Monday, September 30, 2013

Hard Times Come Here No More

One of the potential disasters I keep an eye out for is economic disasters. The USA is a sitting duck for that one. 

I am far from an economic expert, so I look at what the economic experts have to say about what the fiscal forecast is for the USA, and the rest of the world.

Many of the financial gurus who have a good track record of warning about past economic downturns are saying that we are due for a really bad one very soon. Some of them talk about 90% inflation that will hit suddenly. 

I am not just taking these guy's word for this stuff. They do provide facts and figures that back up their bad news predictions.

One of these bits of information that made me start paying more attention is about our national debt. The interest on what we owe has passed the amount of money that the whole country makes every year. The interest is now at 106-107% of the US GNP.

The coming financial bloodbath in the USA will make the Big Depression that my parents experience, look puny, according to the financial pundits.

Not being independently wealthy makes me think about food and being able to eat during very bad times. I am firmly attached to being able to have enough to eat at all times. I would like to be able to keep eating regardless of what the weather, the politics, or the economy is doing.

That means that part of my preparedness has to do with how to manage to keep eating if the economy heads for the basement. 

I have already mentioned that I think that being able to grow food is one of the best sources of security for most anyone. This is not something that can happen overnight. Even if you already have the knowhow and the supplies to grow enough food for yourself and your loved ones, it takes a while to get from seed to eating the produce from that seed.

Many of the people in the world, particularly those who have the wherewithal and knowhow to be reading this blog post, do not know squat about growing their own food. If you wish to keep on eating, you may want to get busy filling your knowledge gap in the growing food department.

I have previously posted on growing sprouts, microgreens, and small potted plants, even for apartment dwellers. I think it would be good for anyone, who is fond of eating, to get busy with these methods of learning through practice for growing your own food.

I have also previously posted on hydroponics for food production. I am planning to see if I can grow enough food to feed myself by using a vertical, or tower style, hydroponics system.

I sincerely hope that you, dear reader, will also investigate ways to feed yourself in emergencies, natural or otherwise.

















I am not just staking 

I am not just

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Taking Care Of Yourself First Helps Everyone

I have a story that I often tell people. I do it so much that they get tired of hearing it. Now you get it.

If you have ever flown on a plane, you have experienced the obligatory safety lecture. The part that we need here is where they tell you about the oxygen masks.

During an emergency oxygen masks will drop down from the ceiling above each seat. The steward or stewardess giving the safety lecture will tell you to put your own oxygen mask on first, even if your child is sitting next to you gasping.

The reason they give for this is that if you are not breathing well, you can't help anyone else. 

You put your own oxygen mask on first, so that you will be healthy enough to help put someone else's oxygen mask on them. Even if they lose consciousness, you will still be able to get their oxygen mask on them. 

If you lose consciousness because you put their oxygen mask on first, they may not be able to help you. You may not even finish putting their oxygen mask on before you pass out, if you try to put their oxygen mask on first.

This lesson is very applicable to many emergency situations. You can not help anyone else unless you are okay. 

It applies even to daily life. Taking care of your personal health is very important at any time, but even more so when medical help is scarce during an emergency. 

The above is what I have been doing lately. I have been working on taking care of myself. I have had some serious health problems that have required a lot of my attention and energy. That didn't leave me much to keep writing on this blog. 

I think I can rest on my laurels a bit here since I have over 500 posts on this blog now. I think there is enough to help anyone who is interested in basic information on emergency preparedness to get a good start on finding out what they need to know.

I apologize for not having this blog better organized, but you can use Google searches to find subjects that interest you on this blog. I use tags for each post and that makes searches more efficient on many subjects. I expect I will write a post that goes into more detail on how to do this.

With climate change happening so fast, we all face many more and much more serious emergencies than have occurred in human history. It only makes good sense to be prepared for emergencies.