Solar Storms: Are You Ready

The following article asks the question: Could the upcoming solar storms create a $2 trillion 'global Katrina' disaster. You should read it and others like it an familiarize yourself with the effects of solar storms.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/feb/21/solar-storms-global-katrina


If you haven't heard, many scientists are predicting that the next solar maximum that we are approaching now, may be larger than any we have seen in the last 150 years, since the Carrington event of 1859. This may not seem very scary, but the last time we had a really big solar flare impact on the earth, we didn't have the electrical technology that we have now. We now rely on our technology, not only to support our comfortable lifestyle, but also to artificially support our large population. In other world, we have built a fragile system of food production and delivery that is entirely dependent on a fragile, aging, and vulnerable electrical grid.


To counter this threat, you need to be able to survive in a world without electricity for an unknown period of time. This can only be achieved by acquiring redundant methods and systems to provide for your daily needs. In my case, I rely on an electric water well pump to provide water to my home for drinking, cooking, etc. If we lose the electrical grid due to a solar storm or other cause, I will still need water to survive. I have made the following preparations to ensure that I will continue to have water in the event of a disaster. First, I have two generators that can provide electricity to operate my well pump, one that runs on gasoline or propane (duel fuel), and one that is PTO driven by my diesel tractor. If the solar storm, or flare, affects these devices, I also have a dipping bucket that fits inside of the casing pipe of the well, and can be lowered on a rope or cable to retrieve water. To fit inside of the well casing pipe, the shape of this bucket is tall and thin. 


In addition to water, you also need to be able to provide food, shelter, and warmth for yourself and family. This means you need to store up food now. You might be able to grow food or hunt and gather eventually, but you need a stock pile of canned and dried food to hold you over until you get up and running. Growing food takes time and hunting and gathering are seasonal activities. If you don't have enough food to last until you get spooled up on your other methods of food procurement, you will starve. Shelter is pretty easy if we had to live like our forefathers, chances are, you already have a home, which should continue to provide shelter. One thing you might need to do however is to increase your security. Many people in the past had to defend their homes from natives and barbarians, and that will likely be a concern in any post disaster scenario. As for heat, everyone needs to be able to warm some part of their home without electricity. This usually means using propane, natural gas, or wood in a short term disaster, but in a long term disaster, wood is really the only option. Propane and natural gas will run out eventually with no reasonable expectation of resupply. I personally use electricity to heat my home primarily, but I also have a wood burning stove. My wood stove is rated to 30 below 0, however, when it gets really cold, a wood stove may only heat one or two rooms. It also takes a lot of wood. In a cold area, if it were your only heat source; you might burn 5 cords per winter. That is not really a problem, you just need to understand how much it is going to use and plan accordingly. You cannot afford to run out of wood, it could be a fatal mistake. Many homes today are built with a fireplace that will burn wood, if your fireplace will not burn wood, convert it now.


-Richard

Upcoming Radio Interview

This coming Monday, February 28th, 2011, I will be a guest on the Neighborhood Survival with The Swede radio show. Follow the link below to listen to the live broadcast or to find out more about the the Swede radio show. There are also links to archived shows and this interview will be archived as well. 



Listen Live at 1:00 - 3:00 Central
http://www.thewatchmen.fm/


Listen to the Archives
http://jumbofiles.com/user/thewatchmen/24812/The%20Swede%20Show

-Richard

Question: Urban Survival

Q:

We live in a city of about 25,000 and in the winter what would be the best way for us to heat our home, or a room or two in mid-winter (a sustainable method, long term) to keep from freezing.  I was considering putting a small wood stove, really small like a large suitcase in the kitchen and running a pipe right out the window, putting an insert with a sheet metal center area and having the pipe go about 6 feet past the house.  Then burn green wood or whatever i could find, feeling the shortness of the pipe would make it easier to clean.

What would you suggest for long term survival in our urban environment?

What type of food would be the best for long term survival?  MRE's, dehydrated or what?

A:

As for heating, I have a wood stove and mine is rated to 30 below 0. However, when it gets really cold, a wood stove may only heat one or two rooms. It also takes a lot of wood, in your area, if it were your only heat source; you might burn 5 cords per winter. That is not really a problem, you just need to understand how much it is going to use and plan accordingly. You can get small wood stove, and you can run them out of a window, just make sure that your flue pipe extends above the roof line for proper ventilation. I think that wood is the best option for long term survival heat, because wood is the only fuel that will be available long term in a disaster. Propane and Natural gas will eventually run out with no chance of resupply. I live in a rural area, so I have easy access to wood for free, in your case, you might need to network a little and find people that have dead trees that they need to get rid of. As for flue cleaning, make sure you get some flue cleaning logs, and burn them in the stove periodically if you can. You can get some now and save them for later. They will make flue cleaning much easier and you won't need to clean the flue as often.

As for survival in an urban area, the best thing you can do is get out now and move to a more rural area. If that is not realistic, which it is not for most, you will have to do the best that you can. In a long-term disaster, in an urban area, you will be competing for more limited resources with more people. The best thing that you can do is get what you need now so that you don't have a need to be out on the street when everyone else is out looking for supplies. If you are going to hold up in the city, there is a very high chance that you house will be burglarized, vandalized, and looted, as is the case in most large disasters. In this case you will either have to hide and risk losing your supplies or fight, so I would suggest arming yourself and keeping a large supply of ammunition on hand. I think that it is better to avoid fighting if you can, but I think that it will be hard to hide in an urban environment. You may want to think about bugging out of the city, which will require you to have a destination in mind, and a way to get there with your supplies. Having an older car or truck that is pre-electronic and can withstand a solar flare or EMP attack is also a good idea. I keep an old 80's model diesel truck at my farm just in case.

In terms of food for long term survival, dehydrated food is very good and has a very long shelf life, up to 20 years, but it is also very expensive. Canned beans have a long shelf life, up to 10 years, and can be eaten right out of the can or mixed with rice. Just make sure you have a manual can opener. I keep rice and other grains in sealed mylar bags with oxygen absorbers, which will have a multi-year shelf life. Rice is the best grain to keep in my opinion, because it is inexpensive, compact for storage and doubles in size when cooked, can be stored for a long time, provides calories and protein, and can be cooked or will absorb water overnight if no heat is available. MRE's are good for travel, but are expensive and don't have the shelf life that some people think they do. Although an MRE will last for 5 to 10 years under the right conditions, it can also go bad in a matter of weeks if kept in a hot car.

Just remember, the best plan is the one you do.

-Richard

Re-Post: Upcoming Radio Interview

Big News,


This coming Tuesday night, February 15th, 2011, I will be a guest on the Knight Zone radio show with Colin Knight. Follow the link below to listen to the live broadcast or to find out more about the Knight Zone radio show. There are also links to archived shows and this interview will be archived as well. 


http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yowradio


-Richard

Survival Navigation

If you find yourself in a survival situation, at some point, you will have to decide whether to stay where you are, or move to another location. You might choose to stay where you are and wait for rescue, or you might feel that you need to find your own way to safety. Even if your choice is to stay and wait for rescue, you might still need to at least move to higher ground or to an opening where you can be seen by search and rescue crafts. Regardless of the motivation to leave your present location, you need to know how to navigate if you want to reach your destination. Navigation is a lot more complicated than just heading in a direction. 


Many people have heard stories of lost individuals walking in circles, which is a true phenomenon, due to the fact that the human body has a stronger and dominant side of the body. The easiest solution for this problem is to use a method of navigation called dead reckoning. Dead Reckoning is a simple process that requires no training. Once you have chosen a direction of travel, find an object that is located in the direction that you want to travel, and walk toward that object. Once there, repeat the process. Whether or not you choose a close object or a far object depends on the terrain and surroundings. If you are in an area like a clearing, you can choose an object far away; however, if you are in heavily wooded surroundings, you might have to choose an object that is much closer, like a hundred feet or so. 


Now that you know a method that will keep you on a straight path, you need to learn to find a direction or heading. The first thing you need to determine is what direction you should be heading in. When you go into an area, you should have a map, but at least, you should know what direction you traveled to get to your general location. In other words, if I am going to a state park, I should know what highways and towns are located to the North, South, East, and West, and which ones are generally closer. It does little good to know which way is South, if you don't at least have a general idea of where you want to go. If you are stuck in a situation where you truly have idea of where you are, you should travel downhill in the hope of finding a stream or waterway. The general rule is that small waterways and streams lead to larger waterways and rivers, and rivers lead to towns and civilization.


If you have determined a general direction that you want to travel, now you need to locate your direction. If you have a compass, that makes it simple, the needle points north, otherwise, it requires a little work. I separate non-magnetic navigation methods into two categories, day time and night time navigation. In the day, we use the Sun to navigate. Now everyone knows that the Sun rises in the East and sets in the West, correct. But in reality, it is not that simple. Although the Sun does rise in an easterly direction, it varies greatly depending on the time of year and your location. Without going into seasonal changes, there is a simple method that works anytime and anywhere the Sun is present. Start by finding four sticks about 10 inches long and drive one into the ground as close to vertical as you can. Now take a stick and drive it into the ground as close to vertical as you can at the tip of the shadow of the first stick. Now do the same with your third stick as you did with the second, after the shadow has moved a few inches, and then again with the forth stick. At this point, you should have three sticks lines up perfectly with an East/West line. At this point, if you are in the Northern hemisphere, your first lone stick will be to the South, and the opposite side will be North. The opposite would be true if you are in the Southern hemisphere. At this point you should know where all four directions are.


At night, if you are lucky, you can sometimes see the distant light of towns, which would give you a direct line of travel. Otherwise, you are pretty much forced to use the stars for navigation if you have no access to modern technology. The moon can also be used, but it required knowledge of a complex lunar cycle. Although you can navigate by multiple stars, the simplest is to use the North start, which is of course to the North. First, you need to find the Big Dipper, which most people are familiar with. It looks like a large dipping cup with a handle. To help you locate it, you need to know that it rotates throughout the year, but there is an easy way to remember the cycle. In Winter, the handle hangs down like an icicle, in Spring the cup faces down to pour out the spring showers, in Summer the handle faces up as if dipping cool water, and in Fall the cup faces up to catch the falling leaves. Once you find the Big Dipper, follow the stars that make up the wall of the cup opposite the handle up in the direction of the open cup. At about 4 times the distance of the cup edge that you followed, you will find the North Star as the handle star of the Little Dipper.   


-Richard

Charcoal

Once you have made you first fire, you will begin to collect the carbonized wood remains that we call charcoal. It has many uses, and should not be idly discarded by anyone in a survival situation.  The most important use for charcoal is for filtering water. Although all water found in the wild should be boiled, filtering is also a good idea to remove debris and bacteria. After the burning process, charcoal becomes porous, and can catch very small particles in those pores. Even modern water filtration systems use charcoal, but a primitive charcoal and sand filter can be fashioned from basic materials. First, find a receptacle; it can be natural or man-made. Make sure that you have a small opening at the bottom, and a large opening at the top. This receptacle should be tall and this if possible. Fill the receptacle with alternating layers of sand and charcoal, a few inches think, and as many layers as you can. Pour your water in the top, and let it percolate down through the layers. It is even better if you can filter the water first through some fabric, like a shirt. Once you have collected the filtered water, you should boil it if you can for the best and safest results. Even if you have no ability to boil the filtered water, it will still be much safer than it was before filtering. Charcoal can also be consumed in small amounts as a digestive aid. It will absorb any bacteria that you have consumed and help to prevent or cure diarrhea. Charcoal can also be used as a writing utensil for leaving message for search crews about your condition or direction of travel. On paper, it will work just like a pencil.


-Richard

Importance of Fire

Legend tells us that Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. For this, Zeus punished him by having him bound to a rock while an eagle ate his liver every day only to have it grow back to be eaten again the next day. We accept this today only as a myth because the evidence shows us that the control of fire by man was a learned skill that developed in stages over many thousands of years. Experts now agree that Homo erectus was most likely the first human species to control fire which provided early man many benefits. This was a turning point in human cultural evolution that allowed for humans to proliferate due to the incorporation of cooked proteins and carbohydrates, expansion of human activity into the night hours, and protection from predators. (Price) Every living human is drawn to fire, quite literally like the moth to the flame. In addition to physical warmth, it also warms the soul. We sit around the fire and sing camp song and feel safety within the glow of the light. These feeling are due to a legacy with fire. We need it for our survival, but it is much deeper than that, fire is life. Although food and water are the basis for supporting life, heat, in this case from fire, is required to cook and purify. 


Regardless of your feeling toward the history or mythology of fire, the need for fire should not be in doubt. The control of fire is the premiere skill among survivalist, and the ability to produce fire from nature alone is a right of passage. Fire provides us many benefits as mentioned, and can be produced in several ways. Fire production can be categorized as Friction, Chemical, Electrical, Percussion, Compression, or through the Focusing or Reflection of Light, principally Sunlight.


Examples:
Friction, as in a bow or hand drill.
Chemical, as in the mixing of chemicals like potassium permanganate and glycerin.
Electrical, as in lighting.
Percussion, as in flint with stone.
Compression, as with a fire piston.
Sunlight, as in using a magnifying glass to focus heat.


-Richard

Chemical fire: Starting a fire with trash

Survival often requires you to make due with very limited or random resources. Although many survival situations are in truly remote areas, many are also very close to present or former urban areas or human settlements. In fact, there have been countless cases of people that were lost or stranded within a few miles of civilization. I know of a girl who got lost in the wood just 300 yards from her rural home and ended up traveling several miles before being rescued days later. This means that in a survival situation, you might have a few items from your pack to start with, the random collection of items currently in your car, or you may happen upon human trash. No matter where I have gone, no matter how remote, I always find trash. Often, bottles in the trash still have a small amount of their original contents, and there are several common trash items that can help you get a fire started.

If you have a lighter or matches and want to conserve them, you can ensure that your fire will light on the first try if you have or can find some hand sanitizer. Many people carry this around, and can often be found in the trash. This is essentially a gel stabilized alcohol, and is very flammable. Even the briefest contact with fire will ignite it. If you can, spread it around on some of your fire kindling, and light it before it evaporates. Just be sure not to have any on your hands when lighting your fire. There have been several cases where people used hand sanitizer, then lit a cigarette and caught there hand on fire.

There are also chemical combinations that will start a fire spontaneously when combined. Two of the most likely to be on hand or found, are chlorine bleach with brake fluid, or potassium permanganate (found in disinfectants and in deodorizers) with glycerin (found in Sugar or Anti-freeze). These chemical combinations also emit dangerous smoke, so they should only be used in an emergency, and with proper ventilation, once you combine the chemicals, you should back away to avoid the smoke.  

-Richard

Hand Warmers

I went camping this past weekend, in an area where fires were not allowed, and the camping was primitive. The overnight low was in the mid 20's, and while not a dangerously low temperature for campers, it still felt cold for a Texas night. I had a few instant hand warmers and I used two of them as a heat source. Once you take them out of the package, you shake them to start a chemical reaction that provides about 8 hours of heat. I put one at the bottom of my sleeping bag, and put the other on my abdomen, and I was very warm throughout the night. Although I could have survived the night without them, this is a perfect example of how a small amount of preparation can make a big difference in your comfort level when you are in a true survival situation. Since so much of survival depends on your state of mind, a few light weight comfort items can make the difference. I already carry candy and chocolate in my survival kits, and after this weekend, I will be sure that I have some hand warmers in all of my survival kits.


-Richard

Survival Communications

If you are planning to go camping, or just out into the woods, you should always tell someone where you are going, where you will be at different times, and when you plan to return. If you go with a group, this same rule applies to small trip, like looking for firewood, or whatever. If you can, take your phone. If you can, bring or borrow a satellite phone. What I do is I take my phone with me and leave it off to preserve the battery life, that way if I have an emergency, I know I can turn it on and call someone if I can get a signal. Most times, if you are in a rural or remote area, you won’t be able to use your cell phone. I also like to use radios, especially if I am with a group. I carry an FRS/GMRS radio with me when I go into the woods, and I make sure that everyone has one if I co with a group. Depending on the terrain, a good FRS/GMRS radio has a range of several miles. This may not sound like much range, but when most people are rescued after being lost, they are rarely more than a few miles away from civilization. The great thing about FRS/GMRS radios is that they are used by many people and most have a channel scanning feature, so that if someone is nearby, you can find them with the scanning feature.


If you are in a situation, where you have no access to electronic communications, there are several methods of primitive communication that you can use. If you are lost, you can spell out S.O.S., or HELP, with rocks or logs if you can find a clearing. This is very helpful for contacting aerial search teams. You can also create a large triangle shape which is a sign for help that can be seen from multiple angles. Another method of signaling is to use a mirror if you have one to reflect sunlight in the direction of any search craft or search team, and this can be seen for many miles. The method is to hold your hand out in front of you and make a peace sign with your index and middle fingers spread apart. Now move your hand until the object you are signaling towards is visible between your two fingers. Now use your other hand to move the mirror until you can see sunlight on your hand. Now move the mirror up and down so that the beam of light is alternating between your hand and the target. Continue to aim your hand at the target as it moves, and watch your hand to make sure the light beam is still on target. Another good method of communication is to build a large fire for rescuers to see. The smoke from a fire can be seen for miles in the day, and the fire light can be seen at night. The best way to do this is to build up kindling like grass, then small stick, and then larger logs like a bonfire, then stack green leaves and wood close by. When you are ready to signal, use some torch logs from your campfire, which you should already have ready, and light the signal bonfire. If it is day time, put the green wood and leaves on the fire to produce smoke. You should use verbal communication to signal a rescue team, or to call for help in the hope that someone is near and can hear you. Unless you know someone is near, use this sparingly, you can lose your voice in a very short time if you are yelling a lot.


-Richard

Upcoming Radio Interview

Big News,


This coming Tuesday night, February 15th, 2011, I will be a guest on the Knight Zone radio show with Colin Knight. Follow the link below to listen to the live broadcast or to find out more about the Knight Zone radio show. There are also links to archived shows and this interview will be archived as well. 


http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yowradio


-Richard

Quick Survival Tip: Interchanging Batteries

As most of the country is experiencing a major winter storm, power outages and imposed blackouts are very common right now. Although you should always have candles, lamps, and flash lights with batteries, not everyone does. In a pinch, if you find yourself in a situation where you have a flash light, but you don't have enough batteries, you can interchange AA, AAA, C, and D batteries to some degree, because they are all 1.5 volts. This works best when using a smaller battery to make up for a large one, due to the size of the battery receptacle. All you have to do is use some metal object like a spring, or even coins to gap the distance and make contact. You won't get the battery life you normally would, but it is a great trick that could save your life.


Remember, you should always stock up on survival supplies, know where they are located, and know how to use them. 


-Richard

Rolling Blackouts in Texas

This morning, we are experiencing rolling blackouts in Texas, and throughout the U.S. This is not new for many states, but it is new for states like Texas that have more robust grids than those of the ailing northeast. In Texas, it is not the age of the grid, but rather a recent flood of immigration from the northern states due to the economy, causing massive population growth in Texas. Basically, the population in Texas is growing faster than the electrical grid can be expanded to take the extra load. As the U.S. economy continues to dive, this trend will only get worse. If our grid is this vulnerable from just a few extra people running their heat, imagine what would happen if there was a disaster that affected part of the grid. If so, the power could go down for days or weeks state wide like it does in the northern states. When this happens in the northern states, there are always casualties, and access to food is limited. To compound this problem, the number of "Black Start" power plants in Texas has been reduced to only a hand full. By "Black Start", I mean a power plant that has the ability to make electricity when the grid is completely down. In other words, it takes electricity to make electricity, and you can't start up a power plant with a little generator from Home Depot. I have spent the last 12 years working for an electrical utility in Texas, so I have some insight into this. If we lose the grid, in order to bring it back up, the "Black Start" power plants will have to physically isolate themselves from the rest of the grid, then bring their generators online, and only then can they start up their first turbines to start making electricity. Once this is done, these "Black Start" power plants can start to physically reconnect themselves to other isolated grid sections and bring up additional power plants around the state. Once all of the power plants are up around the state, they can start serving power to the population. This could take weeks or months. Even if we were able to get power from another state, the physical reconnecting would still be required. Currently while we have electricity, we can re-route power automatically using SCADA systems, which are computer controlled physical connections, but with no power, the SCADA systems will not work. All of these reconnections will have to be done with a human crew, under conditions that could include snow, ice, flooding, etc. Additionally, many utilities have put so much trust in the computerized systems, that the physical means to re-route the power don't even exist anymore, which would greatly complicate efforts to restore power. Basically, a loss of the grid in Texas now would be a devastating disaster, but the dominoes are already lined up and ready to fall due to overpopulation, an undersized grid, reliance on computer technology, decommissioning of older "Black Start" power plants, and the lack of public knowledge and involvement.

As individuals, we can do little to change what is happening with the growth of the state, or the condition of the electric grid, but we can help ourselves individually and in small groups. The root problem individually, is our dependence on electricity. We use it for heating, but it is also required to maintain our food supply. You cannot run the gas pumps to fuel the trucks that deliver food without electricity. Your local store only has about three days of food on hand based on average demand, and the shelves can be picked clean in minutes during and leading up to a disaster. This is why everyone should keep at least several weeks worth of food on hand at all times, if not a few months worth. The last thing you need to be doing in a disaster or in bad weather is to be out buying the last food scraps on the shelf. As for heat, everyone needs to be able to warm some part of their home without electricity. This usually means using propane, natural gas, or wood. Even some gas heating systems still require a small amount of electricity to operate, so learn how your system works and prepare accordingly. I personally use electricity to heat my home primarily, but I also have propane heat, and a wood burning stove. Many homes today are built with a fireplace that will run on gas or wood, so just make sure you have plenty of fuel on hand at all times. If you have a little food, fuel, and water stored up, you can concentrate on staying warm and safe.

-Richard