from what i have just read we may soon see rolling blackouts, some small or even whole counties , the real roll of the new smart meter , will control what you get and when...so looking also stocking oil lamps, window screens,candles , and your defense means you are going to be on your own, stock up rimfire , and shotgun ammo first , always the most hard to get...and gun cleaning gear too........

What about keeping cool in the hot summer? I have been thinking about summer time as we are expecting to reach 97 this week. It seems to be early, but that's really not a surprise with all the strange weather we have had so far in 2012. But how do you keep cool? I think it is very important for everyone to take some time and try to figure out where and how they would keep cool as the temperatures rise and in the event that power is lost. In days gone by our homes were designed with a natural draft, but with the advent of modern air conditioning our homes are now build like a refrigerator. All the air gaps are sealed tight, the attic is thick with insulation, the walls packed full with a outer rap of plastic to prevent any air seepage... but how will we stay cool without the power? In my opinion it is simple, we will have to seek refuge out side of our homes during the heat of the day, returning at night. So that would bring about the question of where will you spend the day? Obviously there are many things that will need to be done during the day, so for the most part you will probably be working to secure food and water, so you will need to keep hydrated, and as cool as possible by using your clothing and natural shade to your advantage. Remember that most of your body heat radiates from your head, so try to keep a wet 'dew rag' available, and above all keep yourself and those in your group hydrated. Avoid direct sun exposure by light cotton shirts, even long sleeves if you can convince yourself to wear them. Burned skin is not nearly as effective at dissipating heat as regular skin. Another suggestion I can offer is watch the animals... my outside dogs will dig a 'fox hole' for themselves in the shade during the summer months, and often they can be found laying with their stomachs in there... a few inches into the ground can make a big difference in the cooling of an animal. Look for underground access. We installed a storm shelter this year in my back yard, it is one place that I know I can take my family and remain fairly cool. In a bind, try to remember the crawl space under you house, it is usually much cooler there. In any case, we should all put the mental effort into locating a go to place for summer survival.

In continuance,
Heat. As many of the northern tier residents know, lack of heat can kill you. What happens when you live in a mid or southern state, and you loose heat...? It can kill you too. So regardless of your location, heat, and back up heat are very important.
As some of you know, I have installed a back up heat source in the form of a nice wood stove. our primary heat is natural gas, forced air. It is my intention to supplement with the wood, especially when I have time to mess with the wood stove. I feel much better now that the unit is installed, and I have built and maintained a few days of fire. I am confident that should the need arise, we would be nice and toasty with wood alone.
Redundant to the forced air is a vent-less gas unit. I have not purchased one yet, but have been looking. Even without power they work well and burn at 99% efficiency.

Now is the time to think about your back up plans, while the lights are on.

more to come...

In this edition I would like to focus on the all important H2O. So, in a lights out, you will have water, right? That is the question everyone should ask themselves. If you live in town (or at least in a water district) it is easy to take for granted that when you turn the tap on, the water will flow. How could the power going out effect your water? Well lets take a quick look at how your water gets to the tap. First off, somewhere there is a source. That will either be a main well, or a river inlet or reservoir or something that gives up the water. Then there are all sorts of basins and pumps that filter and transfer the water. At some point in time, all the clean filtered water (we wont go down the chemical additive road) gets pumped up to the iconic water tower. The water tower is simply an elevated holding tank, that when you open your tap, gravity pushes the water from the tower to your spout. As the water is depleted, the pumps kick on and refill the tower. Ah ha you say. When the power goes out, the pumps don't refill the water tower. This means that when it is empty, that's all there is. Next lets examine an individual well at a rural location. You have a well pump, that requires electricity to bring water from below, to the surface. No power, no water. So what do you do. If you are on well water, you might consider a gas pump alternative, or large holding tanks that would give you a good supply. If you are on city water, you need to consider holding barrels or some means to store a couple hundred gallons minimum. Remember, unless you have an inline system that circulates the water through your storage as you use it on a daily basis, you will need a water preservative. This type of storage is good for a 5 year term, but may be desirable to change out earlier. I would also suggest a supply of portable containers, and each vehicle should have some water storage in it. You can live weeks without food, but only about 72 hours without water. Don't take any chances!

more to come...

So what if we have a solar event, and as I mentioned in an earlier post, that takes out the transformers. The sun is our center of biological life on our planet, as it brings everything from photosynthesis in plants to production of vitamin D in our own bodies. It is a beautiful little star that has inspired people though-out the ages. BUT, it can get cranky, and can spit at us. On occasion we are bombarded by solar flares, which emit radiation and 'plasma' particles as they explode out from the surface of the sun. The radiation is very fast and we usually know something has happened because of its arrival. The CME or the ejected mass is slower and can take 24 to 72 hrs to reach us. When it does, it can create the pretty northern lights, and every so often can reek havoc. When an 'event' happens, it can have a very similar effect as a EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) bomb and can take out any electrical device attached to what quickly becomes miles of antenna (power grid). This is how those large transformers in the middle of the power yard go boom, and when they do everything can go dark. I've said all that, to say this... what are you going to do, when the lights go out?

WHEN the lights go out (and they will), we loose everything from air conditioning, and refrigeration, to AMT and all forms of electronic communication. In a local event, your not in too bad of shape. Usually when you get to a point that you find power, you can get to your data... (think banking), but if the entire hemisphere lost power what would become of our banking system? What about the grocery store, and the energy intensive refrigeration keeping the milk cold, and other perishables safe. What about lighting? Do you have any means of lighting you home or business for say 3- 6 months? Many of us have candles, flashlights, even generators; do you have enough to last that long? What if you can't get to the gas station for fuel to power the generator? When we went through our ice storm there were actual fist fights at the local station over the place in line. Something to think about...

more to come.

What could cause the lights to go out?
Well the first thing that comes to mind is a storm, of course. When Mother Nature takes aim at your location, all you can do is button down the hatches and ride it out. But how does the power fail? Well one of the biggest causes of power disruption in a storm is overgrown trees. When the trees get higher than the lines, or too close to the lines, then the grid is at risk. As the wind blows the limbs sway and if the break the can fall across the lines. This brings opposing phases together and trips either a fuse or circuit breaker down the line. If it is a temporary condition (the branch falls off to the ground and the lines separate) then after a minute or so the circuit breaker will attempt to energize the line. If the short is clear, the lights come back on and everything is good. If it isn’t clear, then the breaker trips again, and this time it probably won’t reset on its own. So the power is out until a person is able to get to the problem and fix it. This is the normal set of circumstances for a storm, and depending on the severity of the damage, it may take quite a while to repair. If the storm produces ice, like we experienced, the weight of the ice can snap the poles, and once one pole falls it can be a domino effect all the way down the line. This takes much longer to repair, as new poles have to be set and new or existing wires strung on these new poles. Wires connecting to your house may be torn down, this can be a problem because usually the power company will expect you to have an electrician replace the meter base and riser on your house. They will then connect the income lines and you’ll be back in the light. All of these possibilities constitute the ‘best case’ scenario.

more to come…

In thinking of a preparedness mindset, the thing I have decided to focus on is what I will call simply, lights out. A few years ago, my local region experienced a devastating ice storm, brought 80-90% of our electrical infrastructure to the ground. At my residence we were out of power for only 3 days, but some of my friends were out 3 weeks, and a couple were out for 2 full months. There are a few things to remember when laying out your preparedness plan. First off, the people that work to keep the modern conveniences running consider outages BAU or business as usual. That is their job to get your service back up, and they are good at it. So, from that stand point, you must adjust your preps to your location. If your at the end of the line, and you normally loose power a couple times a month, then you should be more prepared to deal with it than someone in town, that might only loose power for an hour or two a year. So if it is just for an hour, why prepare? Well as I said, these service technicians are very good at what they do, and if they can they will get the power back to you, but what if they cant? The next time you drive by a substation look at the big massive transformer usually in the middle of the yard. If you loose that, or a bunch of them, then you can really be looking at some long term outages. Those aren't kept on the shelf, they are custom made and it takes about a year to a year and a half for them to be produced. So, the event most likely to turn the lights out for months, would affect lots of people in your area. This is the mind set that we will focus on here. What to do about it?

Think... Your greatest resource is between your ears.

more to come...