G
Guest
·First, I want to thank Jeff for being so responsive to my request for a forum section about preparedness.
The subject of preparedness/self sufficiency brings a lot of things to mind. Anyone with a television today is probably aware of the show; Doomsday Preppers . This television series goes a long way toward dissuading anyone from even discussing the topic of preparedness because the folks shown on the show are just so goofy nobody in their right mind wants to be associated with them. That's entertainment that promotes an agenda we can discuss later.
The vast majority of folks that take this activity seriously are just plain folks that go about their business without generating any attention.
These "majority members" of the prepper community are anything but goofy. They are just like you and me and have recognized that there are potential emergency situations that a prudent person should be prepared for.
If you own a car you've got car insurance. Does this mean that you expect to be in an accident? No it means that you realize that accidents happen and you want to be prepared in case you have one.
You probably have health insurance. Does this mean that you expect to get seriously ill or badly injured? No, it means that you realize that there is a possibility that you might need medical care so you want to be ready just in case.
If you own a home you probably have fire insurance……..you get it by now.
Preparedness/Self Sufficiency is insurance you get by amassing knowledge, skills and materials that might be useful in the event that something goes wrong.
What could go wrong? Let me make a short list;
1. Losing Your Job: You or a family member could get laid off and your family suffers a catastrophic income loss. Having a good supply of groceries in the house could help mitigate the situation. Getting out of debt will go a long way to preparing you to weather this storm.
2. Temporary Power Outage: Having a supply of candles, flashlights, batteries, etc. can sure make this situation easier to tolerate. An auxiliary generator to provide power to your freezer could save you a pile of cash by keeping your frozen food frozen. A woodstove and an ample supply of firewood can make this emergency an enjoyable adventure as opposed to a life threatening emergency in the winter.
3. Ice Storm, Blizzard, etc.: See #2
4. Tornado/Violent Weather: A safe room or shelter of some kind built into your home could mean the difference between life and death. Here in Upstate New York we seldom experience this kind of weather but in other places in this country a shelter of some kind is essential.
5. Earthquake: We don't live in California but we do experience tremblers here in Upstate New York. A severe earthquake elsewhere in the country could bring about supply disruptions that would affect us here.
6. Civil Unrest/Riots: It's pretty important to recognize that such things happen. They have happened in the past and are likely to happen in the future. You'll need to be prepared, at least with a plan.
7. Chemical Spill/Chemical Accident: The level of threat to you will depend on your location. Awareness and technical knowledge combined with a modicum of equipment can save you and your family.
8. Broad Based Economic Down Turn: See #1
9. Hyper Inflation: See #1
10. Long Term Interruption of the Power Supply: This event could accompany any of a number of other emergencies and would certainly contribute to a general emergency. Such an event could be caused by Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) caused by the detonation of a nuclear weapon high up in the atmosphere or by a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) which is a natural phenomenon associated with storms on the sun. This type of emergency has been the topic of a number of great novels such as Lights Out and One Second After.
11. Interruption/Contamination of the Water Supply: This event will most surely accompany #10 but can occur alone. It's prudent to have some plan and preparations for such an event.
12. Interruption of Sewer Service: This event will present a serious health risk if you're not prepared to deal with it.
13. Pandemic/Bioterrorism: This is a reoccurring event in human history. Preparations for this include education, inoculation and preparing to self quarantine.
14. Nuclear Detonations/Nuclear War/Dirty Bombs: This threat didn't disappear with the end of the cold war. Again knowledge will be a key to survival in such an emergency.
15. Asteroid/Comet Strike: If it's big enough no preparation will help. But a less than extinction event might be survivable if you are prepared.
16. Volcanic Eruption: Again, here in Upstate New York we really don't see this. However, a severe eruption elsewhere, like an earthquake, could interrupt the normal flow of goods and services for an extended period of time.
This isn't a complete list but it's enough to illustrate that the world we live in isn't as safe as we'd like to think.
If you spend any time thinking about each of these events you'll soon realize that the same preparations apply to many of them.
I hope that we can discuss, like adults, those topics of interest related to preparedness/self sufficiency here. Preparedness/Self Sufficiency has been a hobby of mine for several decades and look forward to sharing what I can.
The subject of preparedness/self sufficiency brings a lot of things to mind. Anyone with a television today is probably aware of the show; Doomsday Preppers . This television series goes a long way toward dissuading anyone from even discussing the topic of preparedness because the folks shown on the show are just so goofy nobody in their right mind wants to be associated with them. That's entertainment that promotes an agenda we can discuss later.
The vast majority of folks that take this activity seriously are just plain folks that go about their business without generating any attention.
These "majority members" of the prepper community are anything but goofy. They are just like you and me and have recognized that there are potential emergency situations that a prudent person should be prepared for.
If you own a car you've got car insurance. Does this mean that you expect to be in an accident? No it means that you realize that accidents happen and you want to be prepared in case you have one.
You probably have health insurance. Does this mean that you expect to get seriously ill or badly injured? No, it means that you realize that there is a possibility that you might need medical care so you want to be ready just in case.
If you own a home you probably have fire insurance……..you get it by now.
Preparedness/Self Sufficiency is insurance you get by amassing knowledge, skills and materials that might be useful in the event that something goes wrong.
What could go wrong? Let me make a short list;
1. Losing Your Job: You or a family member could get laid off and your family suffers a catastrophic income loss. Having a good supply of groceries in the house could help mitigate the situation. Getting out of debt will go a long way to preparing you to weather this storm.
2. Temporary Power Outage: Having a supply of candles, flashlights, batteries, etc. can sure make this situation easier to tolerate. An auxiliary generator to provide power to your freezer could save you a pile of cash by keeping your frozen food frozen. A woodstove and an ample supply of firewood can make this emergency an enjoyable adventure as opposed to a life threatening emergency in the winter.
3. Ice Storm, Blizzard, etc.: See #2
4. Tornado/Violent Weather: A safe room or shelter of some kind built into your home could mean the difference between life and death. Here in Upstate New York we seldom experience this kind of weather but in other places in this country a shelter of some kind is essential.
5. Earthquake: We don't live in California but we do experience tremblers here in Upstate New York. A severe earthquake elsewhere in the country could bring about supply disruptions that would affect us here.
6. Civil Unrest/Riots: It's pretty important to recognize that such things happen. They have happened in the past and are likely to happen in the future. You'll need to be prepared, at least with a plan.
7. Chemical Spill/Chemical Accident: The level of threat to you will depend on your location. Awareness and technical knowledge combined with a modicum of equipment can save you and your family.
8. Broad Based Economic Down Turn: See #1
9. Hyper Inflation: See #1
10. Long Term Interruption of the Power Supply: This event could accompany any of a number of other emergencies and would certainly contribute to a general emergency. Such an event could be caused by Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) caused by the detonation of a nuclear weapon high up in the atmosphere or by a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) which is a natural phenomenon associated with storms on the sun. This type of emergency has been the topic of a number of great novels such as Lights Out and One Second After.
11. Interruption/Contamination of the Water Supply: This event will most surely accompany #10 but can occur alone. It's prudent to have some plan and preparations for such an event.
12. Interruption of Sewer Service: This event will present a serious health risk if you're not prepared to deal with it.
13. Pandemic/Bioterrorism: This is a reoccurring event in human history. Preparations for this include education, inoculation and preparing to self quarantine.
14. Nuclear Detonations/Nuclear War/Dirty Bombs: This threat didn't disappear with the end of the cold war. Again knowledge will be a key to survival in such an emergency.
15. Asteroid/Comet Strike: If it's big enough no preparation will help. But a less than extinction event might be survivable if you are prepared.
16. Volcanic Eruption: Again, here in Upstate New York we really don't see this. However, a severe eruption elsewhere, like an earthquake, could interrupt the normal flow of goods and services for an extended period of time.
This isn't a complete list but it's enough to illustrate that the world we live in isn't as safe as we'd like to think.
If you spend any time thinking about each of these events you'll soon realize that the same preparations apply to many of them.
I hope that we can discuss, like adults, those topics of interest related to preparedness/self sufficiency here. Preparedness/Self Sufficiency has been a hobby of mine for several decades and look forward to sharing what I can.
