of course, the biggest failure that has come from our muting of the earth’s warnings is our lack of preparedness. While animals stow away food for the winter and head to higher ground in times of disaster, the human animal is so bold that we hardly react till disaster is on the doorstep.
It is this terrifying lack of preparedness that forces so many of us to be the antithesis. Preppers use this unique time of massive technological advantage and resource access to build powerful systems that help them survive anything from a powerful thunderstorm to the world-changing disasters that will come.
Sources: https://www.overpopulationmyth.com/7-Billion-Alpha-USStates.html?185,232
www.askaprepper.com/how-to-understand-the-signals-from-animals-just-before-a-natural-disaster-strikes/
Several years ago, I was a scout leader and loved to take the scouts on campouts. My son was not old enough to be a scout yet but I would take him with me regardless. I loved having my boy with me and felt it would be a great learning experience for him to associate with the older scouts and learn skills both from me and them as well.
Along with shelter building and starting a fire, there was another skill that was critical at every campout – latrine building. I know, typically for boys there is no need to build anything fancy – any bush will do. But in an attempt to keep the area clean and sanitary, building a proper latrine was critical.
I remember the first time I took my son on a campout with a friend of mine and his boys; he was around 4 years old. My son informed me he nee
ded to go to the bathroom. I simply told him to go find a tree and take care of business. His response kind of surprised me – he didn’t want to. I guess he’d never gone to the bathroom in the woods before and the thought it was not appealing.
After a little coaching and encouragement, he got the hang of it and it’s been hard to stop him ever since!
Then there are those occasions when you’re in the hills and your digestive tract lets you know you have very little time to get prepared for what is about to happen. That’s when you realize you didn’t prepare for such an event and you don’t have any toilet paper. Such events can be quite uncomfortable but they can also teach you valuable lessons.
It’s been said that toilet paper will be worth its weight in gold when it’s in very short supply. I don’t think this is far from the truth. Toilet paper is a modern luxury that people tend to take for granted until the moment they reach for it and find nothing but a cardboard roll. When that happens, they would gladly pay top dollar for a few squares. I remember having to pay several dollars to a toilet paper scalper in Tijuana, Mexico when my young daughter insisted she couldn’t hold it any longer.
You know you’ve been there. Of course, all you have to do is waddle around the house until you find some more toilet paper or at least some paper towels. But what if you don’t have any more? What would you do then?
This is why it’s important to store plenty of toilet paper. But that’s not enough. What if the crisis lasts a long time and you run out? What if you have to abandon your home? What if your toilet paper is destroyed by flood or fire? In case that happens, you’ll need to consider some substitutes for toilet paper.
Here’s a list of possible alternative to our beloved toilet paper. It wouldn’t hurt to try these out so you’ll know what to expect.
1) Any Kind of Paper
We’ll get the most obvious one out of the way first. If you don’t have any toilet paper, just use another kind of paper. Paper towels, newspapers, phone books, notebook paper, printer paper, envelopes, etc. Look around the house and see what you can find. (By the way, most magazines don’t work very well because of the gloss coating.) It’s always best if your crinkle up the paper first by wadding it up a couple of times. This will make the paper softer and more absorbent.
2) Wipes
Before you start yanking paper out of your printer, wrack your brain and look for any wet wipes or baby wipes in the house. If you do, they make great toilet paper.
3) Sponge
These were used in Roman times. When the people finished, they would wash the sponge with water and vinegar so they could reuse it later. But even if you do this, damp sponges are still breeding grounds for bacteria. If you go this route, you’ll need to either boil the sponge or soak it in bleach water before rinsing it out and using it again.
4) Rock (Yes, a Rock)
But not just any rock. You’ll have to find a smooth, flat (but not sharp) rock like the one in the picture (it’s not as big as it looks). With it you can do what’s known as the “scrape method,” which was very popular in ancient societies. Stir the rock in water to remove excess debris before scraping again.
5) Water
In many countries, toilet paper is unheard of, and instead, people wash with water. To do this, use a plastic cup or another pouring device. Fill it with warm water, pour it into your cupped left hand, and do the necessary cleaning.
Obviously, you’ll want to wash your hands thoroughly when you’re done. You could also use an irrigation bottle so you can spray the area clean without having to touch it as much.
6) Cloth
This method is more accurately referred to as “family cloth” and is used by people who are trying to be as frugal and/or eco-friendly as possible. The idea is to use cloth rags to wipe yourself, and then wash them afterward so you can continually reuse the fabric.
Soft fabric from old flannel diapers or nightgowns works best for this, but you can also use towels, washcloths, or even old T-shirts. Whatever you chose, simply rip the fabric into suitable sizes and trim them with pinking shears to prevent fraying.
Used in connection with the water method mentioned above, this could be an effective way to get by without toilet paper indefinitely. Just make sure the fabric doesn’t accidentally get flushed down the toilet.
Instead, put it in a sealed container next to the toilet and once you have enough for a load of laundry, wash them. But don’t mix them with your regular laundry.
7) Corn Husks
Because the pioneers grew and harvested so much corn, corn husks were one of their most popular toilet paper options. The leaves, when green, are relatively soft and a good size for bathroom or outhouse use. They can be dried for using during the winter months, and if that’s too rough you can always soak them in water to soften them again before use.
8) Plant Leaves
If none of the above options are available, or if you have to bug out to the wilderness and use up all the toilet paper in your bag, you may have to turn to nature’s toilet paper: leaves. There are several types of leaves that are large enough that they can be a great alternative to toilet paper.
Maple Leaves
Specifically from the broadleaf maple. The leaves are large, don’t have irritable hairs, and are easily identifiable in the woods. Maples also produce an abundance of leaves, as anyone who has had to rake up after a maple tree can testify. Broadleaf and Sugar maples have the largest leaves, but in a pinch a mountain or vine maple could also be used, though the small leaves of these varieties would be awkward for an adult to use.
Mullein Leaves
This low growing, biennial plant flourishes in dry and sandy soils. Its leaves are a fair size and coated with a soft fuzz. The fuzz can be an irritant or a benefit, so use caution when using this plant and wash with water if irritation develops.
Large Leaved Aster
Also known as “lumberjack toilet paper,” and for good reason. The large, smooth, heart-shaped leaves are perfect for wiping, and the plant can be found in abundance across the eastern United States and Canada.
Cottonwood Leaves
Specifically, the larger leaved variety. It has smooth leaves that would make the perfect emergency toilet paper. The leaves are a little on the tough side, so they won’t tear during wiping. Cottonwood also has a bit of an anti-pain effect, and the leaves can be used for things like emergency bandages as well.
Hazelnut Leaves
Hazelnut also makes good emergency toilet paper, though they’re slightly on the small side. Also, they have a bit of fuzz on them which could potentially be irritating for people with sensitive skin. They’re very soft and completely non-toxic.
There are several other types of leaves that could be used for toilet paper such as dandelion and others, but before you use them or any of the leaves mentioned above, make sure you have real-world experience identifying them in the wild.
Back in 2005 when hurricane Katrina hit the New Orleans area with a vengeance, my son and I happened to be in the area for business. Are we experienced the devastating force of that hurricane, we learned firsthand many valuable lessons of how to survive as well as the dark side of human behavior.
There were several miracles that occurred that made it possible for us to escape the area after the hurricane hit. One of the very sad images I still can clearly see is a group of people huddled in a hotel lobby waiting for the government to rescue them. We had a hard time understanding why these people didn’t just take the matter in their own hands and figure out a solution to the problem as my son and I were doing.
I came across this article I wanted to share that does a great job in addressing why one should never rely on the government to save one’s family in the event of a major disaster.
“Hello, I’m from the government and I am here to help…”
If these words sum of your survival “plan,” you should go on ahead and start kissing your loved ones good bye right now. The government is NOT prepared, and by the time their underlings start rolling down your street, it will likely be to take and not give, supplies.
The government is not prepared to render aid to all American people immediately after a national disaster strikes, and beyond. The massive stockpile of food, potable water, and medicine you might think the government has to distribute, simply does not exist.
The aftermath of natural disasters in 2017 alone proves that the problems with getting aid to emergency sights is not just a lack of available stockpiles, but also involves budgetary and logistical hurdles as well. Local and state governmental entities will be as overly taxed as federal agencies, and equally hampered by a lack of resources, funds, ability to reach areas in either the immediate or surrounding, disaster area.
In all likelihood, when the government does arrive in your neighborhood, it may be to find more essential resources to keep itself and “top priority” areas going. Your guns could be the first thing to go, especially if martial law has been declared. The redistribution of vital materials, “for the public good” should be something we all are thinking about as we prep….and covertly store our preps.
Disaster Warnings
How much of a warning the government has before disaster strikes will directly impact both the amount of aide that can be distributed and how long it will take to deliver. Having time to coordinate with state, regional, county, and local governmental entities and businesses that sell fuel, food, and water, will increase the possibility that aide could arrive within days or weeks, if the disaster is not a nationwide event.
The chance of having more than a 24 hour warning before disaster strikes is likely only going to happen if the incident is sparked by a weather related event, like a hurricane, tornado, or flooding. The ability to detect solar flares before they happen has only existed for about two decades and is still not perfected.
Do not count on the Emergency Alert System (formerly known as the Emergency Broadcast System) to utter more than a single warning before a SHTF incident – if that. The once simplistic emergency response system went high tech about a decade ago…making it incredibly vulnerable to cyber hackers.
Terrorists who are able to hack into the EAS could potentially send out false information to not only the general public, but to the first responders who would be rushing into ground zero to help in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. Ponder for a moment, how much more devastating the 9/11 attacks or the Boston Marathon bombing could have been had the first responders intentionally been given false information – or instructions designed to lure them to an area for stage two of a terror attack to take place.
If the power grid goes down, as would happen during a solar flare, EMP, nuclear attack, or catastrophic natural disaster near Washington, DC, the ability to enact the Emergency Alert System might not exist.
The change over from the Emergency Broadcast System to the high tech Emergency Alert System permits the President of the United States to tap into a direct link to the EAS to issue an alert. To date, no president has conducted a live test on the new system, so whether or not it works or how hard it would be to hack, is basically unknown. Some security tech experts maintain hacking into the EAS system would not take the skills of a seasoned cyber hacker. If a hacker garners access to the root server of the Emergency Alert System, the ability to thwart or alter warnings messages, has been gained.
Governmental Priorities
The government’s first priority will not be to feed, house, and render medical aid to the American people. Maintaining order will be the number one priority of all levels of government during and after a SHTF disaster. If our freedom must be infringed upon to get the task completed, that is what will be done. One of the most revered presidents in the history of the United States did just that, and we now celebrate his birth with a day off of work every year.
President Abraham Lincoln has long been heralded for saving the union during the Civil War. He may have done that, but the Constitution was trampled upon to achieve the lofty goal. There is a distinct reason many Southerners refer to what happened between 1861 and 1865 as the “War of Northern Aggression,” and they do not have anything to do with cherishing the abhorrent act of owning other human beings.
Contrary to what most public school history textbooks tell you, the Civil War began brewing not over slavery, but after more than a decade of tariffs being levied upon the South alone. Politicians of the 1800’s were no different than their modern counterparts when it came to holding onto power and money to spend that was not their own. Prior to taking a vote on secession, President Lincoln had the entire Maryland State Legislature arrested.
To keep America intact and collecting increasingly high export tariffs, the Constitution was violated in the following ways by Lincoln during the Civil War:
1) The Navy was ordered to blockade domestic ports. Such an act must be ordered by Congress, but during the Civil War the president usurped the power of the governing body in an effort to starve the South into submission.
2) President Lincoln ordered the military attack on Fort Sumter without congressional approval and refused to call Congress back into formal session after the attack has taken place. Sumter was not just any fort, it was a primary tariff collection depot.
3) General William Tecumseh Sherman was issued an order by President Lincoln to embark on his march to the sea – burning down whole towns (including hospitals) and “requisitioning” food and other goods from Southern residents, as he saw fit.
4) Lincoln again circumvented Congress when he suspended the writ of habeas corpus. This allowed the arrest of Americans without bothering to file a criminal charge against them – and to hold them without the benefit of a trial indefinitely. When ordered by the United States Supreme Court to immediately restore the writ of habeas corpus. Lincoln not only ignored the mandate without consequence, he ordered the arrest of the justice who dared to issue it. Approximately 20,000 Americans were arrested after the writ was suspended during the Civil War.
5) More than 300 newspapers, the only form of a free press at the time, were either commandeered and then shuttered, by order of President Abraham Lincoln. Some of the publishers and editors of the newspapers who reported negative articles about the handling of the Civil War, were arrested for merely exercising their right to free speech.
The very protections our Founding Fathers wrote into the Constitution to forever prevent a loss of freedom or for tyranny to rear its ugly head in America, were cast aside by a single man and then soundly forgotten by the history books.
If you think such a thing could not happen again, for the sake of keeping order, you would be delusional. The government will once again be acting in the ends justify the means mode during a SHTF scenario.
What We Should Expect The Government To Do In An Effort To Maintain Order
● Declare martial law
● Impose a curfew
● Restrict movements of Americans – enter the definite possibility of FEMA camps here!
● Requisition all functioning vehicles, or even horses, if the SHTF disaster was caused by an EMP or solar flare.
● Take control of the food supply
● Suspend the writ of habeas corpus…again
● Shut down the free press
The effective mission statement on FEMA’s own website should be viewed as a harbinger of what to expect during a large-scale disaster:
“A secure and resilient nation with the capabilities required across the whole community to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from the threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk.”
I can just about guarantee you folks that rural areas will not be anywhere near the top priority list for recovery aid during and after a doomsday disaster. When the agents from the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA show up in rural areas where most preppers live, they will be looking for food – because this is where is grown and raised, and for guns, because we have the highest percentage of ownership on a geographic scale.
Who will be the government decision makers after a SHTF disaster? That question has far too many variables to offer even an educated guess. We could be way down the presidential line of succession after a doomsday disaster. The HMIC could be the director of the Department of Transportation or the deputy director of Bureau of Land Management – in essence, an unelected appointee with less experience than a small town mayor, when it comes to managing a population of any size
I am not one prone to conspiracy theories. My description of the typical government response is based upon past precedent, agency priorities, and logic. The government will not think it’s out to get you, but protect you while maintaining order for the “public good.” That, my dear fellow preppers, is the recipe for a freedom-infringing and very dangerous scenario, indeed.
Source: https://modernsurvivalonline.com/dont-wait-for-government-to-save-you/
One of the most important parts of preparedness is having the right first aid supplies. Because food storage and bug out bags always seem to steal the show, first aid sometimes gets overlooked. Having at least one first aid kit around the home is great, but if a disaster strikes, you may find yourself wishing you had spent more time and effort preparing with the right kinds of first aid equipment and supplies.
You should always have some sort of medical kit with you at all times, and that includes your family members. We should all have first aid kits in our cars, our bug out/in bags, as well as in the home.
Our children need to know how important it is to properly prepare and it’s not a bad idea to give prepper gifts for birthdays and Christmas. Not only does this make gift giving decisions easier but you will also be giving a gift that has real value and can even save a life.
The Basic First Aid Kit
Here is a list of the basic first aid supplies from the Red Cross that you would want in every kit. After you have these, you will need to customize your first aid kits. What you add to them will depend on where they will be used, who will be using them, and their skill level.
2 absorbent compress dressings (5 x 9 inches)
25 adhesive bandages (assorted sizes)
1 adhesive cloth tape (10 yards x 1 inch)
1 Tube Silvasorb Jel
5 antiseptic wipe packets
1 bottle of aspirin/Advil
1 blanket (space blanket)
1 breathing barrier (with one-way valve)
1 instant cold compress
1 box of non-latex (Nitrile) gloves
2 hydrocortisone ointment packets
Scissors & Tweezers
2 roller bandage (4 inches wide)
10 sterile gauze pads (4 x 4 inches)
Oral thermometer (non-mercury/non-glass)
2 triangular bandages
First aid instruction booklet
Your Skills Will Determine Your Supplies
Before you begin to customize these first aid kits, you need to think about your skill-set first. There is no reason to spend money on chest seals and tourniquets if you don’t know how to use them. This doesn’t mean forget about them, it means learn how to use them. If you are like me, you see all these trauma supplies and say, “I need/want this, I need that, I gotta have that too!” Along with having those supplies comes the responsibility to learn how to use them correctly.
First Aid Kits at Home
The first aid kit in your home should contain the bulk of your supplies. This kit should be able to cover a wide range of injuries that could occur. Because the size of your kit isn’t as much of a factor in the home, you should add all the extras you might need.
Extra supplies to practice with.
Less typical items like Steristrips, Mastisol and Xeroform.
Specialty dressings such as Medihoney and Mepilex. [Read More Here]
Tapes & Wraps such as Vet Wrap, Ace Wrap, Hypafix tape etc.
OTC Medications.
Prescription Medications.
First Aid Kits at Work
Most of us spend 8 hours a day at work, and depending on your job, some accidents are more likely than others. Having a first aid kit at work isn’t for minor injuries, that’s what workman’s comp is for. Your first aid kit would be for larger events like active shooters, terrorist attacks and earthquakes. It should have supplies that could help until the medical professionals arrive.
Most places of employment have basic first aid kits. Because sometimes these get ransacked and never restocked, it might be a good idea to have your own. Check your work’s first aid kit and see how well it’s stocked, and what you might need.
First Aid Kit’s For Your Car
The average American spends around 2 hours per day in their car. Injuries while driving are likely to be more severe than injuries working around the home. As you are thinking about what to add to your car first aid kit, think about likely injuries from a car accident.
You might want more trauma supplies (if you know how and when to use them) in your car kit. Broken bones and severe bleeding are common in car accidents. Having 100 band aids in your car would be unnecessary, but having SAM splints, extra gauze and dressings would be.
There are items you wouldn’t think are first aid supplies, nevertheless are important to have as part of your kits. Note pad and a pencil, road flares, a heavy duty solar blanket, regular blankets for comfort, headlamp, etc. It’s very important to note, NEVER do anything you aren’t ABSOLUTELY positive about. Always wait for the medical professionals when available.
Don’t forget about putting first aid kits in your children’s cars as well. This is something our kids just don’t think about until it’s too late. Unless your child it training to become an EMT, a basic kit will work. If they are training to be a first responder, they probably know what to do anyway.
Too Much is Never Enough
We hear the saying all the time that 2 is 1, and 1 is none. With first aid supplies it should be 10 is 1, and 1 is none. In most trauma situations, you are likely to use far more supplies than you thought.
Most first aid supplies have a very long shelf life, and some can even be used after expiration. The last thing you want is to run out of gauze or dressings when you are trying to stop severe bleeding.
Is There a Place For Pre-made Kits?
Unfortunately, most pre-made first aid kits are a waste of money. They are typically filled with just band aids, gauze and tweezers. For this reason, for the most part, I would say steer clear of pre-made kits. You can put together a much better kit yourself than most of the generic pre-made first aid kits.
A “quality” pre-made first aid kit would be good for putting in your children’s cars, and even a jump start first aid kit. You could take the items out you didn’t want, and add the supplies you need. Some people get these kits and use the supplies to practice with, and use the bag or container to build their own kit.
There are some websites that put together good first aid kits but make sure they use good supplies, and it has what you need in it. Keep in mind, a good kit with 100 items is going to be far more than $25. A 100 item kit for $25 probably has 75 band aids in it.
What to Store Your Kits In
Not all of your first aid kits need to be in bags or containers designed specifically for first aid. I would however make sure they are clearly labeled, or it’s obvious what it is. You want these supplies to be readily available, without having to search through boxes to find what you need. Here are a few ideas that we have used to store first aid supplies in…
My main first aid kit is in a red backpack
Small cardboard boxes for extra supplies (labeled)
Old plastic bins
Old tool box
Sterilite bins with drawers
Ziploc Bags
Old cordless tool cases
Tupperware containers
And anything else laying around the house you can put stuff in.
The bottom line – don’t scrimp when it comes to your first aid kits. Just like having extra food on hand in the event of an emergency, having extra first aid supplies on hand can literally save lives.
Being prepared for an uncertain future is much more than just having a little extra food and water stored. There are so many possible trigger points in today’s world that preparedness needs to become a mindset and not just a something to check off your to-do list. When one embraces the need to make preparedness a life-long process and not just an event, then one truly becomes an asset rather than a liability. I’m afraid far too many are relying on the government or others to rescue them in times of need. It may be helpful to take the time to consider possible events that one could face in the next five years.
Natural Disasters (weather related)
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
Heavy thunder storms
Flash flooding
Mud/rock slides
High winds
Hail
Severe winter weather
Avalanche
Extreme high heat
Drought
Wildfire
Natural Disasters (non-weather related)
Earthquake
Volcano eruption
Tidal wave/Tsunami
Man-made Disasters
War (conventional, biological, chemical or nuclear)
Toxic material emission or spill (from a train, semi-truck or nearby plant)
Riot or other civil disorder
Nuclear plant melt down or other nuclear disaster
Terrorism Fire
Government action against you
Stock market crash
Severe depression
Plague or disease outbreak
Personal Emergencies
Kidnapping
Mugging, robbery or other criminal attack
Unemployment
Financial disaster
Death in family
Home destroyed by fire
Random acts of violence
This is certainly not a definitive list of possible events that could create a need to rely on your preps, but it’s a good starting point. As you consider these possibilities, you may also want to consider the underlying purpose for your preps – that of basic survival. If your preps will not provide the essentials of basic survival, you will want to re-think your priorities.
When it comes to survival, it can be reduced to “The Rule of Three”. You may be military, firefighter, law enforcement, rescue worker or just plain folk with an inordinate amount of common sense. Regardless, it never hurts to revisit the basics. And all of the basics can be summed up in ”The Rule of Three” which says, absent sudden death (such as an accident) or terminal illness, your survival is generally contingent upon you not exceeding:
3 minutes without breathing (drowning, asphyxiation)
3 hours without shelter in an extreme environment (exposure)
3 days without water (dehydration)
3 weeks without food (starvation)
Starvation
Most preppers‘ are stocking food. You will note that starvation is the slowest form of death among the Rule of Three. You would likely have three weeks before you starve. Your level of physical exertion has an impact on the body‘s caloric requirements. Personally, I might survive starvation for five or six weeks as I‘m carrying a lot of extra weight (just in case!). Don‘t call me over weight, call me prepped! Keep in mind, your survival strategy must consider the likelihood of you being separated from your food supply in an emergency. When that happens, stay calm, focus on any immediate threats or hazards and remember that you have three weeks to implement Food Plan B or Plan C. You do have a Food Plan B and Plan C, don‘t you?
Dehydration
Dehydration occurs much more quickly than starvation. As such, water supply is much more critical to address in an emergency. Consider that in a temperate climate and without exertion, the human body requires approximately 2.5 liters of fluids per day. In extreme heat this requirement goes up significantly. Diarrhea can lead to rapid, catastrophic dehydration as well. Given that water is far bulkier to store and/or transport than food, and that dehydration is potentially a far more pressing concern than starvation, your ability to procure water in an emergency should supplant food in your ranking of survival priorities. Stated simply, water is far more important than food. What is your home-base plan for water? What is your mobile plan for water?
Exposure
Exposure occurs far more rapidly than dehydration. Hot or cold, you could find yourself unable to function in less than three hours. Immersion in cold water, such as breaking through ice, could reduce your time to act down to mere minutes. So what‘s your shelter strategy when you‘re away from home-base? In the north, temperatures can fall to minus 40 F in the winter. If you have an accident on a slick road late at night in such conditions, you will likely not be waking up ever again unless you have prepared for such an eventuality. Exposure kills in hours, or less. Countering exposure is your number two priority for survival in any emergency situation. Yet most preppers are not thinking about exposure while stocking their pantries. Prepare for exposure.
Asphyxiation
Asphyxiation kills in three minutes. This is the emergency situation that gives you the least amount of time to react for your survival. This is your Priority One survival issue. An interior fire is the most common cause of asphyxiation. Do you have a home escape plan in the event of a fire? If not, make one – it might save your life. Unless you‘ve been in a burning building, I guarantee that you cannot imagine how blinding the smoke is nor how quickly a structure can become fully engulfed. If you have children, periodic rehearsal of the escape plan is mandatory. In the unthinkable event of a fire, panic is inevitable. Rehearsal helps to moderate the flight reaction, which might otherwise lead to death.
While fire is a common cause, there are other causes of asphyxiation worth your consideration such as carbon monoxide poisoning – usually from a combustion source in the home. This has also occurred in vehicles stranded in snowstorms. Vehicles were left running so the heaters would work and accumulating snow shrouded the tailpipe resulting in vehicle exhaust entering the passenger compartment.
Other poisonous fumes can cause asphyxiation as well. Tanker trucks, rail cars, chemical and other industrial plants often have hazardous materials that, in an emergency situation, could cause you grave bodily harm if exposed.
Take some time with your family and review “The Rule of Three” as it might relate to a variety of emergency situations. Assuring our families have the understanding and skills necessary to survive life threatening occurrences will provide peace of mind that we’ve done what matters most as we continue with our life-long process of being prepared.
I have one of the most wonderful mother-in-law’s I could have ever hoped for (and I’m not just saying that because I fear she may read this). She loves having her family around her and has always treated me as one of her own sons. She runs a tight ship and insists on having everything in its place and order is paramount. This is why there’s been one thing that’s been very difficult for me to reconcile through the years, namely that of warm milk! Yes, you heard me right, warm milk.
You see, my wife has six siblings and now that they’re all married, when we get together there’s quite a crowd. Whenever we eat as a group and milk is part of the buffet, often the milk jug is left out on the counter for hours. Now I don’t know about you, but when I pour a glass of milk, I expect it to be ice cold. I love cold milk. Now on the other hand, for me there’s nothing worse that expecting a crisp, cold swig of milk and end up with a mouthful of room temperature milk. If I were alone, I would definitely spit it out.
Now with today’s technology, we’re very accustom to our dairy, produce and meat products coming out of the fridge cold. But what if we didn’t have a fridge or our fridge didn’t work, how would we keep our food cold and keep it from spoiling?
Well, one way to address this problem is to look at how our forefathers kept things cold. In England in Victorian times and before (and probably in other countries too) not everyone could afford the luxury of delivered ice – and anyway poorer people could only afford to shop for the bare necessities every day and these got quickly gobbled up by the much larger households of the time!
What people needed was a safe place to store food overnight or until mealtime. This was usually called a ‘cool pantry.’ The pantry was often located on the coldest (North) facing wall of the house/cottage, and often had a tiny window high up. This window was often protected by a sort of metal sieved screen to keep the flies out. On the inside, the walls where shelved, and on the shelves were kept perhaps a jug of milk or cream, cheese in a specially shaped china wedge, perhaps a ham or other cold meat, rashers of bacon, a pot of butter or a few slices of cold pie or brawn. The cooler temperatures in there would have been enough to keep the food cool for 2/3 days (we probably wouldn’t risk it nowadays!)
Before electricity, there were a few different ways of keeping food before refrigerators. Most recently (just before modern refrigerators became very common) people used iceboxes. These were like refrigerators but instead of being cooled electrically, they were cooled by having actual ice in them.
Before that was available, people had cool cellars and some had ice houses where ice could be stored (under sawdust or straw) and kept cool for much of the year. These places could keep some food cool.
But mostly, in those days, food was preserved some other way – by smoking, salting, or drying it.
Most houses used to be built with cellars. A cellar was dark and cool, and food could be kept there so it wouldn’t spoil. People also canned fruits and vegetables, and preserved meats in barrels with salt. The wealthy had ice houses, where they stored ice and they were also cellars. They would have an icebox in the house, and put the blocks of ice in there.
If one lived close to a stream, placing some food items in a screened container in the cool stream water would offer the refrigeration needed to preserve many food items while keeping animals from eating the food.
But what if you don’t have a cool cellar or access to ice or a cool stream, how then could you practically keep food at least cool if not cold. The answer is evaporation. Check out these videos on how you can make your own evaporative cooler called a Zeer Pot to help preserve your food.
It may be worth your time to spend a few dollars and pick up some unglazed terracotta pots and experiment with your own Zeer Pot refrigerator now so you’ll know what you options and limitations are in the event of an off-grid survival situation.
The power has just gone out. You find the flashlight and light some candles. You realize its dinner time and the kids are hungry, now what? Going out to dinner might not be an option if the power is out in the whole city. Crackers and a jar of peanut butter might be okay for one night, but what if the power outage lasts for longer than that? Power outages can happen at any time. They could last a few hours or even a few days.
Order of Operations It is important to start by using what is in your refrigerator first. When the power goes out, the fridge will be able to keep food cool for 24-48 hours. Don’t open your fridge more than you absolutely have to. Know what you are looking for, open and close the fridge quickly and efficiently. If the power is still out, eat what is in the freezer next. Food will remain frozen for 2-3 days as long as the door stays shut.
Alternate Cooking Methods Our ancestors have used fire to cook food for millions of years. Learn from their ingenuity and adjust your own cooking methods.
Fire Starters Fire has come a long way in the last several years. Products like EasyFire make building and maintaining a fire as easy as ever. Using nontoxic inert minerals, paraffin wax, and recycled wood, you can create more than enough heat to safely cook any meal. Use a firepit, fireplace, or other safe, ventilated container to maintain an easy fire.
Cooking Outdoors A functional and fun trend is the backyard firepit. This is a great area for cooking during a blackout. Take a note from the Boy Scouts of America and make a good old fashioned tin foil dinner. A tin foil dinner can contain just about anything. Take a sheet of aluminum foil and fill it with meat and potatoes. Add a few herbs and some salt and pepper. Roll the edges of the foil together and toss it in the fire for a while. Bury the tin foil dinner in a bed of hot coals so it cooks all the way through. Check to see if it is done, if not roll it back up and put it back on the fire until everything is tender and cooked.
Barbeques, grills, and camp stoves are ideal for the 4th of July, they are also the most obvious ways to cook during a power outage. Since they run on propane or charcoal they won’t be affected by the blackout. DO NOT grill indoors on a charcoal or gas grill. It will produce lethal carbon monoxide.
Emergency Stove Candle or Stove-in-a-Can stoves use wax hydrocarbon fuel. Chafing dishes use the same principle to keep food warm. You’ve probably seen the blue flames under trays at parties or other catered events. These little cans are great for heating up food during an emergency. They won’t be able to cook a full course meal, but they are able to heat up a can of beans just fine.
Use Your Food Storage People sometimes protect their emergency food storage, assuming that a bigger emergency is around the corner. In reality, events like blackouts are exactly when you should use your food storage. It provides convenient, easy meal prep. For instance, MREs have built-in MRE heaters to cook without needing any other cooking method. If you have more freeze-dried food, that’s almost as easy. Freeze-dried meals only require hot water to produce a full, delicious meal.
Use Your Car Your car engine gets hot enough to heat food. Simply wrap your food in several layers of aluminum foil, open your hood and place the foil on the engine. Close the hood and turn on your car. (PLEASE make sure your garage door is open so you have plenty of ventilation.) Cook your food until the internal temperature is safe (usually 160 degrees for meat). You may need to flip the foil back and forth to ensure even cooking.
Alternative Cooking Methods
Do you have any advice for cooking without power? We’d love to hear from you.
Source: http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2012/08/will_we_be_cooking_without_pow.html
Russia Prepares for Nuclear War With U.S., Instructing Citizens to Buy Water and Gas Masks
Russian state-owned television is urging the country’s residents to stock their bunkers with water and basic foodstuffs because Moscow could go to war with Washington.
Warning that the potential conflict between the two superpowers would be “catastrophic,” an anchor for Russia’s Vesti 24 showed off shelves of food, recommending that people buy salt, oatmeal and other products that can last a long time on the shelves. Powdered milk last five years while sugar and rice can last up to eight years, the newscaster explained before showing videos of pasta cooking in a bomb shelter.
The channel’s newscasters also displayed charts explaining how much water people need to store for drinking, washing their face and hands, and preparing food every day—and how that amount changes depending on the temperature of a person’s bomb shelter. The program also recommended that people stock up on gas masks and read guides on how to survive nuclear war.
The program aired just one day after sources told Newsweekthat “there is a major war scare” in Moscow, as President Donald Trump prepares to strike Syria in retaliation for the use of chemical weapons against civilians over the weekend. The Trump administration has said it believes Syria’s Russian-backed President Bashar al-Assad was responsible for the attacks, and it plans to ensure that Assad pays the price. Russian military forces have responded by saying that Moscow would meet fire with fire and said that it will shoot down any U.S. missiles.
“If there is a strike by the Americans, then the missiles will be downed and even the sources from which the missiles were fired,” warned Alexander Zasypkin, Russia’s ambassador to Lebanon, during an interview on Tuesday with a television station linked to Hezbollah.
The increasingly bellicose rhetoric has sparked fears that a conflict could break out between two nuclear-armed superpowers. On Wednesday morning, Trump took to Twitter to issue a stark warning to Russia, which he accused of partnering with “a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!”
Source: http://www.newsweek.com/russia-prepares-nuclear-war-us-instructing-citizens-buy-water-and-gas-masks-881823
The main reason an economic collapse is a big priority is because it could happen at any time, and it seems like no one even cares anymore that we are trillions in debt.
Politicians don’t care about the national debt, they care about getting reelected, and if you think they are going to be the ones who say “we need to make huge spending cuts” you’re kidding yourself. They would never get reelected because the people in this entitled society that we’ve become would have none of it.
First off, I have to say that I am no economist by any stretch of the imagination. I understand that government economics and budgeting and home budgeting are completely different. With that being said, I am not so naive to think that this business as usual approach, and massive government overspending is just “how government works”, Regardless what they would like is to believe.
According to some experts, when factoring in unfunded liabilities like Social Security, Medicare, government pension plans and Obamacare, estimates put the real national debt somewhere around $200 trillion.
Let me got off my soap box here and just say, at some point, something has to give. How that looks, when it happens, and what the repercussions are no one knows. One thing is certain though, if we continue on this path, something is bound to give.
Not preparing for a potential economic collapse could be catastrophic. Everything we’ve worked for and saved over our lifetimes could be gone in a flash.
Preparing for an economic collapse should be one of our highest priorities because it encompasses every area of preparedness. As you prepare for a economic collapse, you are inevitably preparing for other disaster scenarios.
Most disasters would be short lived, and you would know fairly quickly whether or not you were going to get through it. A collapse could be something that requires a longer term preparedness plan. How much you prepare depends on your situation, but this could last anywhere from a few months to a few years.
The most important thing is to stay vigilant and pay attention. Watch what is going on in Venezuela right now, and pay attention to how the government is reacting, how the people are reacting, and what the major issues are.
Take a few minutes and watch this video. It’s hard to argue with the facts. We cannot say we’ve not been warned!
Sources: survivalistprepper.net/preparing-economic-collapse/
A number of years ago, on an elk hunting trip, my father in law, brother in law and myself came extremely close to dying as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. It was a very scary experience to look back and realize just how close we came to perishing as a result of our carelessness.
The three of us had purchased a cabin for our families in a remote, high altitude mountain area. The elevation of our cabin was about 9,600 feet above sea level. It was high enough that it took several days to acclimate to the altitude and would often cause headaches if you exerted yourself too much.
Since our cabin was located in such a remote, wooded area, there were no utilities available. We were totally off the grid. We used a generator for power and propane for cooking and heat. We also used the fireplace on occasion for heat and light both. Due to the altitude of the cabin, it was common to have four to six feet of snow on the ground most of the winter. As a result, our access to the cabin was usually limited to between the months of May and November.
I come from a family of hunters and it was a regular event to use the cabin as a base camp for both deer and elk hunting. It was common for us to either bring our four wheelers or horses on our hunts as it made carrying our game back to the cabin so much easier. It was in late September we had planned on elk hunting near the cabin and had trailered our horses up to the cabin to make the hunt easier.
It was an Indian Fall with temperatures in the upper 50’s and low 60’s. It was beautiful weather for a hunt with the leaves just starting to turn on the quakies. We were having the time of our life, riding all over the mountainous area near our cabin, enjoying the scenery and weather almost as much as the anticipation of bagging a big bull elk. We glassed a herd of about 20 elk more than 1,000 yards away but were never able to get close enough for any kind of a decent shot.
The next day out, clouds began to roll in and by mid-day, it began to rain. We donned our slickers but not before we got wet. We continued to ride the rest of that soggy day with no luck finding a decent bull. By the time we got back to the cabin that evening and got the horses put away, we were wet, cold and hungry and anxious to get inside, warm up and get some food on our stomachs.
Ever since my father in law suffered hypothermia on a backpacking trip, he had become hyper sensitive to the cold. I even have a picture of him sitting on the beach in Coronado, CA wearing his cowboy hat and a jacket with the beach towel wrapped around his legs. He hated to cold! Anyway,
as soon as we entered the cabin, he asked me to fire up the propane heater even though it wasn’t that cold inside. So, being an obedient son in law, without a second thought, I lit the heater and turned up the thermostat.
I then went outside and fired up the generator as it was getting dark. After a quick bite of food, we decided to setting down and watch a video. We had an old color TV set up on a shelf by the fireplace and used an old full size VHS camcorder (the big ones that would rest on your shoulder when you shot videos) as a video player to watch the limited library of video tapes we kept at the cabin. That night, the video of choice was “Tremors” with Kevin Bacon. If you’ve never had the privilege of watching that masterpiece, it’s about these huge underground worms that are eating people and destroying the town.
One of the unique characteristics of our fancy entertainment center was that the TV would occasionally change from color to black and white. The high-tech method we used to rectify this annoying shift was to smack the TV hard on the side. This procedure usually solved the problem.
I glanced over at my father in law who was sitting in an over-stuffed chair next to me and he was out – fast asleep which seemed quite appealing to me after a long day of hunting, a full belly, warm cabin and a classic movie. As a result, I was quickly dozing off to la la land myself. My brother in law was laying on a couch closest to the TV and was also feeling sleepy when in a critical part of the movie (the giant worm was eating yet another victim), the TV went black and white. My brother in law, who had become an expert in adjusting the TV and bringing it back to “technicolor”, sat up to smack the TV once again.
As soon as he sat up, he grabbed his head and yelled out to us – “Wake up, were being poisoned!” It took several seconds to come to but as we tried to stand up, our heads felt like they were going to explode. We could feel our hearts pounding like we had just run a mile and we felt like we were going to throw up. We managed to make our way out to the front porch where we quickly sat down with our heads between our legs and tried to keep from passing out from the headache pain we were experiencing. As soon as I could stand again, I went back inside, turned off the heater and opened the windows and doors to try and air out the cabin.
How could this happen?! We had never experienced any problem like this before. The propane heaters always seemed to function properly in the past and we never worried about carbon monoxide poisoning. Then it came to me – the reason we almost died – we had neglected to take the metal bucket off the furnace flu. In an attempt to keep squirrels and other critters out of the cabin, when we leave the cabin, we climb up on the roof and put a bucket over the top of the flu. Because we hadn’t used the furnace the night before, we simple hadn’t thought about the issue of a blocked flu.
As a result, over a period of about an hour, we had been slowing breathing in the odorless carbon monoxide, making us sleepy and gradually and painlessly killing us. It really is scary to think how close we came to dying that night and I’m convinced that wonderful old color TV went black and white purposely, by a higher power, to save our lives. Had that not happened – had my brother in law not needed to sit up to smack the TV, our families would have discovered three bloated bodies several days later. We were that close!
The effects of carbon monoxide poisoning are prolonged – in fact it took about three days for us to feel back to normal. You see, the hemoglobin in our red blood cells became saturated with carbon monoxide which blocked oxygen from being absorbed and transported throughout our bodies. So, for three days, our bodies were trying to replace the carbon monoxide with oxygen that would provide energy and stamina. We were so oxygen deprived; our bodies were struggling to do the simplest of tasks. Granted, we were at a very high altitude (which didn’t help) but even walking just 20 feet would cause us to be winded and needing to rest. Nevertheless, like the tough guys we thought we were, we weren’t about to bail on our hunting excursion.
Luckily we had our horses to do most of the work. Every now and then when we’d be in a really densely wooded area and we’d have to get off our horses and walk them over all the fallen timber and brush, it would about kill us. It was like trying to run a race breathing through a straw. I hope never to have to experience that silent killer again (I may not be as lucky the second time).
Unfortunately, I’m afraid many families will be subjected to the potentially fatal consequences of carbon monoxide poisoning in a grid down scenario. Many who have stored away emergency camp stoves or other alternate forms of cooking, light and heat, due to the stress of the situation, will fail to follow proper safety precautions when using such emergency systems indoors. Here’s the best safety tip I can provide – regardless of how safe your cooking or heating source may claim to be, NEVER use it in an enclosed area. I know, I know, there are many heaters that are ventless or fluless and claim to be safe to use indoors – nevertheless, ALWAYS keep a significant fresh air flow when using such a device.
Some may say, “Why would I open a window and let cold air in when I’m trying to heat the room?” Yes, it is a little counter-intuitive but essential for survival. Please take my word for it, it’s absolutely not worth it! Life is far too precious to risk the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.
