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Preparedness

 

 

 

 

 

 

WE ARE ONLY THREE TO FOUR MEALS AWAY FROM CHAOS!

 

 

You and Your Loved Ones Will Be On Your Own When Any Major Public Health Crisis Strikes.

 

How confident are you that "emergency planners" -- the bureaucrats responsible for the post-Katrina debacle and the plodding federal response to the Gulf oil spill -- will provide effective and timely help for you and your family in case of a widespread public health emergency? When it happens, you DO NOT want to be anywhere near the big cities. Watch closely for the signs; a bank holiday or a natural disaster being two of them. When the global economy crashes, nearly EVERY big city in the world will be at great risk.

 

Imagine, for a moment, that you have lost your home in a natural disaster and with it most of your possessions. It’s wintertime, you live on the East Coast, and your old neighborhood has been leveled. What cash you have is being used for the most basic of necessities; you don’t have enough money to move into a hotel and even if you did they are all full anyway. A lot of folks are staying in homes without power and heat and are merely riding out the hard times. Others are staying with friends and family. You don’t have such choices, so you have to take what you get, essentially. In this case, you get FEMA.

 

You have nowhere to go. You are completely reliant on the government for subsistence. You learn that you will be moved from the miserable tent city, where you are now being housed, to a new temporary facility that used to be, of all things, a prison.

 

Our world is becoming increasingly unstable, and millions of Americans are feverishly preparing for what they consider to be "the end of the world as we know it." In fact, it is estimated that there are now approximately 3 million "preppers" in the United States. But for people that have never done much prepping before, getting started can be both confusing and intimidating. People are constantly asking how they can prepare for the difficult times that are coming. No two situations are exactly the same, and almost every prepper approaches preparation differently, but there are some basic principles that apply to almost everyone. And without a doubt, a lot of people that are not preparing now are going to regret it in the years ahead. The global financial system is falling apart, the United States and Europe are absolutely drowning in debt, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are becoming more frequent, signs of social decay are everywhere and war could erupt in the Middle East at any time. It is absolutely amazing that there are so many people out there that still believe that preparing is not necessary.

 

During the last recession, millions of people lost their jobs, and because a lot of them had no financial cushion, many of them also lost their homes. For the next couple of years, if you are a prepper and you are living month to month, then you are in a very vulnerable position. What is going to happen to all of your preparations if something goes wrong and you suddenly lose your home to foreclosure? Everyone should have an emergency fund that will be able to cover all bills and expenses for at least six months. Even though cash is continually losing value, during any economic downturn it is absolutely essential that you be able to continue to pay your bills. Having a cash reserve is the smart thing to do.

 

Think what’s in your cupboards and imagine if for six weeks you couldn’t get food—it might be due to snow or whatever—how would you survive? The vast majority of people will find they have only enough to last a week. Be a little more prepared is what we are saying. While the simplest way to do this has been to stock up on canned and  dried produce, freeze-dried foods are increasingly popular. In the past year alone, sales of tins of food with a 25-year shelf-life have increased by 350 per cent. The contents of these tins are similar to the sachets of foods that mountaineers and other outward-bound types might be familiar with. But because they are in cans, rather than packets, they last for 25 years, rather than five. They are created by cooking a normal meal, such as spaghetti bolognaise, and then freezing it rapidly. Finally, the water content is extracted under pressure, a process known as sublimation. Freeze-drying preserves the taste of the food as well as up to 97 per cent of its nutritional value. It also massively reduces its weight and bulk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For those of you who are already unplugged from the Matrix and living in the real world, rest assured things are headed for global catastrophe at many levels. DHS didn't buy 1.6 billion bullets just to sit on them. They are fully intending to use them on the streets of America. The global banking system is on the verge of catastrophe. War drums are heard in the Middle East (Iran). Tensions are high across the United States, with gun owners practically ready to start a revolution against the tyranny in Washington. North Korea is threatening to nuke America. Ocean ecosystems are collapsing. The Fed is pumping fake money into the system like never before, DHS is buying thousands of armored assault vehicles, and the lies in the media have never been more outrageous and persistent.

After the global collapse, most of the remaining population will be survivalists (almost by definition). People who do not "believe" in preparedness simply will not survive. They will either die or become believers very quickly. If you are not squared away yet with food, medicine, firearms, ammo, communications equipment, water filters and other survival gear, you are rolling the dice on your own life. Get prepared now or perish.

 

Today we as a race are facing something that has never been faced before yet we are being hypnotized by television and media; sedated with over-the-counter and illegal drugs, and distracted by recreation and entertainment industries that keep us amused.

 

The economy is rapidly falling to pieces, the national debt is absolutely soaring, the earth is becoming increasingly unstable, a major war could erupt in the Middle East at any time and the fabric of our society is coming apart right in front of our eyes. We have become incredibly dependent on technology and we have become incredibly dependent on our economic system. If a major natural disaster, a killer pandemic, an EMP attack or the imposition of martial law caused a significant transportation disruption, America would literally change overnight. We live during a time of tremendous global instability, and yet most people still see no need to start prepping at all. Most people continue to have blind faith in our leaders and in our system. But what happens if our leaders fail us? What happens if our system collapses? What will they do then?

 

Polling has found that most Americans expect that the government will take care of them if disaster strikes. Most people have been trained to “trust the experts” and to “trust the government” all of their lives, and that conditioning can be very difficult to overcome. This blind faith in the system is a big reason why so many Americans have not made any preparations at all. In fact, one recent poll discovered that most Americans do not even have three days worth of food in their homes. Another poll discovered that 64 percent of all Americans are “unprepared for a major natural disaster.” So what is going to happen to them if something even worse than a major natural disaster hits? For example, what if the electrical grid went down and we had no more power for an extended period of time? Well, one survey found that 21 percent of all Americans believe that they would survive for less than a week, and an additional 28 percent of all Americans believe that they would survive for less than two weeks. Close to 75 percent of all Americans said that they would be dead before the two month mark.

 

The number of preppers in the United States today is steadily increasing, but the vast majority of people out there still see no reason to start getting ready for "the end of the world as we know it." Most people just assume that things will always somehow get better or that they will somehow be immune to whatever calamities are heading our way. Most people always seem to have a "good excuse" for why they do not need to prepare.

 

For a long time the prepper movement was ignored, but now it has become so large that it is getting very difficult for the mainstream media to pretend that it is not there. In fact, it has been estimated that there are now approximately 3 million preppers in the United States alone. So now the mainstream media has decided that mocking the movement is the best strategy, and lots of “critics” and “skeptics” out there have picked up on this trend. Instead of addressing the very real issues that have caused millions of Americans to prepare for the worst, those criticizing the prepper movement attempt to put the focus on individual personalities. They try to find the strangest nutjobs they possibly can and then hold them up as “typical preppers.” The goal is to portray preppers as tinfoil hat wearing freaks that need to be locked up in the loony bin for their own personal safety and for the good of society. The criticism of preppers has really ramped up in recent months, and it will likely get even worse in 2013. The underlying implication is that these people are crazy and that what they are doing is stupid. The establishment does not like any movement that is outside of their control, and the prepper movement is definitely not under their control.

 

It isn’t the preppers that are crazy. Rather, it is the people that believe that everything will always be fine and that the government will always take care of them that are crazy. Our world is becoming increasingly unstable, and now is the time to get prepared. You may get mocked a bit for prepping now, but later on you sure will be glad that you prepared for the worst.

 

 

As thousands of Hurricane Sandy victims still suffer onward, the group that gets paid via your tax dollars to help out victims such as these in their time of need has shuttered their doors due to weather. If people do not ‘get it’ by now, we are on our own and should prepare to go forward with that in mind. Anyone thinking that they’re going to be rescued by the US govt and FEMA better pay close attention.

 

FEMA disaster recovery centers in Hurricane Sandy-ravaged sections of the city that were supposed to provide assistance to hurricane victims went MIA Wednesday morning November 7, posting signs saying that they were closed due to the approaching Nor’easter. The temporary shuttering of the facilities, which help victims register for disaster relief, as well as city food distribution centers come even as many of those still reeling from the monster storm were not told that they had to leave the battered areas. Because the FEMA centers were located with food distribution and warming services, some residents who arrived there were confused by the closed centers. The city’s food distribution centers, a lifeline for the thousands left without power, heat and water for more than a week, would only be operating until noon Wednesday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced.

 

You can't depend on the government to help you!

 

Human cooperation will be needed for survival but we have been raised and bred into competition and separation. Hard times are ahead and human survival will depend on us finding courage and great heart to weather all the storms. If you are going to depend or surrender to the will of the pharmaceutical industry, which thrives on using poisons that create all kinds of side effects and premature deaths, you certainly will reduce your survival chances for yourself and your loved ones.

 

In the end survival entails action and the consequences of inaction become intolerable. Survival Medicine puts serious survival tools in ones medicine cabinet. There are certain basic medicines we have to have on hand, and we need enough of them to last us a while. There is no way one can be completely prepared for what is coming; there is no way to soften the blows, so prepare yourself to meet other selves who are going to tell you how it is.

 

The Mississippi River

The Mississippi River could be too shallow for barge traffic between St. Louis and Cairo due to decreasing water levels. According to the American Waterways Operators and Waterways Council, the country's busiest inland waterway is nearly too low already for barges loaded with coal, steel and other commerce. The Mississippi River is an economic superhighway that efficiently carries hundreds of millions of tons of essential goods for domestic use as well as national export. The river is nine feet deep at Thebes, a town on the Illinois side of the river south of Cape Girardeau. Most barges need at least a 9 foot draft.

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Demonstrators and police clashed in Athens, with tens of thousands gathering to protest in front of the Greek parliament

 

 

The One-Hour Meltdown

by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.

 

Once the meltdown begins, in less than one-hour it will quickly escalate far beyond anyone's ability to control or manage it on a worldwide basis.

 

Banks: The financial institutions around the world cannot withstand a full-scale worldwide bank run. Therefore, they have already made plans to immediately shut down the instant they are told to do so. Within minutes, all across the globe, all the ATM machines will be offline, all credit card and debit card verification transactions will be halted, and all banks will have their vaults locked and their doors locked and their building emptied of all personnel, except perhaps for some special security guards. All high-level bank executives will immediately disappear to a wide variety of remote safe unknown locations. All telephone call inquiries to any of the financial institutions will be automatically answered by a computer with a pre-recorded message similar to the following: "Our system is currently experiencing an extremely high call volume and therefore we are unable to answer your call at this time. Please try again later when our call volume returns to normal."

 

Governments: The vast majority of our government leaders all over the world are relatively intelligent individuals. They completely understand the ramifications of a "bank holiday" in our computer controlled financial economy. Therefore, all government offices will also be immediately shut down, and they will empty their buildings and lock their doors. Any transaction in progress, including any trials in progress, will be immediately halted and postponed until some future date. All high-level government officials, including all judges and tax officials, will immediately disappear to a wide variety of remote safe unknown locations.

 

Retail Businesses: Since they will be unable to process even simple transactions, all retail establishments, both large and small, will immediately lock their doors to prevent anyone else from entering. If possible, they will complete any transactions for customers already inside their building if those customers have enough cash to pay for their purchases. Any customers wishing to pay by check or credit card or debit card will be told that the verification system is down and their transaction can't be completed. All customers will then be immediately escorted to the doors and the doors will be briefly opened and then immediately locked after they exit. In addition, in a manner similar to what happened during the World Trade Center meltdown, each store's management may demand that their employees remain at their stations until further notice or they will lose their jobs for leaving without management's permission. But most of the more intelligent employees will leave at the same time as the store's last few remaining customers. The store's special security guards may or may not remain behind in order to protect the store with their lives. Since most of these special security guards are not paid exceptionally well, a large number of them may decide that they should return home and protect their own families instead.

 

Criminals: Anyone and everyone who has any criminal tendencies and who has been patiently waiting for this to happen will immediately see it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve their financial situation. More than likely the vast majority of these criminals have already made very detailed plans that includes exactly which businesses they are going to rob first, second, third, and so on. Any business with a reasonable level of cash-on-hand will be very high on every criminal's list. Every jewelry store and pawn shop that has any type of silver or gold jewelry, or precious stones (diamonds, rubies, emeralds, etc.), will be very high on everyone's list. The warfare that breaks out at these establishments between competing criminals will not be pleasant.

 

Normal People: Normal average people will begin looting. Grocery stores will be broken into and they will be completely emptied from wall-to-wall, including the rear storage area, in less than one-hour. Stores that have firearms, ammunition, appliances, clothing, shoes, or anything else needed by the average citizen will be emptied in less than one-hour. In skirmishes over the few remaining resources, normal average people will begin killing one another inside the stores, and in the parking lots outside the stores, and on the streets as these fully loaded vehicles try to escape with their loot.

 

The above events will all happen simultaneously during the first one-hour of the meltdown. After that first hour has passed, things will really begin to get nasty. Everyone will quickly realize there are not are not enough law enforcement personnel to protect everyone and everything. Although the military will probably be ordered to protect specific high priority establishments and resources, there will simply not be enough military personnel to protect individual civilians or businesses.

 

Events After the One-Hour Meltdown

Almost everyone who has lost their jobs, their vehicles, their homes, and their life savings will now have nothing more to lose by seeking some form of retribution against the society that took everything away from them that they once "partially" owned.

 

Anyone who has received a minor speeding ticket in the recent past, and who honestly could not afford the fine, will be in a very unpleasant mood. Everyone who has had their property taxes increased at the same time their income decreased will not be in a good mood. Everyone who has had their credit card interest rate increased at the same time their employer was reducing the number of hours they worked each week will not be in a good mood. Everyone who has been reduced from a two-family income down to a one-family income will not be in a good mood. Everyone who lost their job because their employer went bankrupt will not be in a good mood.

 

The vast majority of these individuals will have been just barely surviving in a situation where they were living hand-to-mouth on government welfare or the charity of the local community (unemployment checks, welfare checks, food stamps, food pantries, etc.). The instant they realize there will be no more government welfare or charity, then these individuals will have no hope for survival unless they are able to immediately acquire the food and other resources they need before it is all gone. Anyone who tries to stand in their way, or who tries to reason with them, will have a life expectancy of less than three-seconds.

 

After the stores are all emptied, and there is nothing else to be stolen, the tempers of the individuals who were not successful in obtaining what they needed, will turn violent. When that happens, they will form into huge mobs. They will begin seeking vengeance on anyone or any establishment they have a grudge against. Banks, and government buildings, and courthouses will be burned to the ground. Anyone still inside those buildings will probably be shot or hanged. Then these mobs will start looking for the high-ranking officials that they believe are the source of their misery. But the vast majority of these high-ranking officials will have already disappeared to safe places unknown to anyone but themselves.

 

If you have not previously thought about the above, or if you are not intellectually prepared to deal with it, then the chances are not very good for your long-term survival.

 

If you have been waiting to buy a really critical item for your family's long-term self-sufficiency because you thought you could buy it at the very beginning of a slow gradual breakdown of society, then it will no longer be available. Your family will have to try to survive without that item, if that is possible. Since the vast majority has very limited financial resources, it would be helpful to prioritize purchases now, before it is too late.

 

The primary problem faced by our ancestors will be the same problem we would face today if we try to become 100% self-sufficient. There is simply not enough time in a normal workday to accomplish everything that would need to be done during that day. Therefore, each of us would have to prioritize our daily work schedule and do those tasks that absolutely must be done that day. Even under these conditions most of us would still not be able to do everything if our goal was to be 100% self-sufficient. Regardless of who you are, or where you live, you should have the ability to be water independent. This is not an optional self-sufficiency issue. It is an absolute necessity.

 

What to Do?

There are all kinds of excuses for not doing what needs to be done. Americans have an ingenious knack for rationalizing their own laziness and inaction. If you want to know how to get ahead in the world of prepping, or just the world in general, all you have to do is become a man or woman who makes a plan, and then follows through on it! Welcome to the top ten percent!

One excuse is the problem of the conflicting family. We all know a prepper or two whose spouse or children are not on board, ridiculing or even obstructing their efforts. When expenditures of cash (or large expenditures of cash in the case of a property purchase) are in debate, the tensions can be crippling. In every disaster there are oblivious masses which make things hard on those who are aware. From the Great Depression and Weimar Germany, to New Orleans after Katrina, it is not uncommon for people on the verge of starvation and death to still assume that government help is right around the corner and all will be allright. 

All you can do is educate friends and loved ones on the nature of recent events like Katrina, or the economic collapse in Greece and Spain, or the tsunami and subsequent reactor meltdown in Japan. Show them that this is real life, not a cartoon. Make them understand that they are not immune to the tides of catastrophe, and that preparation is not only practical, but essential.

Survivalism is not a product of insanity; it is merely a product of our precarious times. A disaster is only a disaster for people who are not prepared for it. The only madness before us in our country today is the madness of those who believe themselves immune to the fall of the curtain. The true “insanity” rests in the minds of men who presume tomorrow will be exactly like today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Self-Defense

 

 

 

 

Many people are now waking up to the possibility that the future may not provide the great recovery we all expect it to. They are begining to sense that something is wrong with the economy and it will not get better. Their first thought is the question, What do I do to protect myself and my family? They usually answer that question with the thought, maybe these preppers aren’t so crazy after all.

 

Most Americans take for granted the intricate systems that make it possible for us to engage in seemingly mundane day to day tasks like filling up our gas tanks, loading up our shopping carts at the local grocery store, obtaining necessary medications, and even pouring ourselves a clean glass of water. When we wake up each morning we just expect that all of these things will work today the same way they worked yesterday. Very few have considered the complexity involved in the underlying infrastructure that keeps goods, services and commerce in America flowing. Fewer still have ever spent the time to contemplate the fragility of these systems or the consequences on food, water, health care, the financial system, and the economy if they are interrupted.

 

We suggest you have a backup supply of at least several months of the basic commodities you need to live with – canned food, toilet paper, as well as barter items… You want to be able to be prepared as you might be for a natural disaster… People should have supplies not only for natural disasters, but man-made disasters. And keep rotating your stock.

 

Eventually we’ll see a collapse of the dollar, where it becomes worthless. For people living in a dollar denominated world that means that the purchasing power of their primary currency is going to disappear. In this type of environment, where nobody can get a safe return on their money within the United States, that beats the official rate of inflation, buying canned foods and such is actually a better investment than a Treasury bill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A report prepared for legislators and business leaders by the American Trucking Associations highlights just how critical our just-in-time inventory and delivery systems are, and assesses the impact on the general population in the event of an emergency or incident of national significance that disrupts the truck transportation systems which are responsible for carrying some ten billion tons of commodities and supplies across the United States each year.

 

A shut down of truck operations as a result of elevated threat levels, terrorist attacks, or pandemics would, according to the report, have “a swift and devastating impact on the food, healthcare, transportation, waste removal, retail, manufacturing, and financial sectors.”

 

So too would events such as an EMP attack or a coordinated cyber-attack that could shut down global positioning systems and the computers responsible for inventory control. Another potential scenario that is more likely now than ever before is liquidity problems within the financial system stemming from currency crisis or hyperinflation. All of our just-in-time delivery systems are built upon the unhindered transfer of money and credit, but when credit flow becomes restricted or money becomes worthless, no one will be able to pay for their goods. Likewise, no one will trust the credit worthiness of anyone else. This is exactly the scenario playing out in Greece right now and the consequences on the health care industry in that country have left many without life saving necessities. When there’s no money, no one will be transporting anything. The effects of a transportation shutdown for any reason would be immediate (in some cases, within hours) and absolutely catastrophic.

 

 

 

Excerpted from the American Truckers Associations report:

Food

• Significant shortages will occur in as little as three days, especially for perishable items following a national emergency and a ban on truck traffic.
• Consumer fear and panic will exacerbate shortages. News of a truck stoppage—whether on the local level, state or regional level, or nationwide—will spur hoarding and drastic increases in consumer purchases of essential goods. Shortages will materialize quickly and could lead to civil unrest. (We’re seeing this in the UK right now)

Water

• Supplies of clean drinking water will run dry in two to four weeks. For safety and security reasons, most water supply plants maintain a larger inventory of supplies than the typical business. However, the amount of chemical storage varies significantly and is site specific. According to the Chlorine Institute, most water treatment facilities receive chlorine in cylinders that are delivered by motor carriers. On average, trucks deliver purification chemicals to water supply plants every seven to 14 days. Without these chemicals, water cannot be purified and made safe for drinking.

Health Care

• Without truck transportation, patient care within the truck stoppage zone will be immediately jeopardized. According to Cook, many hospitals have moved to a just-in-time inventory system. In fact, some work from a low-unit-of-measure system.  This means that essential basic supplies, such as syringes and catheters, are not ordered until the supplies are depleted. These systems depend on trucks to deliver needed supplies within hours of order placement. Internal redistribution of supplies in hospitals could forestall a crisis for a short time; however, in a matter of hours, hospitals would be unable to supply critical patient care.
• If an incident of national significance produces mass injuries, truck transportation is the key to delivering urgently needed medical supplies necessary to save lives.
• Hospitals and nursing homes will exhaust food supplies in as little as 24 hours
• Pharmacy stocks of prescription drugs will be depleted quickly. According to the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, most of the nation’s 55,000 drug stores receive daily merchandise deliveries by truck.

Transportation

• Service station fuel supplies will start to run out in just one to two days. An average service station requires a delivery every 2.4 days. Based on these statistics, the busiest service stations could run out of fuel within hours of a truck stoppage, with the remaining stations following within one to two days
• Air, rail and maritime transportation will be disrupted.
• A fuel shortage will create secondary effects. Without access to automobile travel, people will be unable to get to work causing labor shortages and increased economic damage. Without cars, many people cannot access grocery stores, banks, doctors, and other daily needs. Public bus systems will cease to operate as well, preventing many disabled and elderly people from accessing these necessities. Without fuel, police, fire, rescue and other public service vehicles will be paralyzed, further jeopardizing public safety.

Waste Removal

• Within days of a truck stoppage, Americans will be literally buried in  garbage with serious health and environmental consequences. Further, without fuel deliveries, many waste processing facilities will be unable to operate equipment such as backhoes and incinerators.
• Uncollected and deteriorating waste products create rich breeding grounds for microorganisms, insects, and other vermin. Hazardous materials and medical waste will introduce toxins as well as infectious diseases into living environments. Urban areas will, of course, be significantly impacted within just a couple of days.

Retail / Manufacturing / Economy

• Replenishment of goods will be disrupted. Many of the nation’s leading retailers rely on just-in-time delivery to keep inventory levels as low as possible. Similar to the low-unit-of-measure hospital inventory system, these stores rely on frequent deliveries to replenish basic goods. Often, delivery of a shipment is not triggered until the current inventory is nearly depleted. Without truck deliveries, retailers will be unable to restock goods, including consumer basics such as bottled water, canned goods, and paper products.
• Consumer behavior during emergencies triples the rate of inventory turn-over. Since many large retail outlets typically keep inventories as lean as possible, problems often arise quickly during truck transportation slowdowns that occur from crises such as hurricanes.
• Just-in-time manufacturers will shut down assembly lines within hours. Major American manufacturers, ranging from computer manufacturers such as Dell and Compaq to major automakers such as GM and Ford, rely on just-in-time manufacturing. Without truck deliveries, component shortages and manufacturing delays will develop within hours.

Financial Sector

• ATM and branch bank cash resources will be exhausted quicky. In today’s fastpaced, high-technology economy, consumers access cash 24/7 from 370,000 ATMs nationwide. JP Morgan Chase, the nation’s second largest consumer bank, replenishes its 6,600 ATMs via armored truck delivery every two to three days. Given the increase in ATM activity that occurs before and after any type of crisis, ATMs would run out of cash much sooner.
• Small and medium-size businesses will lose access to cash.
• Regular bank functions will cease.

 

While an event that disrupts truck transportation systems may be unlikely, recent history suggests it is fully plausible and the blowback can be devastating. A day after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, panicked government officials stopped all transportation flow into the region, forcing hundreds of trucks loaded with emergency supplies like food and water to wait for permission before they could enter the area. As a result, thousands of residents of the city were left without items essential for survival. It took days before truck routes were re-opened and supplies were allowed to flow. Government officials acting on limited information, lack of knowledge and personal politics were responsible for restricting the flow of goods into New Orleans, potentially killing hundreds of people in the process.

 

What this incident demonstrated  is that when the trucks in America stop, all commerce and delivery stops with it. Now consider what may happen if the emergency is more widespread, affecting not just a city, but the population of an entire region or the United States in its entirety.

 

 

 

25 Must-Know Skills for Surviving the Coming Nightmare

Many people nowadays are quite aware that the world they live in is going to the toilet. Aside from the geophysical part that “seems” to be going haywire and could be nothing other than the planet’s cycles, there are plenty of manmade catastrophes that loom on the horizon. Never has the planet had as many people as now and the more people there are the more competition there is for resources. More countries seek nuclear devices than ever before and with advancements in technology this is a much easier process than any time before. Biological and chemical weapons are also much easier to manufacture because of leaps of technology in regards to computers. Oil markets are much tighter because of the countries of China and India and their increasing need of energy to fuel their booming economies, and new finds of oil fields cannot keep up with the demand. The debacle of the world economies needs no introduction. In short, bad times, really bad times could and probably be coming to a neighborhood near you. Unless you and your family take quite seriously this possibility, if and when something extremely horrible happens, you could very well end up one of the large number of statistics.

 

Many survival sites have informative and excellent advice on survival that can help you make it through a limited amount of time when everyday life is totally disrupted. However, what exactly does a person do IF the society that almost all of us have become way too dependent on, fails to recover for an extended period of time, if ever again? What IF civilization implodes and only begins to recuperate after centuries have gone by? If you watch some of the ideas people have on survival being interviewed on television, you have to wonder what exactly these people are thinking. The people that have prepared for problems with the world are woefully ready for any disaster lasting for more than a few days at best. One lady thought having a flashlight was being prepared. Even those that have invested in years worth of food and supplies, there are some basic survival skills that need to be learned and understood to better increase one’s chance of making it through a possible long-term survival situation.

 

 

 

The following are 25 suggestions on those survival skills that will likely be needed after a nightmare has hit human civilization with a vengeance. Each of these 25 skills can fill an entire article on learning and teaching of it. So only a brief overlay of each of these will be discussed to avoid pages-long descriptions. Further information can be obtained through many survival books and the many articles on each subject. Situations and personal handling of SHTF situations will differ widely, but the foundation will likely be there for almost everyone. The main objective is to get people into learning and practicing these survival skills so when something cataclysmic does happen, they can better deal with and make it through intense human tragedy.

 

1. Prepare for the worst. Individuals can still hope for the best, but something lacking with many preppers is that they still cannot even think about something really awful happening. Too many of those that do ready themselves for disasters cannot find within themselves to even discuss with their families and friends a calamity that is horrid and what to do if it should manifest itself. This denial leads to a failure of preparing enough beyond usually a couple of weeks or so. To them, there is still that government or other safety net waiting for them when their preparation runs out.

2. Learn and train your mind to expect the totally unexpected. The bizarre often happens, and there are events that are going to freak out even some the better prepared survivalists. A lot of people will prepare and practice all sorts of drills for various horrors, which is wonderful training. There still lurks the possibility of something so strange and weird that it shocks practically everyone. By addressing this possibility in your thoughts before it actually happens, you have conditioned your mind to at least accept this. Training for something strange can be done through other individuals within your circle of allies coming up with sudden scenarios that only their imaginations can fathom.

3. Learn to live meager. This is practicing for when times become lean for everyone. If a person wants to avoid the shock of living well to living under a rationed way of life, now is the time to get used to it. We all take so much for granted – the modern conveniences – it becomes an automated habit to turn on a light switch, flip on the internet, TV, cell phone, without even considering this could be wiped out within an instant. We open the refrigerator and there is food, or put food already pre-cooked into the microwave to warm it. We go to the supermarket and get what we need. We have entertainment at our fingertips. If this is all gone, how will people handle it? Horribly, if they have not gotten used to going without it for at least part of their lives. A “time out” each day from what we so rely on that could disappear is quite helpful to being ready for if it does go away suddenly.

4. Find personal motivators to continue on. When it looks hopeless after a mega SHTF episode, having some concrete reason to fight and continue on is an absolute necessity to avoid giving up. Many people will feel, “what’s the point?”, and just stop trying to survive. Someone’s child sitting next to them, a parent, a sibling, a spouse, a friend, someone that means something to you can be that inspiration to continue on. It can be just someone’s desire for life that helps them over the hump. Finding that personal reason to survive and fight on is so important.

5. Understand the world and potential disasters that await. When you can better expect what could happen, you are less likely to be caught off guard. Timing is everything. An individual that can bug out before something hits is going to be way ahead of the pack. While predicting the future is probably going to be unlikely, seeing a situation developing and acting on it before it occurs can be a life saver. By monitoring the news of the world with vigilance you can see something others don’t. By becoming more informed about earth science if you live in an area prone to geophysical disaster prone areas can help much. The old adage about knowledge is power is very true, but knowledge is also part of survival and the more you have the more likely it is that you will survive.

6. Make plans and stick to them. After a disaster your mind is going to be racing around like a car on a race track. Pre-planning and having a written down set of measures to take will make someone’s life go much smoother when SHTF. Your own personal plan is ONLY what best fits what you are going to do during and after a disaster. People should also have back-up plans, PLAN B and C and D at least because nothing ever seems to go as planned. Haphazard approaches to the aftermaths of catastrophes are kind of like a chicken running around without a head.

7. Understand how you’ll react. Some people just cannot handle stress, they freeze up and panic overwhelms them. Everyone reacts to stress and fear in different ways, and even the most calm in control person can become ballistic or paralyzed with fright. Addressing this issue before something happens and attempting to come to grips with it is essential. People have remarkable levels of tolerance for bad times and most can dig down and come up mentally with what is necessary to survive. Any phobia or fear is usually better dealt with before being put to the test. A first step is to admit to oneself that these disasters can and do happen and then thinking over, even writing down how one will handle it. Talking this over with another is invaluable.

8. Understand the psychology of desperate people. This is a difficult one. After a SHTF event people are going to, simply put, go crazy. That neighbor that was in control during many minor emergencies may be the one pounding on your door with whacked out eyes demanding what you have because they did not prepare for anything. Someone in your own survival group may just blank out in a zombie-like stare. Unexpected times brings out the worst in people and people should prepare for this possibility. You yourself could lose it. Again, preparing for this will help should it occur. You always hope that disasters will bring out the best in your fellow person, but often this is not the case.

9. Be clever and inventive. When the world falls apart around someone, there is likely not going to be anyone there to repair what you have or somewhere to replace it. You will either have to go without, repair it yourself, or jerry rig up some contraption that will function for you. Much can be learned by practicing going without your power tools and fixing things using only hand tools and what you can find in spare parts laying around. Using junk to come up with unique devices that work for you will become a necessary skill you will need to master should society fail to come back.

10. Learn and condition yourself into a survival mentality. Homeless people become experts at seeing what others consider pure trash as survival tools. The fine art of scrounging around will become a chore that people will have to do to find what they need. That bottle on the ground after a disaster can be used for many purposes including collecting something you can use. People must first try to see in their minds what certain items can have use for them. Homeless people have become quite good at this during stable times; everyone will have to learn this skill after times become nightmare-like.

11. Know where you are going. Whether someone is going to bug in or bug out to somewhere safer, they need to know where they plan to take a stand and stay. Transportation is a very important issue to consider and how much of what they have can be moved to where they are planning to go. Fuel will be a huge consideration as the lack of it prohibits how far someone can go. Something else everyone should understand is how to read maps. You will likely not have any GPS system to guide you and the good old fashioned paper map may be the only way to show you where you are going. Understanding topographic maps is also key here.

12. Learn how to maintain light at night. One of the most depressing situations is to spend night in near to total darkness. Besides this, not being able to see at night is dangerous. Learning how to make candles and wicks should be a skill to consider learning. Fats and other oils will burn and can be obtained throughout nature and the outdoors. Long term solar battery rechargers for flashlights and LED battery powered lanterns are another option.

13. Learn how to hide. There will almost certainly come a time after a bad disaster that you will want to avoid being noticed at all. Learning how to camouflage yourself is a good start. Avoiding detection is concealing yourself from sight, sound, and smell from others. Any activity that a person engages in can be magnified many times when the normal sounds of a busy city or town are now quiet. Much careful consideration must go into taking this into account if a person wants to remain unbeknownst to others that mean them harm. Remaining inconspicuous can be difficult in some cases, but it can be done.

14. Maintain proper hygiene. This is one of the top priorities within the armed forces because disease and sickness can and do take down the toughest of soldiers. People must realize that after a terrible disaster it is not like someone that goes camping, comes back dirty, and takes a nice long shower or a hot bath. After SHTF the water to the faucets, as well the hot water heater may not work. Bathing on at least a semi-regular basis is necessary to avoid all sorts of bacteria from building up on the skin and causing a variety of health concerning ailments that will then have to be treated. People should plan on just how they will keep themselves clean, even thinking about sponge baths as an option.

15. How to dispose of waste and proper sanitation. In third world countries and the pre-flush toilet era one of the leading causes of illness and death was and is waste not properly discarded. If the toilets won’t flush because there is no water to make them work, human waste is going to be a huge whopping problem for people trying to survive. Even improperly burying human excrement can lead to disease. Portable toilets, toilet paper and disinfection (bleach for one) should be one of the top items in any survival kit, lots of it. Also disposal of other trash is an issue that can bring hungry dangerous animals around drawn to the stench. Burning of trash can be choice of some, while plastic trash bags and the means to find some place to dump them is another alternative.

16. Learn to control pest and other vermin. This is a problem that led to about half of Europe dying several hundred years ago with the black death. Fleas and ticks carry some terrible diseases. Even people that stay inside their own homes will have to deal with this problem. People outside will have to contend with the fleas, ticks, flies, mosquitoes, mice, rats, etc., etc., etc. There are many repellents in nature that can help a lot such as citronella, even the smell of garlic that most vermin do not like much at all. Stocking up on insect and other commercial repellents is always an excellent idea. It only takes one bite to make a person deathly sick.

17. Understand radiation and fallout and how to protect yourself. This is one of the least understood of the survival precautions taken. There are hundreds of nuclear power plants that could fail after the world goes to the toilet. There are still tens of thousands of nuclear weapons available for war should countries decide to use them. Fallout is something that you might not even see and until you are sick might not even know you have been contaminated. Purchase of a radiation detector that is protected against EMP is a wise idea. Even building what is called a Kearny radiation detector is something someone can do that doesn’t have much money to work with. Understanding about radiation accumulation dosage RAD’s and how to shield oneself against it is paramount.

18. Learn how to forecast the weather. Without knowledge of what to look at before a storm system comes in, someone could be trapped and die when they are buried under snow or a wall of water from a flashflood. Even one of those pocket weather forecasters that can be purchased at most sporting goods stores is a good start. Other weather forecasting books are available to help someone get a better idea on what the future weather holds for an area that they are at. Weather is still one of the deadliest killers in the modern age. It will become magnitudes worst when people cannot get weather warnings over a radio or other source. People will have to forecast it themselves.

19. Learn first aid. Treating yourself and or others will probably be the only thing someone can do as medical professionals are going to be few and far between. Many places offer free classes on first aid because they want people in the community to be prepared. A good first aid book along with a first aid kit is something every household should have before, during, and after a disaster. Primitive conditions should be expected when anyone is helping someone after a catastrophe. A stockpile of antibiotics are always a good idea. Even acquiring the skill of making your own antibiotics can save lives as infection is something that will become an epidemic, especially with minor cuts and abrasives that are sure to be plenty.

20. Learn about nutrition. Vitamin and mineral deficiencies are nothing to fool around with. Just look what scurvy, the lack of Vitamin C, can do to someone. Many survivalists and preppers make the critical mistake of only being concerned about calories to keep them going. Vitamins; A, B1 through B12, C. D, E, K, Minerals; Calcium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Phosphorus, Potassium, Selenium, Zinc, and trace minerals are necessary to keep a body going. Many survival foods have some of what your body needs, but sadly lack in others. Each person needs different amounts and any survival food supply should take this need as important as the food itself. Vitamin and mineral supplements should be stocked with food if someone is unsure about what they are getting. Trace mineral drops are a liquid that offers much and are a good addition to any emergency supply someone has.

21. Learn to keep body temperature uniform. The Goldilocks analogy here—not too hot, nor too cold, but just right. Your physical body should remain as near to what your body has been use to as possible. It is not only uncomfortable being freezing cold or roasting to death, it puts a lot of stress on the body making someone more susceptible to becoming sick. Trying to stay cool uses up a lot of water, and trying to stay warm uses up more calories. Plan ahead with good warm clothes and blankets for the cold. Find places that are cooler during hot weather. Keeping out the elements where you are is essential and should be given much thought. If living outside, having a good shelter is beyond important. Insulation is something everyone should become more familiar with.

22. How to start and maintain a fire. This is for everyone. Having a fire and keeping it going when you need to has been the essence to the very first people on the planet surviving. Fire cooks, heats water, keeps you warm, sterilizes items, and gives light. Having a lighter, matches, any starter is one thing, but actually keeping the fire going is another. Making sure the fire does not cause damage to your home or shelter is something not everyone thinks about. Burning of toxic wood or other material is something to remember never to do. Keeping a fire not too noticeable to others is something everyone should remember because normally a fire means FOOD to a hungry person. While most everyone thinks that using a fire is rudimentary, there is much more to it.

23. Obtain water and purify it. This is one of the most rehashed subjects of survival but probably the most important one. Most people just assume the taps will continue to flow and water will be there. Preppers that take water as extremely urgent often forget just how heavy water is and the hauling of water back and forth from a source such as a stream can be difficult as well as hazardous if it is wiser to stay inside for whatever reason. People need to know that unless water is from a spring it will likely need to be purified and this means some reliable filters or boiling it which requires heat from a fire, along with pots to boil it in. Aside from drinking, water is also needed to rehydrate food, make milk from powder, and of course cleaning yourself with. We all have to have a certain amount of liquid a day, and juice and other sources will suffice, but water is something that everyone still needs in order to keep their bodies healthy and functioning, as well as to remove toxins in the body. Water need and how much water will be used is something that is often vastly underestimated by many.

24. Learn how to grow food and or find it. People’s supplies will only last so long, and eventually self-sufficiency with acquiring food will become necessary. Many people are into seed storing, and in many cases growing your own food will feed the family. However growing food has many drawbacks that people need to look at. Water is an issue in dry areas as irrigation is very manpower or animal power dependent. Growing season is a huge consideration as most of the U.S. is under 300 days of rain a year. Pest problems are enormous as pest control, pesticides both natural herbicides and chemical, are not going to be readily available. One of the gravest things to contemplate about is actually guarding your yield, as two legged problems could be a bigger issue to your crops than some beetle infestation. Hungry people will see food growing and take it, 24 hours a day. No one can grow enough food to feed all those seeking food. From a practical sense, it might be a better idea for some to go the hunter and gathering approach.

25. Learn how to defend yourself and be willing to do it. This almost certainly means owning a firearm and knowing how to use it and be willing to use it to protect yourself or others. Many TV survival documentaries shows have people that feel they can defend themselves with knives, clubs, whatever, but in reality against someone else with a firearm they are going to lose 95%+ of the time. A firearm is an extension of a weapon that has speed and force behind it. Even the humble .22 caliber can stop any person. Many people think that they cannot use a firearm against another person, but this feeling changes abruptly when they see one of their family members at risk. Some people still cannot use a firearm, and in this case should consider some form of self-defense such as the non-lethal devices including stun batons, pepper sprays, TASERS, even ball bats. NO ONE should ever consider themselves to be safe after a SHTF event, NEVER. People can feel that everyone will come together and rebuild society, many good people will, but there are plenty of bad people in this world. It may come down to you or them. Everyone needs to practice and practice with any self-defense armament they have, so there is no hesitation when it comes to saving one’s life from someone that is willing to take yours.

 

These are 25 suggestions that people need to address now, before trying to survive the aftermath of a horrible event that sends the normalcy that everyone has become accustomed to down the drain for extended periods of time. People that prepare have to realize that when civilization stops functioning so does everything that most of us depend on. There may never be that safety net there for us to fall into WHEN our stocked up survival supplies run dry. Much of survival is having supplies, as well as backups for when food, water, and other necessities cannot be found. The other part is being ready for everything our new life could throw in our way. For this we all need to learn survival skills. At least think about it and then hopefully act upon it. When someone thinks about their personal needs, an individual can probably add many more survival skills to these 25. They should become quite proficient with the skills they personally need and can use NOW before SHTF so they have a better chance of surviving some nightmare series of events that “seem” like an inevitability in the not too near distant future.

 

Facts about nuclear radiation fallout

In the case of nuclear war, radiation decays surprisingly quickly. Even if you live in an area hit almost directly by a nuclear strike, you would not have to spend more than two weeks living in an underground shelter.

 

The rule you need to know is the "seven-ten" rule which states that every seven to the nth hours after the initial blast, the level of radiation falls by a factor of ten. Here's how the math works:

• Suppose a blast happens near your residence that causes the level of radiation in the air around you to be 1000 Rads / hour. That's a deadly dose, obviously, so you don't want to be running around outside during this time, or you will quickly die.

• 7 hours after the blast, that radiation would fall to 100 Rads / hour. This is still a deadly dose, of course.

• 49 hours after the blast (7 x 7), the radiation would fall to roughly 10 Rads / hour -- a level that's still deadly but starting to approach a margin of safety.

• 343 hours after the blast (7 x 7 x 7), the radiation would fall to roughly 1 Rad / hour. This is roughly two weeks after the blast. And this is the point where moving around in the blast zone becomes relatively "safe."

• 2400 hours after the blast (7 x 7 x 7 x 7), the radiation would fall to roughly 0.1 Rad / hour.

... and so on. Remember, this is called the "seven-ten" rule of guesstimating nuclear fallout radiation levels. Those of you who are mathematically inclined will notice this is not a straight line but a logarithmic curve. Such are the laws of physics, eh?

 

In great contrast to nuclear weapons which are, believe it or not, relatively "clean" radiological events, the nuclear meltdown of a nuclear power plant is orders of magnitude more deadly and persistent. That's why the area around Chernobyl, for example, is still not habitable by humans more than two decades later. If you live anywhere near a nuclear power plant that suffers a meltdown, take your potassium iodide and immediately flee the area. Do not return... EVER!

 

City Dwellers

If you live in a city – buckle up. As a prepper you will have to work extra hard to make your emergency plan viable. And while I make no judgments on city dwellers, for your own safety – MOVE! Not everyone can just pick up and move. So if you are in the situation where you must stay in the city here are a few things you MUST have in your emergency preparedness plan.

 

Define Your Strategy

One of the biggest problems with cities are the fact that they aren’t self-sustaining. They rely on outer communities to supply them with food, water and oftentimes electricity. The second biggest issue with cities is the space. Most homes/apartments/condos don’t have the space needed to store supplies for 6 months to a year. And even if they did there is a severely high probability of civil unrest, leading to looting and robbery. In short – you need a plan.

 

How long will we stay – In a city you must resign yourself to the fact that you will have to leave if the situation escalates to a point where you either have no supplies or your safety is in jeopardy. Decide with your family how long this period is going to be. After the power is out, the food is gone, and the shelves are empty in the grocery stores of all liquid – how much longer will you hold down the fort? Too short, and you may have bugged out too soon. Too long, and you risk the possibility of not being able to get out.

 

How will we get out – Your exit strategy needs to be well planned out. Come up with a minimum of three routes out of the city. You’ve seen how a couple thousand people can shut down a road. Imagine the magnification of that situation when millions are out looking for food and water. You need to be able to navigate your way through the mess and be prepared to defend you and your family.

 

Where will we go – Come up with a couple places as a destination if possible. Think of relatives out in the “boonies.” Anyone that you consider as being in a safe part of the world. If you don’t know anyone within a reasonable distance (you may run out of fuel) start thinking of areas that you could stay. Hotels. Camp spots. Some place to “ride it out.”

 

Make Connections
The population of cities can quickly turn into one of your biggest challenges. So it’s up to you to change that. Build your community into your own personal defense. Help those around you prepare. Educate them about emergency preparedness. You don’t need to reveal all of your prepping secrets but by preparing others you are ensuring help in the event that looting reaches your neighborhood. If everyone has something to defend they are more likely to band together. By not including your neighbors you are making them a potential threat to you. And the last thing you’ll want is to have to pull a gun on your neighbor if they are trying to take your supplies out of desperation.

 

Get the Gear
Bug-Out Gear
Although it may not seem like “gear” – a truck may likely be the most important bug-out necessity for someone in a big city. Reasons why:
Capable of hauling ALL of your bug-out supplies
You will need something capable of maneuvering around rubble, waste, people and stalled vehicles on the road.
Able to store extra fuel in the bed to get further away.

 

Outside of an off-road vehicle, you will also need the following items:
96 hour kits for each person in the family
7 days of water – 1 to 2 gallons of water per person per day
A full gas tank and 40 extra gallons to haul

 

Make sure, in your plan to bug out, that you have someone armed. When trying to leave the city there will be plenty of people outside waiting to stop you and take what you have. You must be prepared to face the realization that you may have to defend yourself with force.

 

Bug-Out Bag

Whether it’s a natural disaster due to wildfires… flooding… hurricanes… or even man-made catastrophes like a toxic spill… nuclear reactor meltdown… or power grid failure … you and your family could be forced to evacuate your home at a moment’s notice. When that happens, your neighbors will be running around trying to scoop up their clothes, food, and an assortment of useless items, wasting valuable time! When a disaster is coming your way and you’re forced to evacuate your home (aka “bug out”), you don’t have hours… you may only have SECONDS to get out of Dodge!

 

That’s why you need a “bug-out bag” – a ready-to-go pack with the critical survival items required to get you and your loved ones to safety no matter what crisis you face. Not having a bug-out bag is like walking into combat without a gun.

 

Bugging out is a lot like a military mission. You're trying to get from Point A to Point B during a disaster and along the way you're trying to evade looters, military, law enforcement and beggers. So naturally, most people who go and buy a bug-out bag choose a "military" style bag in the color of...

  *  Coyote Brown

  *  Khaki

  *  Olive Drab Green, or

  *  Cammoflage Pattern

 

Every single one of these colors is like a giant neon sign that screams "ATTACK ME!" to everyone around you. 99% of the people you'll come into contact with while evacuating a danger zone are going to be desperate. If there's martial law, you could look like the enemy. They'll be hungry... thirsty... tired... panicked... and looking for anything they can get their hands on to ease their suffering or take out their frustration and anger. And then there's you... all decked out like a soldier with your cammoflage backpack. Your military-like stature shows that you were smart and prepared... and that you have really cool "survival stuff" that THEY would love to get their hands on! The more "prepared" you look, the more likely you are going to attract attention from displaced opportunists who will beg, borrow, or STEAL your stuff.

 

The #1 best color is actually "navy blue." This color is common enough that it won't draw attention, but dark enough to blend into the night so you can lay low and avoid detection. If you can't find a navy blue military-style pack, your next best choice is "black," as it's still a very common color but doesn't necessarily scream "military" as much as green or cammo.

 

Here are some bug-out tips:

  1.  Store your bug-out bag in your car.  This way, it's always available, even if you're not at home when you're forced to evacuate.  Being first on the road will get you ahead of the      morons who weren't prepared.

  2.  Map out back roads.  While people are headed to the interstate "parking lot," taking back roads will be less crowded.

  3.  Store extra fuel outside the vehicle.  People forget that fuel pumps need electricity to pump. If the power goes out, it doesn't matter how much fuel is in the station's tanks.      Besides, fist fights break out at gas stations along evac routes as people argue over others "taking too much".  Store 2-5 gallons of fuel on a roof or tail rack at "go time" for      emergency.

  4.  Be prepared to leave your vehicle.  There may be a point where you're forced to leave your vehicle behind and trek the rest of the way to safety. This is, again, where a bug-out bag is necessary. You need to just be able to grab it and go at moment's notice.

 

Again, when people think that they'll be able to just drive to their bug-out destination, they tend to overpack their backpack with stuff that's just too damn heavy when all you have are your feet to take you to safety.

 

Water
No matter where you live, water is the basis to sustaining life. If you are planning to stay in your house longer than a week (after water is unavailable) you need to make storing water a big priority. Get creative with your water storage. Polycarbonate containers are great for water storage. If you are crammed on space, you can use WaterBricks. You can store upwards of 60 gallons underneath your queen size bed alone with them. No matter what you decide for a storage system – make the most out of it. You’ll want to store 1-2 gallons for each person in your family for every day you plan on staying in your home.

 

Food Storage
Food storage goes along the same lines as water. Make a food storage list to last your family the time you will be staying in your home. The key to your food storage is making it secret. In cities, food is likely to completely run out within 3 days. People will get really hungry really fast. And if someone remembers seeing that stack of food storage in your garage, or remembers you saying something about having 6 months in your basement – you’re their first stop. Don’t put yourself in the situation where you are more likely to have to defend your storage by bragging about it. Once again, get creative and bury it in your yard if you must.

 

Lighting
In the event of an emergency, you will likely be facing a powerless situation. During the day you’ll just have to get used to being without certain luxuries like powered kitchen gadgets and television. But at night, no power can turn into a psychological battle. Especially for children. Have plenty of snap lights, flashlights and lanterns to keep it bright when the sun goes down so the little ones (and maybe even you) can relief during the night. When using your evening lighting make sure to draw the shades. Test your emergency lighting during peacetime and see which places in the house you can use them without it being seen from the outside. Light will draw more than just bugs during a power outage. And the result could end up in self defense.

 

Warmth
Without electricity you may be in for some cold nights. Be prepared with some down blankets and 4-season sleeping bags. You can also get some indoor kerosene heaters. And if you are lucky enough to have a wood burning fireplace, put it to use! Get stocked up on firewood and use it when necessary. But remember that the smell of smoke can attract unwanted attention.

 

Defense
Weapons
The terrible truth is that most places in this country where self-defense is needed most, it’s unavailable to law abiding citizens. We're talking about guns. Big cities, despite their soaring crimes rates, seem to find rationale in banning guns whenever possible. And while free speech is still available – I’m telling you to get your hands on a gun no matter what it takes. As long as you are an otherwise law abiding citizen and you don’t hear voices in your head telling you to kill people – you need the ability to defend your property and more importantly your family.

 

Other fantastic weapons to have stored for self-defense include:
Pepper spray
Taser
Trip wires
A guard dog

 

These other defense tools are great to get someone off your property initially, but keep in mind that they may come back with the knowledge that this time they’ll have to kill you to get your food.

 

Fortifications
If you plan to stay in your home for more than a month before bugging out, you need to consider investing in fortifications for your home. This includes making some changes that are more functional than esthetic. This includes things like Plexiglas windows, steel doors, removing landscaping features that people can easily hide in, blacking out windows, etc. Anything that can make your home more secure makes you less of a target.

 

So for all you city dwelling preppers, make your plan bullet proof. You are already at a disadvantage so have a process in place for everything you need to do…

 

Weaponry

If you were caught up in a "collapse" survival scenario, you'd want to be armed with the some serious weaponry.

* Pistol
* Assault rifle
* Combat survival knife
* Machete

 

All of these will come in handy whether you need to go hunting for food, or defend you and your loved ones from violent hordes of desperate, hungry looters.

 

The best items to have on hand - especially if you're forced to bug out and carry your gear - are ones that have multiple purposes.

 

 

 

That's why you should add a FLARE GUN to your survival inventory/arsenal.

 

A flare gun is a single-shot pistol that fires an extremely hot 12 gauge sized projectile that can travel horizontally to a max of about 150 ft and burn for about 5-7 seconds.

 

A recommend version is the Orion brand and you can pick one up online or at the boating section of a sports store in most states.

 

Its first use is for signaling when you may need to get the attention of rescue personnel if you're stranded or trapped.

 

But a flare gun can also double as a backup weapon.

 

A flare gun is NOT a weapon of mass destruction and NOT a primary defense firearm.

 

It's not typically lethal on impact and it doesn't explode, but...

 

...it's hot enough to catch clothes, debris, or fuel on fire (think distraction or destruction)

 

...if waved at a crowd, it can buy you some"back off" time to get to safety

 

...and if shot, will scare the crap out of everyone who wasn't expecting to see a burning, hissing, "mini-meteor" coming at them.

 

If you're lucky, it will catch something (or someone!) on fire and you can run like hell while a crowd is reeling from the shock or trying to extinguish the unfortunate soul who didn't heed your warning.

 

Flare guns usually come orange in color so that you can easily find it in a boating accident.

 

If you point a giant orange gun at a person to warn them off, they may think it's a squirt gun and laugh at you. That's NOT the desired effect.

 

Spray paint the gun with flat black spray paint to give it more of a "gun" appearance.

 

Apartment Survival

An apartment dweller will have no need to get seeds and garden tools immediately while it might make perfect sense to someone in the country with a few acres of their own land. You can use a couple of vertical grow towers on a balcony. If you live in the suburbs and have a small yard you might be able to plant some fruit trees but what happens if you lose your home to foreclosure? Would the money for those trees have been spent better somewhere else? You need to decide what your emergency will involve and what your basic needs will be, because of it.

 

Lets look at an apartment dweller for a minute. They depend on water from the city, food from the grocery store, power for heat, light and cooking and sanitation, all of which has to be brought into the city or pumped out of the city on a continuous basis. If all of these systems shut down for any length of time you are now stranded in a cave on a cliff with a long staircase to traverse each way. Assuming that everyone is in the same situation as you and you are not evicted from your home, what supplies will you need to shelter in place and how long will they last?

 

Being in an apartment you are limited to the types of supplies you may be able to store. For instance it would be a waste of money to invest in a generator if you know you can’t store a 30-day supply of gas. The two primary supplies you need no matter where you are involve water and food. In a system-wide failure, water would be the first thing you would run out of. You can only live about three days without water so it is a critical storage item. The only problem with water is that it’s heavy and takes up a lot of room if you want a several month supply. For someone in an apartment this is out of the question so how do you get around this? The solution has to be to store a small supply and have a plan to resupply what you need. The cheapest way to go is to get a supply of five gallon plastic food grade buckets to store water in.

 

As a secondary storage device get a few thirty gallon trash cans and some food grade liners for them. These can be filled just prior to an emergency if you have any warning. Another secondary storage medium would be your bath tub. This can hold fifty gallons or more to last you quite a while. In addition to storage containers you need to get a good water filter. A gravity-fed system is good but a portable reverse-osmosis system is better. You may need to forage for water during a long emergency and you don’t want to contaminate your clean buckets with unfiltered water that you will have to carry home. Also you will need to filter water in your tub or other container that may not be completely clean. The reason to have some five gallon buckets is that you may need to carry water up to your apartment and more than five gallons is more than most people would be able to handle at one time.

 

The next thing you need to have on hand is a supply of food. The cheapest things to start off with that will keep you fed are the following items.

 

You might want to get

3lbs of rice

3lbs of dried beans

5lbs of cornmeal

42oz of oatmeal

2lbs of powdered milk

26oz of mash potato flakes

30 packages of ramen noodles

12 cans of vegetables.

 

All of these things will cost you about $35.00 and provide one person with three meals a day for 30 days. This list is meant to prevent desperation on your part for the least amount of money not necessarily a perfectly balanced menu. A good multivitamin can fill in any shortfalls of this menu. This short list provides you with a reasonable amount of food for a very small investment and all of it will fit in two five gallon containers to allow for easy transport if you decide to relocate with it.

 

Another item you might want to get depending on your location is a good quality cold weather sleeping bag. This is a must if you are living in a cold climate without a dependable heat source. You can survive in a very cold place for a very long time if you have the means to stay warm and get a good nights sleep.

 

The next item you should have is a propane stove, at least a single burner unit, and at least a one pound canister of propane for each week for the duration you plan for. This will allow you the means to heat water and cook food and also provide heat on a limited basis. To make your fuel go as far as possible you also want to have a small pressure cooker so you can cook things like beans and rice quickly.

 

For light you can have a 100 hour liquid paraffin candle that will provide you with 3 hours of light every night for a month. You want to have a large box of strike anywhere matches and a disposable lighter to light your stove and candle. A hand-crank LED light with a radio and cell phone charging port would be a good addition to this kit.

 

The final thing you would need is a sanitation system. With the power off, you might be able to flush your toilet with your water stores but the pumps that carry the sewage away will not be working so the sewer lines will eventually back up. To avoid this you need to have a portable toilet with disposable linings that you can utilize until the power returns or you relocate. A simple totable toilet and a few liners can be had for under thirty dollars. You can also get disposable liners that fit your regular toilet bowl that you can use.

 

Depending on how much you spend on your sleeping bag and pressure cooker, you can get everything listed here for around three hundred dollars. For that price you would be able to shelter in place for a month. If you increase the amount of food, propane and candles you get, you could shelter in place for months.

 

Security is covered elsewhere.

 

These are the basic things you should have for an apartment if you plan to stay in place for any length of time. These limited supplies can make the difference between remaining safe and healthy and becoming desperate. The small quantity of supplies listed here would be easy to relocate with even if you had to travel on foot. In the next article we’ll talk about expanded preps for apartments and things for single family homes.

 

Once these basic elements are secured, you will want to expand your supplies to increase your capabilities. Your expanded supplies will be dictated by three things. They will be based on your individual situation, your personal preferences and your financial capability. The potential list of supplies based on these things is infinite so we won’t try to list all of the conventional items but instead let’s look at some unconventional things.

 

In the area of sanitation and hygiene it will be important to keep clean. Your cleanliness will be a contributing factor to your overall health. Women have their own special needs so they should plan for this accordingly. Overall you should have a way to shower at least once a week and clean yourself a few times in between. This can be as simple as having a supply of baby wipes and a solar shower to use. With the solar shower just keep in mind that you will need a way to hang it up high that can support 50 or so pounds. One solution to this might be to use a step ladder that supports your shower when you need it and the rest of the time its’ steps can be used to hold small planters such as for sprouts.

 

As for sanitation you will need to have a good supply of toilet paper but even so you need to plan on the day when you will run out, then what do you do? The yellow pages may help for a while but even that is a limited resource. You may need to have some type of cloth that you can reuse and a way to clean it so you need to figure that out now. One solution may be to keep a small supply of cloth baby diapers which are made for this similar purpose. If you have the resources to maintain cloth diapers then you should be covered.

 

Your water supply may be limited so you want to make the most from what you have. After you shower you might want to save this grey water for watering your plants or for flushing a toilet. Cut the top off of a milk jug or large plastic bottle, fill it two thirds with sand and punch a few small holes in the bottom, wrap a tightly woven piece of cloth around the bottom and pour your grey water through it catching this filtered water in a container. This should remove most of the soap scum. It would also help if you were to use organic or bio compatible soap, without chemicals or fragrances, that your plants can use.

 

On the subject of water, you will be dependent on whatever local sources you have over the long term. This may be a puddle, pond or river. There are two main problemswith foraging for water in an emergency situation. Most people will not have the filtering and storage capability that you do and going out in public will advertise this fact. The other thing is, the first problem may lead to you becoming a target of those unprepared and wishing to upgrade their position. Moving around too much in public could be very dangerous.

 

Because of these dangers it would be much safer long term to have a rain catchment system. For an apartment this is a tricky problem. If you have a balcony you can set up a tarp and channel the rainwater into containers. If you have access to the roof you can set up the same system. A more advanced system might involve having a rain barrel on the roof with a threaded pvc connector that a garden hose can attach to. This hose can be hung over the side of the building and down to your window. The hose can be run through your window and have a shut off valve on it to aid in filling containers. A nylon collapsible type of hose would be easier to store and handle and most of these components could be secured in your apartment until needed. If your apartment is more than about 200 feet from the roof this system may not work because of the weight of the water in the hose. It could actually drag your barrel off of the roof unless it is well secured. This should give you some ideas to ponder as you plan the system that will work best for you.

 

The conventional approach to food is to store canned and dehydrated goods but this could run out at some point. One way to insure sustained access to food is to grow some of your own. This is difficult in the confined space of an apartment but is possible. If you have a balcony you will have room for vertical planters and Earth Boxes but almost all apartments have at least one large window that you can use. You need to grow the most food in the least amount of space so certain plants with a high yield will become obvious. Things such as tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and peppers that can be grown vertically work well and have a small footprint. Other plants such as carrots, beets, turnips, radishes and lettuce are compact and can be grown in small containers and provide a good yield.

 

Here is something that most people don’t consider. With a potato tower you can produce up to 100 lbs of potatoes in a container with a footprint of 4 square feet.. Most people plant a summer garden but don’t think about a winter garden. You may grow some plants in your apartment during the winter but will they live if you have no heat? Things like cabbage, turnips, brussel sprouts, spinach and collards can survive a lot of cold weather and even if you have no heat these things will live and provide you with fresh produce throughout the winter. Two potato towers and a few planters can provide you with a great deal of life sustaining food. In the winter your potato towers can be laid on their side and used as planters for large things like cabbage and collards providing you a good dual use for them.

 

Here is another plan for providing food throughout the year. If you are allowed to keep pets such as birds then why not keep chickens. You can keep four Rhode Island Red pullets in a cage and be provided with about 2 dozen eggs every week. They will need at least 4 square feet per bird or more if possible. A multilevel cage would work well. For 4 birds you would need 4 bags of lay ration and 1 bag of cracked corn. This 250 lbs of feed would keep your birds fed for about a year. For about $65 worth of feed you would get about 100 dozen eggs, not a bad deal. The egg shells can be fed back to the chickens for extra calcium and any trimmings from your garden would make them very happy birds. The only other thing you would need to stock is a bag of granite grit to feed them to help with digestion. Another good thing to keep in mind is that chicken manure is some of the best fertilizer you can get. Chickens are also very cold hardy as long as you keep them out of the wind so a cold apartment would not bother them.

 

You could almost survive with nothing more than two potato towers and four chickens. This would provide you with three eggs and over half a pound of potatoes a day. While not ideal it would go a long way towards prevention of starvation and desperation. One last word on apartments, other than security issues regarding two legged critters, the main threats you face are destruction of the building and fire, which may be one and the same. If an earthquake or similar destructive force takes down the building there is not much you can do except make your peace with God and try to get out. With a fire you may have enough time to gather your critical supplies and evacuate. You need to plan on a hasty evacuation and have a list of must take supplies. These will allow you to set up another home and continue caring for yourself. In this instance one special item you might need is a respirator or protective mask to filter out the smoke so that you can make it to the lower levels and escape. This is a very real threat in the city during a grid-down situation because water and firefighters may not be available to assist you.

 

Planning for long term self sufficiency in an area that is not designed for it can be daunting but it can be done if you take the time to think everything through carefully while you have the time. The greatest asset you have is your mind so fill it with all that you can to make the best use of available resources. In the next article we’ll look at single family homes and some things that are unique to that situation.

 

Relocating

You may be searching for a homestead property or a more discreet retreat area for only the most violent disasters. In either case, property placement should be your number one concern.  Where is your subject property located? What are the strengths and weaknesses, economically, socially, and legally, in the state you are considering. What is the disposition of the government and law enforcement in the county your retreat resides in? What kind of environment are you surrounding yourself with? These are all very important issues to consider. 

Even more important, though, are the dynamics of the land you are choosing. Are you looking for a typical flat piece of developed farmland with easy access to roads and town amenities? Then you are going about this all wrong. Are you purchasing a cabin in the woods where you and your family will be isolated and alone? Again, not very bright. 

The ideal retreat location is a combination of rugged terrain and varied topography that is just accessible enough, and set in proximity to like minded neighbors who will aid each other in the advent of a social implosion.

It may feel strange to consider it at first, but try to think in terms of an aggressive party:  a looter, a criminal, or just a hungry refugee. Now, take a second look at your retreat selection. Is it easy to wander into? Can a person stroll right up to the front door, or do they really have to spend a lot of time and energy to reach you? Is it within sight of a major highway? Is it in the middle of a funnel or valley which people would naturally take to get to a tempting destination? Is it flat with little cover and concealment, or is it nestled in the midst of hills and crevices which can be used strategically? How many routes in and out of the region are there?

Crops can be grown in any area with any climate if the correct methods are used. Energy can be produced with a multitude of technologies and tools. Structures can be built to adapt to the materials that are most abundant in the region. However, once you commit to a particular environment and terrain type, you are stuck with it for good. Choose wisely.

 

Some of the factors to consider when choosing a location for a survival retreat:

1. Property Placement

2. Community Network

3. Defensibility

4. Water Availability

5. Food Production

6. Proximity To National Forest

7. Secondary Retreat Locations

 

When you get your next tax return check, ask yourself whether or not you NEED the latest XBOX, flatscreen TV or IPAD. Or, do you need storable food, guns and ammunition or more gold and silver? These are important items to obtain:

 

BackPack

You can literally spend hundreds of dollars on many top-of-the-line framed backpacks, and some may even be worth it, but it is not necessary to spend that kind of cash to purchase a decent bug-out-bag. In fact, surplus ALICE packs with frames can be had online for as little as $30-$60, sometimes even less if they are a bit worn. The ALICE system provides adequate back support for your needs, for a low price, and the quality of the design is military proven.

 

Camouflage Clothing

Camouflage clothing and gear runs a wide spectrum in price, and it’s hard sometimes to find the colors you want at a discount. One trick is to buy any camo you find on the cheap, and then lightly dye it to match the colors you want. For instance, one could gauge the dye levels with small samples, find the right strength, and then dye light camo like Digital ACU a darker green. Eventually, you may be able to make your own camo with any clothing you come across. It sounds like a pain, but it’s actually quite easy, and could save you considerable amounts of money.

 

Extreme Weather Protection

Gortex is outrageously expensive, unless you get lucky and find it used or discounted. While it is difficult to beat the quality (or the warranty) on most Gortex cold weather gear, there are cheaper alternatives that get the job done almost as well. A great extreme cold weather coat is the N-2B Flight Jacket designed to mil spec and resistant to most wet weather conditions.  The jacket was meant specifically to deflect freezing temperatures and it can be had for around $120 or less. Purchasing several packages of polypropylene thermal underwear could also save your life in extreme weather situations. They are lightweight, can be easily layered, can be packed into a tiny corner of your B.O.B., and will retain much of your body heat. Even if you don’t have a lot of winter gear with you, absolutely do not forget to bring the poly-wear! $30-$50 for a shirt and pants together is well worth it.

 

Socks

Finally, buy wool socks. Buy plenty. Look for deals, but do not cut them out of your budget. Any weather below 20 Degrees Fahrenheit and you’ll want to double up. Cold feet, on a march, on patrol, on guard duty, sucks. They can be damaged permanently if you are not careful.

 

Combat Boots

Top quality combat boots traditionally run anywhere from $100 to $300 depending on the brand. One rule that you cannot break regardless of the circumstances; always treat your feet right. They hold up your entire body. Surplus boots are a good place to start when looking to cut costs, but usually you won’t be saving much. To be honest, there are plenty of knockoff combat boots found in sporting goods stores, usually in the hiking section, that are just as durable as the expensive models but for much less. You can go far in a pair of $60 boots. Be sure, though, to thoroughly check for poor sewing on the seams, crap laces, and light construction. If they feel heavy, they are probably made well enough.

 

Heater

Unless you have your own oil well, or a line on a hidden vein of coal (some preppers I have met actually do), then your best bet for efficient heat during the winter weather in a tent, a makeshift shelter, or a house, is a wood burning stove. Timber fuel sources are everywhere. A couple cords of wood are enough to heat most homes and shelters through the colder months. Gasoline and propane storage is possible, but the likelihood of shortage is high, and arranging a practical supply lasting a year or more is incredibly expensive. Solar power systems and battery banks are recommended, but again, this is another option that requires moderate to substantial investment when it comes to heating a house. A very affordable alternative for your heating needs would be the M-1941 Military Tent Stove. The cylindrical stove is portable, burns quite hot, and can be had usually for $100 or less.

 

Survival Knife

Some knives deserve the amount of attention and the high price tag they have garnered, but many are just….well….regular knives with a fancy name engraved in the blade. You are buying a knife for its functionality, not its sex appeal. Cold Steel, Gerber, SOG, and Kershaw make plenty of knives which work just as well for $80 or less than any $400 cord wrapped Strider knife. Again, pay for the tool, not the name or the artificial commercial mystic.

 

Communications

Good HAM radios, base stations to handheld models, can be had for around $200-$300, but even this amount is sometimes too high for a limited prepper budget. Unless you plan to coordinate operations over longer distances using repeaters, or set up a HAM alert system with multiple members of your community, regular two-way radios costing around $40 to $60 like those produced by Midland should suffice for communications. Consumer models often advertize an effective range of 20 to 30 miles, but this is in totally flat terrain. If you can get five miles out of them in rough terrain, you are doing well. This range is adequate to handle most tasks required during a survival situation.

 

 

Electricity

Gas powered generators are unnecessary long term survival situations, primarily because the amount of fuel they use is impractical and the noise many of them produce could make having electricity a daily temptation of fate. Solar is really the best way to go. Unfortunately, many people assume solar power solutions to be too technical and overwhelming. In fact, setting up a solar power system is so straight forward it makes all the prepper uneasiness a bit laughable. A simple and comparably affordable set-up would include one 180 Watt solar panel (which can quickly charge your battery bank during the day), one deep cycle battery, a charge controller, and an inverter. This kit can be had for $600 to $1000, is compact enough to fit a medium Rubbermaid storage bin, and will power almost every appliance and charge every electronic device that would make life easier during a collapse. Remember also that every Watt of power you produce by the sun reduces your on-grid electric bill, saving you even more money. At the very least, a portable solar powered battery charger is a must have item.  Doing without gear like radios and flashlights is simply not an option. Going caveman is the most ill conceived method for living through the worst of all possible situations.

 

Survival Tin

Pre-made mini survival kits are a rip off. Most of the items they contain (matches, fishing line, compass, small knife, firestarter, wire saw, water purification tablets, etc.) can be easily purchased separately for half the cost. Making your own mini-kit is also a good exercise in efficiency. Being able to prioritize gear and understand what is truly useful versus what is a waste of space is as important a skill as being able to shoot or navigate a map. It does not take a lot of money to build a solid base kit for emergencies….unless you buy one that somebody made for you.

Emergency Medical Kit

Again, all items within most pre-made medical kits can be bought individually for much less. Celox blood stopper, silk sutures, surgical tools, transfusion bags, and other goods should be added in with the staples, raising the cost slightly, but rounding out your kit and allowing for more critical injuries to be cared for. Bulk over the counter medications, especially for stomach ailments, would be highly valuable post collapse, and can be bought wholesale. Medicinal teas, at least the organic brands, work very well! These can be bought for reasonable prices and will boost your immune system, preventing illness before it ever occurs.

 

Food Production

If you have enough land to keep them, a half dozen chickens, a half dozen breeding rabbits, and a goat, will produce milk, meat, and eggs daily, providing valuable sustenance, reducing the amount of stored foods you need to use in a day, and reducing the amount of time you have to spend hunting for food in a dangerous collapse environment. Chickens and goats practically feed themselves with whatever is available on your land. Rabbit feed is easy to store, and can also be made at home. These animals are indeed worth their weight in gold.

Seeds are, of course, a currency in and of themselves. Non-GMO seed and strong gardening knowledge will save you and your family. Gardening is not as easy as it seems, however.  Extensive practice, trial and error, and an understanding of regional climates will improve your crop yields dramatically.

If you are looking to survive on the cheap and avoid paying thousands of dollars for years worth of freeze dried goods, sustainable food production is the only way to go. Foraging and scavenging is NOT a reliable alternative.

 

Security Systems

Trip wires and tin cans are certainly cheaper than thermal security cameras, and a few well trained guard dogs can put your mind at ease, but sometimes more silent or less obvious methods are in order. I would recommend the MURS radio and infrared alert system for perimeter defense. As far as force multipliers go, MURS is relatively inexpensive. MURS motion detectors are wireless, weather proof, have a beam range of around 100 ft, and can be placed up to 4 miles away from your radio base station. Intruders crossing the infrared beam will set off an alert on your base station and all MURS handheld radios. Some MURS systems even have underground probes designed to detect the movement of vehicles. Up to four motion censors can be linked to one base station and each can be designated for a sector, telling you exactly where on your property the intrusion is occurring. A full MURS system with multiple motion detectors can be had for $300 or less. Other comparable outdoor security systems often cost $500 or more.

Night Vision

The price range of night vision devices is truly staggering. Some can run as little as a few hundred dollars, others climb into the thousands. For the prepper with low cash flow who feels the need for night time security, a couple models offer good quality at a lower price. For typical surveillance and overwatch, the Bushnell 2.5 by 42 night vision monocular creates a strong image with quality construction for around $200. For combat, the Yukon Nvmt Night Vision Scope offers many of the advantages of high end systems for only $350 or less. Night vision may seem like an unnecessary expense, even at these prices, but any edge one can get in survival is a good thing. Being at a disadvantage monetarily does not mean you have to be at a disadvantage tactically.

 

Self Defense

Yes. Guns.  Big-scary-guns. Guns and survival go hand in hand, especially during an economic or social collapse. To bring up guns in a prepping article almost always draws criticism of militancy and extremism from suburban basted over-privileged adolescent hippies who have read “Into The Wild” way too many times and think survival is about “communing with nature.” Sorry kids, but as much as I love nature, as soon as you turn your back on it, you end up a pre-digested meal spread like almond butter across 30 acres of grizzly valley. On the other side of the coin, firearms analysis always draws endless opinions and puffy chested “expertise” from armchair generals and “invincible special-ops superheroes.”

For those of us with limited resources, firearms purchases are much less about technical proficiency and more about affordability. We won’t be delving into sidearms here. Instead we’ll focus on what you cannot conceivably live without. Purchasing a primary battle rifle should always be the prepper’s first concern as far as firearms go, whether he is rich or poor.  Semi-automatic, accurate, reliable, hard to damage, fires a common military caliber (.223, 7.62 by 39, .308).

 

 

 

 

 

Procrastination Is Something We Cannot Afford

Preparation is not limited to the realm of the rich. Ultimately, survivalists with limited incomes must pursue their prepping MORE vigorously than those with expendable cash exactly because they are at a greater disadvantage. Being poor is no excuse for procrastination. Great gear can be had for little money, as long as purchases are approached intelligently. Budgeting for survival is not an enterprise for some future date in which we imagine ourselves to be better off than we are now. It should be a part of our daily life, even when times are tough.

 

Self discipline gets things done. Making a plan and then sticking to that plan despite our inner weaknesses and apprehensions gives greater returns in the long run. This method not only earns the respect we hold for ourselves, but also the respect others hold for us. The flaky and indecisive cannot be relied upon. The gravity of the socio-political situation we face in the near term demands that we shake off our fears and our apathy, step out of our baby cradle comfort zone, and MAKE THINGS HAPPEN. Backing out is not an option. Otherwise, we simply defeat ourselves, and we let each other down.

 

 

 

 

Psychological Preparedness

If you follow FEMA's guidelines for preparing for an emergency, the FBI may classify you as a terrorist. Once you are classified as a terrorist, even if you are a U.S. citizen, the recently-passed Senate Bill 1867 allows the Administration to place you in military detention indefinitely, without charges or trial.

 

Given the current developments in the United States with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Fiscal Year 2012 and the indefinite detention provisions contained therein, taking some time to cover psychological preparedness is incredibly important. Usually, whenever someone speaks of preparedness, they mean physical preparedness and thus taking measures like securing food, water, protection, shelter, etc. in times of emergency. While this is obviously very important, it is only a very small part of the picture and in times of true emergency, you might be unable to take your supplies or whatever you might have stored away. Under the NDAA, people like myself, and likely most people reading this, could be snatched up by the military at any moment. There is the real possibility that we could be taken to one of the many detention centers erected around the nation, or even worse, to any foreign country.

 

The NDAA specifically states that you or I could be not only transferred to any foreign nation but any foreign entity, meaning that you could be transported to some even more brutal regime abroad to be tortured and killed with impunity. These very real possibilities are too oft ignored by people promoting preparedness, likely because they realize that they’re not going to be able to sell you a year’s supply of food while telling you the reality of the situation in the United States. Obviously, the military isn’t going to knock on your door and offer to help you carry several boxes full of canned goods to be transported with your person to a domestic or foreign detention center of some kind. Nor will they offer to let you take your weapons, water, or any of the other many items you might have acquired in your efforts to be prepared for the worst case scenario.

 

This is where the concept of psychological preparedness comes in, and it is something that is either completely ignored, marginalized or barely mentioned by far too many people in the so-called truth movement. One can only speculate as to the reason for this, but I suspect it is because you can’t sell products for psychological preparedness and some might see it as a defeatist attitude, while in reality it is the exact opposite.

 

One might argue that this is a defeatist attitude because you must accept that the absolute worst case scenario could very well unfold at any moment and be psychologically prepared for that horrific possibility. However, we believe that you can live a much more productive and healthy life if you accept that you could not only die at any moment but also have your life turn into a reality so nightmarish that it is hard to imagine. If you realize this and psychologically prepare for the worst, you will find that you only end up being pleasantly surprised by every good thing that happens to you, no matter how small. And if all goes well and the hellish possibilities never unfold after you have already accepted that the worst could happen, I bet that you will likely find that you’re happier and more prepared in every way than you would otherwise.

 

On the other hand, if you only prepare for an economic collapse by stocking up on storable food, protection, fuel, and so forth, and suddenly you find yourself completely unprepared for the situation you are in, you will likely be psychologically overwhelmed. Some find even considering the possibility of having your door kicked down and being dragged off kicking and screaming to a prison camp to be depressing or otherwise untenable, but to ignore this possibility is to ignore reality.

 

Contrary to what many in the establishment media might tell you, preparedness is not something to be demonized or otherwise made out to be radical, extreme or relegated to the lunatic fringe. There are only benefits that can be reaped from being prepared both physically and psychologically, while there are no benefits to be found from failing to be prepared in any way. Just imagine for a moment what it would be like to find yourself in a situation you had convinced yourself was relegated to dystopian works of fiction and would never become a reality.

 

Do you believe that taking such an approach would benefit you? Would you really like to delude yourself until wake up in a tiny cell in a prison camp somewhere in the United States or abroad? We recommend that you take the simple steps to psychologically prepare for this worst case scenario now, instead of waiting until the situation has already presented itself. Getting psychologically prepared is free, easy and only takes a bit of imagination and creativity. You do not need to spend thousands of dollars on storable foods, in fact all you need to do is sit down and accept that life as you know it could change or end completely at any moment. This is somewhat like preparing yourself for the possibility that every time you drive someone could come careening around a corner out of control and smash into your car, killing you instantly.

 

While it is relatively unlikely, it is statistically very possible that such an atrocious situation would occur at any time when you leave your house. Even more unlikely, but also possible, is that a car could come crashing through your living room and hit you while you sit on your couch. These are just a couple of examples illustrating that you must accept that life as you know it could radically change or end altogether at any point in time.

 

By realizing this, you cannot be taken off guard or truly surprised by anything that comes your way; no matter how horrible or unimaginable it might be for others. This is not depressing as some would say, this should really be seen as empowering, as it gives you the ability to be ready for and deal with whatever life might throw your way. And if all goes well, as we all hope it will, then you can simply say that you were prepared and thankfully you did not have to see the worst unfold. However, if the NDAA is utilized as so many of us have realized it can be, you will be well aware and prepared for the grim possibilities that could present themselves at any moment.

 

The most important aspect of psychological preparedness is to not live in fear. To be ruled by fear is to give those in power exactly what they want and you will inevitably be easily manipulated and controlled because of it. Being prepared both physically and psychologically should allow you to live without fear of anything, as you have already accepted the worst that life can throw at you.

 

If you do nothing else, take a few moments out of your day to be grateful for whatever you have while accepting that it could all disappear without so much as a moment’s notice. This will serve to make you impervious to whatever curveballs are thrown your way, no matter how wild and unlikely it may seem right now, while also making you that much more appreciative of whatever good life brings your way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

--Using An Ultrasonic Nebulizer to Deliver Colloidal Silver to Lungs and Sinuses--

 

--Using an Ultrasonic Nebulizer to Deliver Reduced L-Glutathione and Sodium Bicarbonate--

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EMP/CME

The damaging effect of high-altitude EMP to electronic equipment has been noted since the early 1960s. At 21:00 hours on July 9, 1962 a high altitude nuclear test called Operation Starfish Prime took place about 400 km over Johnston Island in the south Pacific. This was a relatively low-yield (1.45 megaton) missile-launched airburst at that created effects on Hawaii including an artificial 7-minute aurora. Power line surges caused well-documented damage to street lighting, blowing fuses and tripping burglar alarms on Oahu, and telephone service was disrupted on the island of Kauai. Honolulu was 800 miles from the epicenter of the blast. There was no microcircuitry at that time.

 

The U.S. is becoming increasingly aware and concerned about the possibility within a few years of an electromagnetic pulse attack from an enemy's high-altitude nuclear explosion. The impact would include the loss of critical U.S. electrical infrastructure that could send the nation back into an 18th century agrarian economy. But experts have warned that such an attack could produce conditions more difficult than the 18th century due to the considerable increase in population and the total reliance by society on electricity and technology for life-sustaining factors, such as food production and delivery. Also hit would be transportation, medical and emergency services, telecommunications, and the economic and financial system.

 

The potential for an EMP attack is perhaps the most serious national security threat facing the United States today. However, there is another threat looming that is not only possible but actually forecast, and it could fry electronics and knock out the transformers in the national electric grid system.  

It is an expected solar storm – or what's called a solar maximum – that the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Academy of Sciences have confirmed to G2Bulletin could occur sometime between 2012 and 2014. The concern is that the nation is ill-prepared for such an event, given the impact that the pulse from such a maximum solar flare could produce with several hundred sunspots occurring on any given day, lasting for up to a month or so. The solar maximum storms occur once every 11 years on a regular cycle. Until now, the sun has been in what is termed a solar minimum.

The storms occur when strong magnetic fields emerge through the solar surface and allow the area to cool slightly, from 6,000 degrees Celsius down to about 4,200 degrees Celsius. While the explosive heat from a solar flare doesn't make it to Earth, there is electromagnetic radiation and energetic particles that do. The solar flares temporarily alter the upper atmosphere, creating disruptions with signal transmissions from GPS satellites.

 

The sun also produces something even more disruptive, known as a coronal mass ejection, or CME. CMEs are solar explosions that propel bursts of particles and electromagnetic fluctuations into the Earth's atmosphere. The electromagnetic fluctuations in turn could induce electric fluctuations at ground level that then blow out electrical transformers in power grids. The CME's particles also collide with crucial electronics onboard a satellite and disrupt those systems. Not only will such a development impact critical civilian infrastructure, but it could have an adverse effect on U.S. military systems because of their heavy reliance on commercial satellites for worldwide communications.

 

The effects from even a solar EMP are seen not just as a possibility but an inevitability. In an increasingly technological world, where almost everyone relies on cell phones and GPS controls, not just your in-car map system but also airplane navigation and the extremely accurate clocks that govern financial transactions, space weather is a serious matter. Such an attack would come like a bolt of lightning. We know it is coming but we don't know how bad it is going to be. A storm maximum today could result in large-scale blackouts affecting more than 130 million people and would expose more than 350 transformers to high-risk or permanent damage.

 

Without taking adequate protective measures between now and the time of the expected "severe geomagnetic storm scenario," experts agree the cost from space weather-induced outages that in turn could cause "non-space-weather-related events" could run from $1 trillion to $2 trillion during the first year alone, with a recovery time taking anywhere from four to 10 years.

 

It’s not easy to disrupt the power grid in the United States by hacking alone. Most systems use proprietary operating systems and applications that are “not readily available for study by your average hacker. Power grid or drinking-water systems and networks are not connected to the public internet. In other words, it would take more than the efforts of an internet meme scattered across imageboards and forums to disrupt this complex system. It would take the concerted resources of a nation-state like China or Russia – or more likely the NSA itself. Even in places like the United States, where there isn’t much you cannot find online, you’re not going to be able to get the depth and detail you need to turn off the lights with a simple network connection. You’re going to have to deploy national-level resources.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If a Coronal Mass Ejection (CMP), an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) or some other disaster took out the electric grid for about a year,

how prepared would you be?

CME/EMP PREPAREDNESS SCORE (100 Points possible)

 

STORED FOOD (10 Point Limit):

- Add 1 point for every month supply of food that you have stored.

 

VEGETABLE GARDEN, FRUIT TREES, & FARM ANIMALS (10 Point Limit):

- Add 1 point for every fruit tree you have (up to 4 points).

- Add 2 points if you have a place for a vegetable garden.

- Add 2 points if you have canning supplies.

- Add 2 points if you have vacuum packing supplies.

- Add 3 points if you have enough heirloom seeds to supply you with all the vegetables needed during the growing season.

- Add 4 points if you planted a vegetable garden in the growing season.

- Add 4 points for chickens or other farm animals, which can supply food.

 

WATER (10 Point Limit):

- Add 1 point for food grade water containers.

- Add 3 points for a rain barrel setup.

- Add 3 points for 6 month minimum supply of stored water.

- Add 4 points for a water purification system, which will work if the electric grid is out.

- Add 4 points for access to water if the electric grid is out (lake, river, stream, pond, etc.)

- Add 6 points for a well with a hand pump or pump which will operate without a connection to the electric grid.

 

WEAPONS & DEFENSE (10 Point Limit):

- Add 1 point if you have some knives.

- Add 1 point for pepper spray.

- Add 1 point for a taser/stun gun.

- Add 1 point if you have a Machete.

- Add 1 point for night vision (scope, monocular, or goggles).

- Add 1 point if you have a sling shot and ammunition.

- Add 1 point for a little dog, 2 points for a big dog (warning and protection).

- Add 2 points for a bullet proof vest.

- Add 3 points if you have a sling bow or a bow and arrow.

- Add 3 points if you have an air gun and ammunition.

- Add 8 points if you have a gun and ammunition.

 

EMP PROTECTION (10 Point Limit):

- Add 1 point for each metal garbage can with tight lid or other metal storage container that you could line with cardboard and use to protect electronics (up to 5 points).

- Add 8 points for a room with concrete floors, ceilings, and walls, and a metal door.

- Add 5 points if you already have most of your electronics protected (there would be a couple day warning before a CME, but possibly no warning before an EMP).

 

HEATING, COOLING, & ELECTRIC (10 Point Limit):

- Add 1 point for a cookstove and plenty of fuel.

- Add 1 point for a heater head and plenty of fuel.

- Add 1 point for a solar cooker.

- Add 1 point for a lamp with mantles/wicks and fuel.

- Add 1 point for a crank flashlight and radio.

- Add 2 points for a gas generator and fuel.

- Add 3 points for a ham radio if you have a generator to run it.

- Add 4 points for a wood burning fireplace or wood burning stove and another 3 points for a season supply of wood.

- Add 1 point for every 100 Watts of solar panel setup (up to 4 points) (the system would need to be protected during a CME or EMP to work).

 

HOUSEHOLD ITEMS (10 Point Limit):

- Add 1 point for a year supply of shampoo and soap and other hygene products.

- Add 1 point for a year supply of paper towels and toilet paper.

- Add 1 point for necessary utensils (manual can opener, whisks, etc.).

- Add 1 point for a year supply of garbage bags and freezer bags.

- Add 1 point for a year supply of aluminum foil, plastic wrap, and wax paper.

- Add 1 point if you have both a carbon dioxide alarm and a smoke alarm.

- Add 1 point for a supply of all sizes of batteries.

- Add 1 point for fire extinguishers as needed.

- Add 2 points for washboard or other hand washer, detergent, and clothes lines.

- Add 3 points for a year supply of vitamins and needed medications

 

ESCAPE GEAR (10 Point Limit):

- Add 1 point for a sleeping bag.

- Add 1 point for a light tent (8 pounds or less).

- Add 1 point for a back pack.

- Add .5 points for a Swiss army knife or pocket knife in back pack.

- Add .5 points for a couple ways to start fires (matches in water proof container, lighter, magnesium fire starter, Swedish firesteel, etc.) in back pack.

- Add .5 points for a mosquito net in back pack.

- Add .5 points for foot and hand warmers in back pack.

- Add .5 points for a first aid kit in back pack.

- Add .5 points for nonperishable food or MREs in the back pack.

- Add .5 points for portable fishing gear in back pack.

- Add .5 points for emergency blankets in back pack.

- Add .5 points for flashlight in back pack.

- Add .5 points for gloves, hat, and other needed clothes in back pack.

- Add .5 points for plastic poncho in back pack.

- Add .5 points for votive or emergency candles with holder in back pack.

- Add .5 points for light weight rope in back pack.

- Add .5 points for a compass in back pack

- Add .5 points for light weight hatchet in back pack.

- Add .5 for a couple garbage bags and freezer bags in back pack.

- Add 3 points for a portable water purification system.

 

TRANSPORTATION (10 Point Limit):

- Add 2 points for a bicycle.

- Add 2 points for at least 20 gallons of stored gasoline

- Add 3 points for a vehicle with a metal body.

- Add 8 points for a vehicle without computer chips (around pre-1980).

 

MISCELLANEOUS (10 Point Limit):

- Add 2 points for animal traps.

- Add 2 points for good water proof boots.

- Add 2 points for a warm jacket, gloves, and hat.

- Add 2 points for a manual juicer.

- Add 2 points for an inflatable mattress.

- Add 2 points for a big supply of liquor or cigarettes for barter or use.

- Add 2 point for a portable toilet.

- Add 3 points for a composting toilet.

 

Keep stacking and keep packing and remember, there may come a day when you cannot buy a gun or ammunition with silver or gold because a loaded weapon in the hand is worth a fortune.

 

 

 

 

 

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