Posts Tagged Preppers
Historic Drought, Giant Dust Storms And Massive Power Grid Failures – A Glimpse Into Our Future
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in Economy, Natural Environment & Weather, News, Prepping & Off The Grid Living on August 2, 2012
via: ActivistPost
by: Michael Snyder
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
This week has provided two very clear examples of why it is so important to keep on prepping. In the United States, the historic drought ravaging the central part of the country is absolutely devastating our crops.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, drought is affecting nearly 90 percent of all corn crops in America at this point.
This is pushing the price of corn to levels never seen before. On Tuesday, the price of corn hit another new record high of $8.20 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. Over the past six weeks the price of corn has risen more than 50 percent, and it could go a lot higher as the drought continues to absolutely bake America.
Meanwhile, the massive power grid failures in India are reminding us all just how incredibly dependent we are on electricity and technology. Power was cut off to nearly a tenth of the entire global population on Tuesday, and there was quite a bit of panic about that even though power is rapidly being restored.
So what would happen to them (or to us) someday if the power went off for good?
As much as humanity would like to think that our technology has conquered nature, that simply is not the case.
Without the rain that falls from the sky, there would be mass starvation on this planet. We are not immune to drought, and there are a lot of indications that the drought we are experiencing right now is just the beginning of a longer trend.
Survival tips for the urbanite: Part 1 – Nuclear Radiation
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in Economy, News, Prepping & Off The Grid Living on July 30, 2012
via: ActivistPost
by: Rady Ananda
Monday, July 30, 2012
Though many survivalists like to prepare for TEOTWAWKI (the end of the world as we know it), joblessness and homelessness have led me to the end of the world as I know it. With coffee in hand, I opened the warehouse door of my temporary digs to greet the dawn. Only, it’s noon, there’s a downpour, and the smell of rubber from a pile of decomposing tires greets me. This marks Month 4 in New Orleans and two years since I was laid off.
In this vein, I finally started reading Mat Stein’s two survival books, When Technology Fails (2008) and When Disaster Strikes (2011). I also headed over to Jim Rawles’ Survival Blogand Mat’s website, whentechfails.com.
Instead of a lone-wolf, Mad Max world which plays well on film, Stein reasonably argues that individual survival relies on a community of like-minded folks. So plan your survival migration or shelter with room for your core group. The essential wisdom from both books and most survival websites is to plan a strategically sound survival budget, taking into account the climate of where you expect to be after you hit the road.
Few experts would call the US a failed or fragile state given to eco-migration, but most Americans already live in toxic zones, with our land, air and water being systematically poisoned by industry. New Orleans is only one of many areas suffering from hyper-industrialization and weather destruction. Locals call the corridor from here to Baton Rouge, “Cancer Alley.”
Thanks to Corexit and the Macondo Blowout (among hundreds of other oil “spills”), Gulf seafood is unfit for human consumption, and anglers and beachcombers are suffering from a host of health issues including respiratory failure. Birds, turtles, dolphins, and other sea life are dying in mass numbers or are showing up deformed, while federal agencies insist all is well.
55 Percent Of Americans Believe That The Government Will Take Care Of Them If Disaster Strikes
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in News, Prepping & Off The Grid Living on July 23, 2012
via: TheAmericanDream
July 23, 2012
If a major emergency happened in the United States, do you have faith that the government would take care of you? Amazingly, even after all of the examples to the contrary that we have seen in recent years, a solid majority of all Americans actually believe that the government will be there for them when things hit the fan. According to a new survey conducted by the Adelphi University Center for Health Innovation, 55 percent of Americans believe that the authorities will come to their rescue when disaster strikes. Sadly, most Americans still view the government as a “nanny state” that has both the capability and the willingness to take care of them from the cradle to the grave. Most Americans still have faith that the government will come through for them when they need it the most. But all we have to do is look back at what happened during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to realize what a crock of baloney that is. Hurricane Katrina was a disaster that was limited to a relatively small geographic area, and yet we all saw how the response of the federal government was a complete and utter failure. So what is going to happen someday if there is a nationwide disaster that stretches on for months or even years? Do you really believe that the federal government will be there for you?
How is the federal government going to take care of more than 300 million Americans in the event of a major financial collapse?
How is the federal government going to rescue more than 300 million Americans if a killer pandemic sweeps the nation?
How is the federal government going to make sure that more than 300 million Americans are safe and secure if a cyber attack cripples our power grid or takes down the entire Internet?
How is the federal government going to get food and water to more than 300 million Americans if an EMP blast takes down most of the electronics in this country?
It would be easy to go on and on discussing various nationwide emergency scenarios. All over the globe the number of earthquakes is increasing, and it would be easy to imagine an absolutely massive earthquake on the west coastor along the New Madrid fault in the middle of the country leaving tens of millions of Americans in need of basic assistance.
What would the federal government do in a situation like that?
Or how would the government handle a full-blown eruption of a major volcano in the Pacific northwest?
If the federal government could not even come close to handling Hurricane Katrina, then how in the world are they going to rescue us from something far worse?
Sadly, most Americans just roll along as if everything is going to be just fine. Just check out some of the other numbers from the survey mentioned at the top of this article….
-44 percent of all Americans do not have first-aid kits in their homes.
-48 percent of all Americans do not have any emergency supplies stored up.
-53 percent of all Americans do not have a 3 day supply of nonperishable food and water in their homes.
Essentially, what we have got is about half the country that is completely and totally unprepared.
About half the nation is sitting back and relying on the government to make all of the preparations.
Off-Grid Refrigeration
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in News, Prepping & Off The Grid Living on July 22, 2012
via: Alt-Market
by: John Chatham
Sunday, 22 July 2012
One of the hardest things to go without when going off grid is refrigeration. Most other operations can be replaced by manual means but keeping food cold or frozen in hot weather is a unique need in modern times. In times past the need for refrigeration was limited because most food was prepared fresh every day and very little was kept for several days due in part to the lack of mechanical cooling. The fast paced lifestyle many now live have led people to depend on frozen or refrigerated food due to the modern day work habits leaving little time for home preparation of food. In times past most women worked in the home all day, so daily preparation of food was a natural occurance. With most women working outside of the home nowadays, the fast preparation of food dominates most kitchens. Even for those that do a lot of cooking from scratch everyday, the use of frozen foods is very convenient.
The ability to raise your own meat, butcher it, and save it for later use on a moments notice has been nothing less than revolutionary in the kitchen. While freezing is not the only way to save foods, it is much easier than other methods for many foods. The biggest problem with frozen foods is the need to keep it frozen at all times. When the power goes out many people lose the contents of their freezers because of lack of electricity. Even after this happens several times most people continue to use the same means to keep their food refrigerated and never give thought to using a different method that would save them that loss and provide them with frozen food and ice no matter how long the power was off.
The use of propane refrigeration is a step above compressor driven units for several reasons. Many absorption refrigeration units can run on 12v, 120v and propane power. A refrigerator that can run on all three, such as the units found in RVs or camper trailers, can give you an edge when the power goes out. You could run it on 120v for normal operations and if the power fails you can switch over to 12v battery power or to a propane tank outside your home. Absorption units are powered by heat so as long as you have a heat source they will continue to cool. Another great thing about these units is the fact that unlike compressor units that have many moving parts that can break or wear out, an absorption unit has no moving parts in the cooling unit.
Survival Basics: Water Storage, Sourcing, and Purification
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in Health, News, Prepping & Off The Grid Living on July 22, 2012
via: ActivistPost
by: George Ure and Gaye Levy
Sunday, July 22, 2012
For this reason, the American Red Cross, FEMA, and just about every other authority out there recommends that the public store at least one gallon of water per person, per day for a minimum of three days. But if you think that a three day water supply is adequate, think again.
A more reasonable recommendation is that you up the recommended amount of stored water to a two-week supply. So for two people that would be 2 people x 1 gallon x 14 days = 28 gallons. This amount should cover your minimal needs for drinking, food preparation and nominal – and I mean nominal – hygiene.
Going to the Extreme: Euro-Preppers Get Ready for the Worst *Video*
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in News, Prepping & Off The Grid Living on July 18, 2012
via: CorporateMediaExposed
Source: SHTFPlan.com
By: Mac Slavo
July 18, 2012
It’s not just in the USA that a growing number of people are preparing for far-from-equilibrium scenarios resulting from economic or geo-political collapse.
Many Europeans have also taken note of the troubling signs all around them. In the following report, RT visits a man who wished to keep his name and location anonymous.
Like many Americans, he is preparing for all hell to break loose and has spent the last few years gearing up his home and supplies for the worst.
Like most preppers and survivalist, he has modified his lifestyle to become more self reliant and less dependent on the grid and existing government infrastructure.
In addition to generating two thirds of his current energy consumption with wind and solar power, he grows his own food and raises cattle to supplement his diet in the event grocery stores run out of food or prices get so expensive in Euros that no one can afford to buy it.
Guest Post: Why I Prepare?
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in News, Prepping & Off The Grid Living on July 16, 2012
via: ModernSurvivalOnline
by: Jennifer
July 15, 2012
I was in the 3rd grade when I experience my first earth quake. It was October 17th, 1989 at 6:04 in the evening. Just about dinner time for my sister and I. We were enjoying a regular evening home with my mother while my father was just about to leave from his office job just about an hour away from our house.
I don’t quite remember exactly what we were doing the moment it hit but as soon as it did, my short lived 9 years of life changed forever. I remember my mother grabbing me and literally throwing me under our dining room table. She grabbed my kid sister (just 6 six years old) and did the same with her. After that, ever the cat lover, she scooped up both of our cats as if they were footballs and handed one to each of us girls and told us to hold on tight and stay. That’s when I remember actually feeling the shaking and hearing the noises of rattling glass and creaking walls. The entire house was shaking. My mother did not get under the table with us. Instead, she stood just 15 feet away holding up her prized grandfather clocked passed down from generations. I remember screaming and crying “MOM” “MOM” begging her to come under the table. It was the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced. Then the shaking stopped, just as suddenly as it had started. It was the Loma Prieta Earthquake, 6.9 on the Richter and 7.1 with surface waves. San Francisco, 1989.
Considerations for SHTF Living & Bug Out Locations
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in News, Prepping & Off The Grid Living on February 21, 2012
By: Mac Slavo
May 3rd, 2011
SHTFplan.com
Editor’s note: If you are not yet in the location you want to be if the S were to hit the fan, and are currently looking for either a home or raw land, then we recommend that you also read What Is The Best Place To Live In The United States To Prepare For The Coming Economic. The opinions expressed below are a supplement to that article.
If insulating yourself from a worst-case scenario is your primary concern then the following considerations, some of which were mentioned in the article above, could help you to better decide what to do next:
Stay out of the cities:
This is without a doubt the top concern when looking at the possibility of an economic collapse or other disaster scenario. You’re likely better off taking your chances in the middle of the wilderness than you are staying in an urban center. You’ll be dealing with packs of wild animals in both scenarios, but at least you would have a chance at acquiring some food, water and shelter. Of course, we’re not recommending that you make the wilderness your bug-out plan, but rather, are pointing out that cities will be hit extremely hard, and millions of people will be in need of food, gas, clean water, medicine and other supplies. In an all-out collapse, similar to that described by James Rawles in his book Patriots, the grid would go down, transportation systems would come to a halt and urban areas, including suburban areas, would become war zones as individuals, gangs and clans would compete for the last remaining resources. When you think major city and SHTF, think Hurricane Katrina, but on a regionalized scale affecting tens of millions of people.
Don’t plan on living in the wild:
While the wilderness may seem like a much better option than the inner city or suburbia, you’re not the only one who’s thought of it. Only experienced outdoors men should even consider living in the wild as a primary back-up for a collapse event. Like the cities, it will only be a matter of time before competition for resources reaches a boiling point. Unless you’re one-hundred or more miles from any major human access points, you’re going to come across others who are looking for food, water, shelter, clothing and supplies. Depending on where you are in the country, the elements may become just as dangerous as gangs in the city. Without the proper equipment, you’d probably have a better chance of surviving an inner city meltdown then you would freezing temperatures in the north / north-west part of the US. If the wilderness is your plan, do you have a plan for staking and defending a piece of land for you and your family? And are you prepared to evade and/or deal with the golden horde that will eventually makes it way from the cities?
How close is your support network?:
If you plan on relocating, are family members and like-minded friends within a tank of gas to your new location? While an SHTF location 400 miles outside of a major city is a great idea, if your plan is to have just you and your immediate family of 2 to 5 people defending the land you may run into problems. Regardless of how many guns or how much ammo you have, coordinated attacks by gangs or the possibility of being overrun by those who managed to make it to rural areas should be a consideration. Also, looking at the location of your home town and the reality of coordinating with neighbors and city officials to stop non-residents from entering a particular area would be prudent. A support network on a familial and community level will be critical if you are near any population centers, even if your town is only made up of a few thousand people. Primarily, your immediate team is of the most concern – keeping 24 hour watch and working the land will be critical, and you’re going to need more than just a few people to do this effectively.
Location. Location. Location:
The above article pointed out that coastal areas could be deadly – for a number of reasons. If you’ve read any historical doomsday theories, you’re likely familiar with the statistic that some 90% of the world’s population lives within a hundred miles of an ocean. Bad news if the earth ever decides to sneeze. That, and the fact that those areas become major targets in the event of war or wide-scale terrorism. The east coast of the US, especially, would be dangerous simply because of the number of people. Even if you aren’t directly on the coast, golden horde migrations will overrun hundreds of thousands of acres of land during evacuations or panics. The west coast would experience similar effects. From the south, as the article mentions, there is the real possibility of mass migrations and violence – it’s no secret that certain lines of thoughts suggest the southern US belongs to Mexico – so be prepared for an onslaught if you are anywhere within several hundred miles of the southern border. During any such mass migrations, any easy to traverse land masses will be subject to disturbances and only those in remote or difficult to reach locations will go unscathed. If it even exists, the SHTF protection zones, in general, seem to be the central United States regions – this includes flat lands and mountainous regions, stretching from northern Texas up towards the Dakotas and west towards Idaho. Parts of northern California, Oregon and Washington also qualify. There is, of course, the possibility that some natural events – Yellowstone comes to mind – could wreck havoc, but other than that, the right piece of property in these areas could be your best bet to survive a whole host of end of America scenarios. This is not to say that areas outside of this zone are unsafe, as we are speaking more in regional generalities here. Ideally, you want to be out of the migration path of the horde, preferably on higher ground in the mountains, or a good distance from any major or high trafficked roadways if you’re living on flat land.One rule of thumb would be to look at how far away a major city is from your location. If tens of thousands of people live within a gas tank of that location, you can expect unfriendly visitors.
