The following article has been generously contributed for your reading pleasure by Tess Pennington of Ready Nutrition. After joining the Dallas chapter of the American Red Cross in 1999 she worked as an Armed Forces Emergency Services Center specialist and is well versed in emergency and disaster management & response. You can follow her regular updates on Preparedness, Homesteading, and a host of other topics at www.readynutrition.com .
The subject of survival in a long term disaster goes beyond having stockpiles of beans, bullets and band-aids. Those that do survive during a long term emergency will no doubt be tried and tested with a great many things. One of those trying scenarios is dealing with death.
Zombie attacks seem to be a prevalent theme for preppers to prepare for. In fact, the CDC has even posted a preparedness article on how to ward off zombie attacks. While I believe these zombies will likely take the form of substance abusers, mental patients, chronically ill or diseased, and desperate individuals whose basic needs have not been met, they will die out in the first few months of an onset of a major disaster, and there presence will rarely be an issue in a long term situation.
In reality, a majority of those that will die during a long-term disaster will be from illnesses brought on by acute respiratory infections due to cramped living conditions, poor water conditions (or lack of), or bacterial infections from wounds. If we survive a major disaster, America would become a third world country and the aftermath of such a scenario will be similar to those living in Africa, Ethiopia and India.
Illness Due to Poor Water Conditions
Typically, any diseases that are brought on by lack of sanitation and hygiene are controllable and preventable. In a disaster where water sources are compromised, people within a 50 mile radius could be adversely impacted by illness and disease if just one person incorrectly handles water or incorrectly disposes of waste. Contaminated water, poor sanitation and/or lack of hygeine leads to diseases such as Hepatitis A, viral gastroenteritis, cholera, Shigellosis, typhoid, Diphtheria and polio. If these diseases affect enough people, an epidemic will ensue.
Dehydration and diarrhea are also water-related matters to contend with. Those without adequate water conditions and/or are suffering from disease brought on by poor water conditions could quickly dehydrate. These types of illnesses typically affect at-risk populations such as children, the sick and the elderly. Young children in particular are at high risk for diarrhea and other food- and waterborne illnesses because of limited pre-existing immunity and behavioral factors such as frequent hand-to-mouth contact. The greatest risk to an infant with diarrhea and vomiting is dehydration. In addition, fever or increased ambient temperature increases fluid losses and speeds dehydration. Having knowledge beforehand on how to properly clean drinking water and food, and the symptomatology and treatment of these types of diseases can prevent further outbreaks from occurring.
Recommended preparedness items: water filtration systems, water purification tablets, chlorine granules, bleach, electrolyte or rehydration powders, anti-diarrea medicines.
Malnutrition
Malnutrition from either improper water conditions or from lack of nutrients is also a large killer amongst those in impoverished communities. Medical experts say there is a symbiotic relationship between malnutrition and diarreah. Malnutrition increases the severity of diarrhea while diarrhea can cause malnutrition. Either way, prevention for both of these health issues is key.
Those that are malnourished are more suseptible to illness and disease. Individuals who are malnourished will also be vitamin deficient and their health is likely to regress further. Those who survive from malnutrition are permanently affected by this disease and may suffer from recurring sickness, faltering growth, poor brain development, increased tooth decay, reduced strength and work capacity, and increased chance of chronic diseases in adulthood. Adult women with this condition will give birth to underweight babies.
Recommended preparedness items: dietary supplements, vitamin powders, seeds for sprouting or seeds for fresh vegetables and fruits, survival bars, knowledge of alternative means to attain vitamins
Acute Respiratory Infections
Upper respiratory infections (URI) will also be a leading cause of death in a long term disaster. Upper respiratory infections include: colds, flu, sore throat, coughs and bronchitis can usually be cured with additional liquids, rest and nourishment. Allowing the illness to exacerbate will lead to secondary infections such as bacterial pneumonia. The germs from pneumonia are easily spread from an infected person to others by coughing or sneezing or through close contact. A major concern about respiratory infections is that there are many drug resistant strands of viruses, bacterias and diseases (including tuberculosis), that regular medicine will not cure. In a long term disaster situation, many could perish.
To properly prepare for this type of medical situation, learn about the more prevalent viruses and bacterias in your country and how to prevent them in order to provide a healthy living environment in a long term situation.
Not only are URI’s a concern but other air-borne diseases such as tuberculosis will likely fester during a long term scenario. In regular non-SHTF times, treatment for tuberculosis requires 6-12 months of medication. In a long term emergency, chances of surviving tuberculosis are slim. The best way to prevent tuberculosis is adequate nutrition, vitamin D and living in a properly ventilated shelter.
Survival groups that have multiple people living under one roof will only increase the likelihood of passing air-borne infections and diseases to one another. In addition, those in an at-risk group (elderly, immuno-deficient, infants) are more likely to catch illnesses. If a survival group is sharing a home, an infirmary or sick room should be prepared for those who have fallen ill. Isolating the person who is ill will limit exposure to the other members of the group. Adequate nutrition, water, rest, good sanitary practices and ventilation of the home is essential in curbing this.
Recommended preparedness items: decongestants, expectorants, upper respiratory medicines, antibiotics (for secondary and bacterial infections), knowledge on medicinal herbs, prepare a sick room at your survival homestead
Infections From Wounds
Open injuries have the potential for serious bacterial wound infections, including gas gangrene and tetanus, and these in turn may lead to long term disabilities, chronic wound or bone infection, and death. Anitibiotics will be few and far between and will be more precious than gold. Without proper medicines, antiseptic and knowledge on proper medical procedures, many will die of bacterial infections. Learning medical skills, gaining knowledge on natural medicines and alternative medical antiseptic (i.e., Dakin’s Solution) before a disaster occurs could help people survive from wound infections. Also, ensuring the area that you treat medical emergencies is clean and as sterile as possible may also prevent bacterial infections.
Recommended preparedness items: stock up on maxi pads for wound absorption, gauze, celox, antibiotics, suture needles and other basic first aid supplies
Additionally, consider developing the following skills: basic first aid class, sign up for EMT classes in your community, an off-grid medical care class such as those offered by onPoint Tactical. Also, consider investing in books such as When There is No Doctor and When There is No Dentist
Also look into making your own antiseptics utilizing alcohol distillation, such as the custom made units from LNL Protekt.
These illnesses (provided above) have impacted countries all over the world. These illness and conditions, coupled with unsanitary living conditions such as substandard sanitation, inadequate food and water supplies and poor hygiene, make disaster-affected people especially vulnerable to disease. These illnesses will affect us no matter what part of the world we live in, what socio-economic status we currently hold, and no matter how prepared we think we are.
Understanding what can happen and being prepared when it does is absolutely essential. The last thing we want to do when a serious condition arises is to panic. Preparing your supplies, developing your skills and educating the rest of your family and preparedness group on how to prevent, identify and counteract these serious conditions will provide a significant boost to your ability to survive if the worst happens.
Recommended Reading:
Patriot Nurse: 5 Diseases that Will Explode WTSHTF
Prevention and Management of Wound Infections
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Emergencies
This article has been contributed by Tess Pennington of Ready Nutrition. Subscribe to Tess’ Get Prepped Weekly Newsletter for more emergency preparedness tips, homesteading ideas, and insights. Ready Nutrition and SHTFplan.com take your privacy very seriously and will not distribute or share your email address with other parties.
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Just saw today on Fox News Unemployment still up there at 9.1%. former president Clinton was on CNBC talking about ways to bring back jobs.
I think we are in a whole lot of trouble, people.
FOX BUSINESS pol today say Americans feeling that the United States is in a permanent decline has risen to 39% That’s huge and that’s a whopping negative sentiment.
People let me say this by autumn 2011 almost every man, women and child, rich poor and middle class, will know for sure that we are in the deepest depression that we have ever faced.
Stock up now you may not have a job tomorrow.
So true. stock up people!!! dont say you were not warned.
Considering that Clinton signed NAFTA to send all our jobs overseas… he should be ignored.
I agree that things are slowly becoming more and more apparent for even the slowest person to notice… most just have to go to the grocery store and see just how little $100 buys nowadays.
I’ve got one sister that’s stocking up on canned foods, and another sister that looks at me like I’m crazy when I talk about the coming economic collapse.
You are so correct Suzanne
Go Search: DailyJobCuts
Actually Bush Sr. signed NAFTA.
Before you try to argue look it up. Direct quote from Wikipedia:
“Following diplomatic negotiations dating back to 1986 among the three nations, the leaders met in San Antonio, Texas, on December 17, 1992, to sign NAFTA. U.S. President George H. W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Mexican President Carlos Salinas, each responsible for spearheading and promoting the agreement, ceremonially signed it. The agreement then needed to be ratified by each nation’s legislative or parliamentary branch.”
Bush Sr. did sign NAFTA. Absolutely true.
Don’t let Clinton off the hook. He strongly pushed it through the Senate in the fall of 1993.
Who can forget the Gore (Clinton’s VP) / Ross Perot debate on Larry King in early November of 1993. . Gore played loose with the facts in his rabid support of NAFTA and the general consensus at the time was that he trounced Perot.
Actually, this is pretty close to what I’d had listed:
* bad water (it’s easy to get Giardia, and post-SHTF, cholera).
* malnutrition (yup – no arguing that one at all)
* injury (even the small stuff can grow to larger infections in a hurry – especially if you’ve spent all your life eating antibiotics and avoiding cut/bruises).
* exposure/lack of *proper* shelter – the big diff from your list. Usable shelter may well be hard to come by, since most homes nowadays aren’t equipped with a proper means of wood-based heating. Most houses have a lot of windows, which may or may not remain intact for too long. Folks trying to improvise heat in a house with no wood-burning facility run the risk of death by carbon monoxide poisoning. A typical house may not have much means if any to provide proper sanitation (you can dig an outhouse in the yard for the obvious needs, but not all homes have a big enough (or any type of) yard, you still have dishes and bodies to wash, trash to dispose of, etc).
If you suffer from any of the first three on my own 4-pt list, then lack of sufficient shelter will only aggravate things, and probably kill you faster.
I tend to push respiratory illness down further on the list for a couple of reasons:
– they’re mostly seasonal.
– aside from the obvious (pneumonia, tuberculosis, pneumonic plague), most types won’t kill you outright.
– the majority of them can still be largely avoided with basic precautions (keep your hands clean as often as possible, limit physical contact with other people especially if they’re sick, keep sick team/family members isolated, etc).
Yep, filtered water is numero uno, but I live in south FL, so heat ‘aint a big issue!
I watched some of After Armageddon on the History channel yesterday. I certainly hope it doesn’t get that bad, but it did give some good advice on what to expect in the worst case.
The two biggest takeaways for me was the trouble getting water, and treating the water once you get it. And the problem with food if you happen to run out, and cooking the food you have.
It comes down to being able to filter and boil water and heat food. It confirms my direction of late with learning to build water filters, and having an electric source to do it that can be moved.
Get the knowledge to do it. You can piece it together for free if you have the time, or there are many products available to help with it.
http://www.diysolarpanelbuilding.com
Yup. 🙂
Water filters are actually not that tough to do, even without electricity. You just have to know how to make charcoal (burn wood *very* slowly, with little oxygen), and how to boil water.
The rest is easy:
* make a large vertical tube/cylinder (hell cut the top off an empty hot water heater, and you have the right size). Keep the top of it open, perforate the bottom with very small homes. If you used a hot water heater, just make sure the tap is on the bottom, and keep the tap open. Put something (really big) underneath to catch the water, or run a hose to a large, closable water drum. Keep gravity in mind while you design this thing.
* line the bottom with a boiled (sterilized) cloth (make sure it’s a fairly tight weave… a 300 thread-count bedsheet cloth will work).
* fill the bottom 1/4 of the tube with fine-grained sand. Cover with another boiled cloth.
* crush the charcoal you made into small chunks, and use it to fill the next 1/4 of the tube. Cover that with a boiled cloth.
* gently fill to 3/4-7/8 full with small pebbles and rocks.
* if you live in an area with very hard water (Utah, I’m looking at *you*), then put a thin (1/4-1/2″) layer of rock salt between the charcoal and rocks, separating that layer from the others with one more piece of boiled cloth.
et voila’ – you now have a functioning water filter. discard (or re-run) the first few gallons you run through it if its big, the first few ounces if its tiny.
If you’re still worried about microorganisms, you can add a teaspoon of bleach to each 55-gallon drum, or just take what you need from the drum and boil before use.
Keep the contents moist after you build it – cover it with something when not in use.
You’ll have to change it all out once a month or so, depending on how much water you run through it, how clean the unfiltered water going in may be, and such. This means burning new charcoal and having a spare bedsheet handy once in awhile. For places that don’t have much natural sand, you may want to stockpile a bit… masonry sand or sandbox sand is a bit coarse, but will work. Try to find the finest-grained stuff you can.
Thanks for that creative info. Especially the making of charcoal. I need to learn that, and do it. I thought of shrinking it down but not building one bigger for more water filtering.
You can scale down the whole operation to use a 2 liter soda bottle if you are out in the field. It’s all good to know.
Does anyone know if you can buy the charcoal, rather than making it from scratch? What would happen if you used backyard BBQ charcoal briquetts?
Activated charcoal can be had at the aquarium store. You can just get a power filter refill for about 3 bucks or so and that will give you enough for a soda bottle filter or two.
Err, don’t use the barbecue charcoal – at all. Many brands come with light fluid pre-soaked in, and most other brands are just charcoal dust pressed together into little bricks with a flammable glue. You don’t want to drink anything that has passed through either type.
Making natural charcoal isn’t that complex – it just takes time and a little effort. It also lets you select the wood you want to use (avoiding resin-heavy woods like Pine, and instead sticking with hardwoods if you can find it).
Start here: http://www.nscss.org/content/how-make-charcoal-gary-gilmore
Try:
http://www.buyactivatedcharcoal.com/bulk_activated_charcoal
They have different sizes of activated charcoal, also agricultural charcoal.
cricketycricket has one of thee best home made water filters on youtube I have ever seen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PAC6g9EvWk&feature=player_embedded
That filter rocks….
Zombie attacks for sure – like Philly and Chicago style. The black teenagers beating up on white people is a good example of zombie attacks. More white folks will be packing a gun just in case they become a victim of these attacks.
I suspect nuclear fallout will get a lot of us, it will poison everything – food and water.
What’s this “will be packing” stuff? I don’t know anyone who isn’t packing these days; especially the gals.
Do you mean the girlie guys.
How and Where to Store Water
Towards the end of the article, read about ION – stabilized oxygen. ION can be used to disinfect water, kills harmful bacteria in wounds, neutralizes toxins from spider bites and bee stings, can be used to fight a viral or bacterial stomach virus & more. ION has an indefinite (very long) shelf life.
http://www.personalliberty.com/survival-and-self-sufficiency/how-and-where-to-store-water/
One word: Ingestion
Whether it be from your pie hole, radiator (skin), intake (nose), tail pipe, differential hearing orifice collectors, or visual indicators/receivers.
Are you an auto mechanic or an MD? Both? That was great!
You’re welcome Granny. EA is after you. Probably doesn’t know how to pull a trigger.
Hmmm, interesting article. I’d probably put medical illness on the list which would include some respitory illness such as asthma, and other medical illnesses which persons usually seek medical assistance for, eg, choronic medical conditions requiring medications.
Biosand filter ..easy ..effective ..safe
Even you can make one ..bunch of info online
I filter rain water from one of my rain water recilmation set ups
I don’t currently drink it ..but I can
Waiting.g to do something Like this when its too late ..it will be too late
Im getting a water filter asap!
Do a search for “homemade berkey water filter” on google. Same for “first need xl water filter purifier” (campmor) has them cheaper than anywhere I could find. If your making a homemade berkey just drill the holes a tiny bit smaller than they suggest so the filters and spout fit tight without any chances of leakage. Built mine in 5 minutes and use it for our home now.
Forgot – you can actually use 55 gallon drums instead of the 5 gallon buckets they show in the build description which will provide more water (depending on your needs).
You just need to retrofit a pvc pipe with collar around ea. filter prior to seating them in the bung holes as there is a slight curve in the barrels which make it not air tight. You should consider having both berkey systems as the 5 gallon system is easy to transport and use daily and the 55 gallon system is nice for bugging in.
Please don’t just get a water filter buy many of them lol
I would add that most older folks and anyone with serious health problems will probably die even without these risks.
If we were to have a massive nuclear war then fallout will indeed be so bad it will kill many. Of course the war itself would kill far more. But without a massive nuclear exchange fallout from one or two nukes or from nuclear power plants that go Chernobyl is just not nearly as dangerous as most think. You are much more likley to die from the common and not so common dangers then you are from radioactive fallout.
#5 on the list….people killing people.
#6 on the list… people killing themselves
#7 cops, authorities at state and fed level & military killing people
What happens to all those nasty viruses in CDC research centers? And those pathogens from the mail order supply houses? University laboratories? Who believes that our military doesn’t have biological warfare capabilities? And those unfriendly countries who would jump on an opportunity to take us down a notch? And lastly, those Soros clones that are engineering the means to get rid of 7 or 8 billion useless eaters? I believe the odds of dying of disease WTSHTF to be almost a certainty if you survive the initial starvation and violence. And having sat through as well as instructed a few CBRN classes I do not see any realistic way of surviving the kinds of biological threats for the length of time it would take for those threats to burn themselves out. Most of us do not have any kind of chemical gear or the multiple sets that would be required in order to survive any kind of chemical attack let alone a biological one. And the internally overpressurized type of bunker with biological grade filters and half a year or more of replacement filters is most likely beyond the resources of most of us here. Don’t know what you could realistically do to prepare for that kind of scenario. Some of us will have the right genetics and might survive the starvation and violence and biowarfare only to succumb to rabies aquired from a bite from one of the millions of rabid former pet of some dead, non-prepping yuppie type. Survival is going to be a lot more difficult than many of us here imagine it will be and in the end it will probably not come down to how many guns or bullets or tactical knives or even food one has managed to aquire before TSHTF.
Most biohazard facilities would be abandoned, but they’re so physically isolated that it won’t be a problem for a very long time (unless someone is stupid enough to walk into one a century later or somesuch).
Chem warfare gear has been pretty much disposed of, and the worst of it has been incinerated long ago.
—
Most ‘former pets’ would either likely die come the first winter, of starvation, or would form packs – not unlike what early US settlers had to deal with when it came to wolves.
Not all of them are people.
They’ll knock each other off.
They’ll stay in the getto waiting for the govt to come rescue them (and they never will). One by one they’ll do each other in or illness will get them due to poor sanitation.
I look for very few of them to actually have enough smarts to even make it to the suburbs, let alone rural areas. Thankfully.
I’ll fly a corporate jet out of the city. As soon as I get out of jail.
Me too, please pick me up on the way.
I don’t plan on landing the aircraft and clearing customs. I have one square “parachute”. You? There is no keys to most jet aircraft and almost all are full of fuel. I preflight only at night and file VFR @ uncontrolled airports. One other thing, I fly bare foot and my feet stink. Ok, make that two.
No problem here ehk. Or you can live with it Stan. SecDef Gates is OUT OF HERE! Let’s audit little turbo tax Timmy for ten years. The ship is going down.
You can think that if you like, but never, ever, ever underestimate the cunning and craft of a starving man.
PS: most ‘ghetto’ inhabitants out here in the Pacific Northwest are caucasian.
I think that in my area, “neighborcide” will be one of the major caused of death. I hate all my neighbors, and I am sure that they also despise me. After SHTF, they will be fair game, just as I will. At least the elite will be happy, with all of us turning each other into swiss cheese.
emptyhandkiller,
None of my business, but your situation with your neighbors is bad, bad, bad. If everyone despises you, it might behoove you to find out why, correct the situation, and start building bridges to your neighbors. Having good neighbors is probably the single most important thing you can do if the Zombies start arriving. The old saying that “No Man is an Island” is true.
Again, none of my business, but most situations involving hating other people usually results from misunderstandings and lies. Suggestion: what about talking to your neighbors and making them an offer to help them if they need help if things deteriorate. Couldn’t hurt and just may open a line of communication and eventually respect, and maybe even friendship. A little bit of “honey” right now could pay off big time in SHTF situation.
Good luck.
If you are my neighbor kindly identify yourself. Perhaps I can assist you in moving to a more satisfactory neighborhood……or at least build a nice concrete divider between our properties.
Dunno how else to say it, but if they all despise you and you’re picking them off one by one? You’re likely to get knocked off first, even if they have to throw a Molotov Cocktail or four at your house at 2am to make it happen. Even brick houses are quite flammable, and you can only point that gun in one direction.
So when is the S going to hit the fan?
November 32nd 9:61 am eastern standard time. The year is what Im just not that sure of.
My guess is in 18 months unless, Israel launches a first strike on Iran. Israel will not allow Iran to develop a capable nuclear threat. Period. Iran will not forgo its RIGHT to nuclear weapons. Period.
Thus a time is coming sooner rather than later when an irresistable force will meet an immovable object, and WE will all have to live with the consequences.
Any attack by Israel cannot be surgical. It must be overwhelming, throwing Iran back into the stone age. Anything less than that would only precipitate a suicial attempt at retaliation.
At best, I cannot forsee that decision by Israel or the USA to extend farther than two years down the road. Maybe not that far off …… which is why O’bummer is CONTEMPLATING a trip to Iran.
Keep prepping.
One problem with this theory: Israel is too smart to do their own fighting now days.
Since they control America’s money supply, they control our foreign policy.
And since our creditor permits other ways of making good on debts that can never be repaid, they are happy to have us spill Arab blood for debt restructuring (Otherwise known as raising the debt ceiling), which only guarantees further enslavement.
Israel cannot do a strike on Iran without any aid from the USAF.With Obama in office there is no way the US will go to war with Iran. Also the only way we can stop Iran’s nuclear project is through invasion. The plant in Qom for example in deep inside a mountain. Israel will need a hell of alot of bunk busters or daisy cutters. On reason I learned we will not attack Iran is because Iraq. The Shiites in Iraq make up 60% of the population and 90% of the armed forces. Iranian special forces and Iraqi Shiite militias will start cutting the long US supply line alone Route Tampa from Kuwait City. Then the Shiites on southern Iraq will start a campaign on attacking the remaining 50,000 US troops. Iranian irregulars would cross the border to give support and man power for the Shiite militia. Shiites in the Iraqi army and police will defect to the side of the militias and start attacking US troops. The troops will be able to hold their own but we would be forced to retreat from Iraq. The reason because at this time the Iraqi govt would collapse and all gains that was made from the surge will be undone for good. We cannot afford to have a situation Iraq where the surge fails. Iran’s military is shitty but its irregular,proxy forces will be very deadly to deal with.
If the media continues to run cover for Obama, we might have until the election next November.
The Fed will continue to print money, QE to infinity. It is their only alternative at this point. That could go on for quite some time.
OK: I agree on your time frame. But Additional QE’s are not necessary. The banks and big business are awash with cash. It will start to trickle into the economy by the Banksters to keep the economy rolling, albeit at a snail’s paste for another nine months.
China has been buying US Treasuries on the sly to prop up the game of Three Card Monte with Europe and the EU will continue to buy because …. well, because they have to. Do they want to own their bad debts or ours?
And does it matter?
Yep, diarrhea is major killer throughout the world. It literally drains your body of electrolytes and dehydrates you. With modern medicine few people in the West die of this, but in third world countries (which we may become when TSHTF) it kills people by the millions.
I don’t know if you have heard of this tip, but I have read that drinking rice water helps stop bouts of diarreah and the water will help with the dehydrtation.
The Colombians brown rice in a frying pan, no oil, until it is almost black. Then they cook the rice with water, no salt, adding water as it boils off until they have a really thick rice syrup that they pour off. They add a little raw sugar and dose you with this stuff. It is an old home remedy that actually works as a treatment for diarreah. Be carefull that you don’t over due it though, this stuff will glue you right up.
Number 5: You can die by getting shot.
I think that in some places we won’t get the chance to get sick or to go hungry to be in mortal danger.
If the tens of millions of people already living day-to-day in “survival-mode” residing in the U.S. (felons, ex-cons, welfare recipients, inner-city trash, illegal immigrants, one-percenters, organized gangs, unorganized gangs, private mercenaries, rogue police and military groups, encroaching drug cartel from Mexico, meth-heads, generation-WTF-ers?, career-criminals, predatory militias, black muslims, muslims, wanted criminals, unprepared bullies with guns, closet-psychopaths, the mentally ill etc.) figure out that there won’t be any cops to stop them from attacking the law-abiding and taking what they want…..we’ll see unprecedented carnage and thinning-out of the population within days of a collapse.
I say be prepared to repel the threat of physical violence like an approaching zombie apocalypse before you worry about pneumonia getting you when the seasons change.
You forgot “Father Rapers sitting right next to me on the bench there!” Arlo Guthrie
Some clarification regarding diseases like cholera. A pathogen has to already be present in the environment before it can become a problem. In other words, it has to be endemic before it can become epidemic. When sanitation is compromised in an area where cholera is already present, it does indeed spread like wildfire. However, here in the states, it’s not a problem. People often misunderstand this and worry about cholera as soon as they see a few dead bodies in the street. If those bodies and the water aren’t contaminated with that particular pathogent then there’s nothing to spread. Case in point. Haiti, if it had anything good going for it, it was that it was cholera free despite horrible poverty and poor sanitation. That all changed recently when infected French UN troops brought it into the country. A very bad mistake as we’ve seen recently. Anyway, just wanted to point that out. I would suggest listing some good reputible public health websites.
It wouldn’t take much… immigrants arrive all the time, and it is likely that some folks in any given group of people are carriers.
Otherwise, you;re right.
Meanwhile, there’s all these guys: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterborne_diseases
Well, some of the things on that list. I know I sound nit-picky, but this is actually in my area of expertise and I can safely assure you that things like Onchocerciasis and Dracunculiasis will not be a problem. Giardia, sure. E. coli, probably. Enterobius vermicularis, most people get anyway at some point and it’s not a big deal. There are big risk and very minor risks. I just don’t think that scaring people unneccassarily is helpful. Many of the risks could be greatly lowered, for everybody, if folks would get vaccinated. We’re seeing measles make one hell of a comeback now because of these pampered fools. And yes, it is dangerous. The shit is already hitting the fan from having a nation that is scientifically illiterate.
Agreed that certainly not all of them will mean a death sentence – the site page lists what can happen with each for the most part.
The idea isn’t to scare anyone, but to emphasize that clean water is something you do want to shoot for.
These ‘WHAT IFS” also have a tendancy to drain us emotionaly, physically and financialy. Don’t forget to breath folks. Prepare the best you can, but don’t forget your loved ones need your attention as well. We can do only what we can do. It’ll come soon enough. Right now I’m sitting here planning tomorrows jobs, got a Jack Daniels in my hand, sure would like a good cigar (much to the Missus displeasure)maybe get a couple for the weekend. Gonna work on the last minor details of the chicken coop, weed the garden, pull some sweet corn, plant some blackberry plants I bought, and clean the shop. Plenty to do without worrying what Washington has in store for me.
Couldn’t agree more. Don’t forget to live and have fun, even when you’re working.
Po’dpatriot and Charlie,
Yes, I also agree with both of you. As Christians we have an obligation to look out for others as well as ourselves. Yes, kill the Zombies that are causing trouble, but just remember that many of us have soon to be Zombies within our own families — our own children, grandchildren, friends, and other family members. They’re not bad, they’re just naive, ignorant, and ill informed. I wouldn’t want some over zealous Prepper killing my family just because they’re hungry/thirsty and knocking on the door for help. Keep in mind that at the end of our lives we have to answer for our actions to a GOD that will be very angry with an uncaring, unloving attitude toward the ill prepared and/or ignorant, especially from those of us that profess a belief in GOD. Remember the Golden Rule: Treat other’s as you would want to be treated yourself. I hope that if I hold out a helping hand to as many Zombies as I can then maybe, God willing, someone will hold out a helping hand to my loved ones. You must give, if you expect to receive. Personally, I probably won’t need to receive anything from anybody, but I would like to know that my loved ones will meet good people that will help them when the time comes.
Notwithstanding what I just said, I don’t plan on being naive and I don’t plan on letting people take advantage of me. Be as gentle as a dove and as wise as a fox is an old biblical saying and is a good way to live your life.
Personally, I plan on giving the Zombies (that do not represent a threat) beans/rice/bread, but keep the SPAM and other goodies for myself.
Amen brother, somethines it can get a bit heavy this weight we bear for our families and loved ones even those that choose to live this life of luxury to the end.
Nobody needs to die; simply ax Obama for some help outta his stash.
He’s gonna pay my house note and put gas in my car!!!!!
I don’t think he likes clearing brush for the wood pile like Bush too while on vacation at Martha’s vineyard while congress is getting paid over time. The “bravest” people in the world are buying greek bonds and running for office in u.s. You are not talking about drugs or cutting down cherry trees are you.
Hey T and sanityjones… of course you are both right, but you are fortunate that you aren’t in my situation. Many years, and many backstabbings and many hurts have brought me into my world. I sure ain’t saying my world is wonderful, just that this is how it is where I live. I would LOVE to find worthy people, honest people ready to give to deserving people. Deep down, that is how I am. I just exist in a pocket of no goods. Thank you, tho!
emptyhandkiller,
Sorry to hear that. When I don’t know what to do to correct a situation, I’ve found that an honest prayer will help you figure out a solution to the problem. Not always does it work, but it has helped enough times that I believe in getting on my knees and admitting to the Lord that I just don’t have a clue.
I’ll include you in my prayers tonight! You do the same and if it helps make sure you give thanks. May the Lord be with you.
Before I was worthy, honest and helpful I was a no good. There is hope, always.
It would be gripping fascinating to observe natural Selection once again start thinning out the human herd. However this time on a far grander scale then before. Not even in their darkest recesses of their mind’s can they really…truly grasp it’s dark a brutal reality. History tells them how brutal and wicked war can be but, most know little of history. For generations and generations they have been controlled and conditioned, by their Lords the (Elite).
Easy&Cheap Food, housing, entertainment, travel, & access to most anything the can dream of…any luxury. They’ve become domesticated waiting for there masters to feed them. Like domesticated chickens, Look up in a heavy rain and they will drown for they know nothing of rain, only food and water they know is safely delivered to them with out hardship or risk.
How much hardship and risk do you think will befall those who know nothing of growing or raising and killing there own food???
They will fall back on the Elite to same them …and give up any freedoms they had for the false promise of safety!
The 4 most likely ways to die in (SHTF)!
1. Natural selection …you know naturally stupid!!!
2. war
3. sickness and disease
4. starvation
URI? Forget it. They say you can make a gallon of weak (5ppm) that will kick any colds butt in 2 days for about a nickel. Supposedly cures pneumonia too. Its said that its pretty amazing stuff if properly used. Most people don’t know about it. Makes skin wounds in days instead of weeks by some accounts. Sterile, painless, promotes healing, many miraculous claims. Look it up. Google “collodial silver” (…its really “colloidal” but they all call it collodial…)
…of course thats just what they tell me. If the FDA catches you promoting it, they’ll put you in jail. Don’t want the sheople keeping themselves healthing at the expense of big pharma, you know.
I’ve *NEVER* used it for 15 years. You’d be much better off sucking mercury and chemicals into your body that will do who knows what than colloidal silver, right?
😉
Collidol Silver should not be ingested, but only used topically. It can also be used as a nasal spray effectively, as that is a route for germs into the body.
We drink it every day, a teaspoon
Heavy metals collect in the body and do damage over time. Mercury can be absorbed through the skin my touching it or ingested as a gas if you need to use mercury, for say, gold processing and do not have a good retort. It will make you “mad as a hatter” because it will affect your brain cells.
C. silver will turn your skin blue and may cause organ failure.
Check WebMD, wiki, and other health blogs.
I mixed a teaspoon of colloidal silver with a fifth of Jack Daniels. I got sick when I drank it. ??
Try Irish whiskey for the germs inside.
NetRanger,
My ex-wife used to give my daughter the coloidial silver (spelling??) everyday and she’s a mess, healthwise. Diabetic, asmhatic, lymphedema, a twisted gut. Not saying it was the coloidial silver, but it sure didn’t help my daughter.
Who knows?
I know “alternative” medicine is big with this crowd and nothing I say will change it, but please guys, be careful.
http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/PhonyAds/silverad.html
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-skeptic9-2009feb09,0,2063918.story
Sorry your daughter is messed up. I can see where if your ex-wife thought all your daughter needed was collodial silver and neglected other treatments, well, then that could have been a factor. Going overboard on anything is il-advised.
No one (well, few) recommend it CS as daily internal supplement. If they do, its in VERY SMALL amounts, however, many claim that the “bluebloods” that survived many plagues in the past and ate off of silver had so much silver that they had a blueish tinge. ..and its why they survived. Certainly logic would dictate that small amounts for short periods of time would be safe internally.
But, regardless, you wouldn’t take penecillin every day if you didn’t need it would you? Thats just dumb. Now, understand, silver, like many other things, is a trace mineral. You need small amounts of it. Just like copper and chromium and, yes, mercury. However, going overboard on one thing can be deadly.
Some say a slight buildup of silver is healthy. Its not like other metals in its class. It dissipates. Research proves it. For me, topically, it has done wonders and magical stuff. Unbelievable stuff: cuts that heal in a couple days. I mean *NASTY* stuff. Its not like Painkiller Jane, but bordering on it. Vitamin D3, Calcium, Vitamin C, Collodial Silver. Thats whats on my shelf.
Food ..of any kind will surpass the value of gold , and silver
Duram wheat out of the Dakotas is down to 1959 year levels
Due to floods..same with many other mass crop planting in the south
And mid west ..a shit ton of land is under water
More than just a tight year is coming
Another 44 million people forced into poverty , just due to food prices
bo bo is on vacation eating a what-a-burger.
I hope he chokes on the pickle
Was in central OH last week and many cornfields were six (or fewer) inches tall. Few had any chance of being “knee high by the fourth of July”. Saw many that had not been planted, probably because of wet conditions.
So if clorine bleach degrades at about 20% a YEAR and your unscented bleach is more than 5% concentrate it means that after a YEAR your clorine bleach is still more than 4% concentrate. DUH!
Use a little more bleach, store tap water in CLEAR 2 or 3 liter soda bottles and store in sunlight. Your water may be warm but it will be safe.
If you generate water from ANY natural source, consider it contaminated. Jimmy Hoffa, an Illegal or a “blue helmet” may be at the bottom of that well or resevoir.
Sodium hypoclorate has been known to decompose while stored, releasing clorine gas, which can be very fatal, very quickly. If you store SH, store it outside in a locked storage locker with lots of venilation at the top of thge locker or shed. Do not store it in the house or basement.
You could wake up dead.
But, isn’t the heat in the storage shed even more dangerous for the SH???
Move your storage shed to a shady side of the house. SH should be stored in a cool, dry, venilated place; which sounds like a basement, but if it were to decompose there, the fumes would leak into the house, and you and your family could wake up dead.
You wouldn’t like that, I know, because I went through the gas chamber 3 times in less than two years.
If you insist upon storing SH, and you live in a warm location like the SW deserts, use an outside “root cellar”. If you don’t have one dig one (deep enough)and put the SH, well sealed in its original container, into a plastic bucket and bury it until needed.
Understand that if it decomposes in the bucket you could get a big whiff of gas when you open it. Plan accordingly. Bleach doesn’t decompose into gas if properly stored at room temperature, and gets less potent over time. Caution is always advised when using chemicals.
Check with OSHA for further details.
http://www.osha.gov
NaOCl is the chemistry term.
Household bleach sold for use in laundering clothes is a 3-6% solution of sodium hypochlorite at the time of manufacture. Strength varies from one formulation to another and gradually decreases with long storage.
A 12% solution is widely used in waterworks for the chlorination of water, and a 15% solution is more commonly used for disinfection of waste water in treatment plants. High-test hypochlorite (HTH) is sold for chlorination of swimming pools and contains approximately 30% calcium hypochlorite. The crystalline salt is also sold for the same use; this salt usually contains less than 50% of calcium hypochlorite. However, the level of active chlorine may be much higher.
the wanna be John Wayne and clean water are two of my biggest fears!
Big Duke is dead & you like dirty water out of a hoof print and you’re proud of it?
the mentally handicapped will be extremely vulnerable.
JANE!
ROTFLOL! Jane isn’t mentally handicapped she just needs to stay on her Lithium so the side effects don’t leak into her posts.
Isn’t that a water proof lubricant?
I took chemistry. May I help?
ROFLMFAO…….yupper!
you people are cruel. damned funny, but cruel!
So long as we’re not damned cruel and only funny.
Sunlight destroys germs in water.
That’s why they put beer in dark glass & fridge.
To what extent, and over what duration? Water sitting in the sun also turns green after a while, so some things are being promoted to grow. Does the algae or whatever start growing right away, and it just takes a while for it to accumulate to a visible level? Is there a tradeoff exposure time for dead germs / algae growth?
If you used a solar oven to batch heat water, why not use a turkey thermometer to tell you when its done? A turkey thermometer pops off at 185 degrees, so the water would be Pasteurized without wasting the energy / time to boil it.
Is the turkey thermometer reusable if you push the indicator back down before the wax re-solidifies?
To what extent, and over what duration? Water sitting in the sun also turns green after a while, so some things are being promoted to grow. Does the algae or whatever start growing right away, and it just takes a while for it to accumulate to a visible level? Is there a tradeoff exposure time for dead germs / algae growth?
If you used a solar oven to batch heat water, why not use a turkey thermometer to tell you when its done? A turkey thermometer pops off at 185 degrees, so the water would be Pasteurized without wasting the energy / time to boil it.
Is the turkey thermometer reusable if you push the indicator back down before the wax re-solidifies?
If you have used filtration, chemicals, and sunlight to treat your water, I don’t see how algae would grow. If it still grows after all that I would be more afraid of it than a zombie hord.
SHTF Water says sit your treated water in the sun for a reasonable amount of time as sunlight activates the oxygen and destroys germs. If you live in the desert it doesn’t take long. If you live in a northern climate it would take hours.
Distilled water is the best water. Check with Country Girl for the still, she has one filled with mash down in the hollow.
Point of order: many forms of algae thrive in sunlight, and many pathogens are fairly unaffected by whatever UV rays the sun naturally produces.
UV rays will kill many pathogens (e.g. salmonella), but to get nearly all of them you would have to amp up the UV factor by a *lot*. A tanning bed might do it, and commercial UV disinfectant rigs are IIRC quite a bit higher still.
Your best bet post-SHTF is to use the water as you filter it, or at you can make small daily/weekly batches (either through the filter, or up from a well). Letting it sit around for long periods of time, especially under reduced sanitation conditions, is just begging for trouble.
Google SODIS. Not as good as boiling, but quite effective.
Like the Chinese saying goes “do what is difficult while it is still easy”.
Don’t bother with strange contraptions, just drop a little money now and get a gravity water filter.
No electric
No pumping
No worries.
My Berkey needs:
no electricity
no pumping
Folks, Farm and Fleet sells veterinary antibiotics for extremely cheap.
I am still waiting to see Jane use the Dong, Comon already use it, Jane!
I’m sure that the Big Berkey and other large gravity type water filters work very well sitting there on a picnic table. But you arent’t going to get very far attempting to carry it any distance …. they are simply to large and bulkey.
For those who insist on playing with water heaters and making your own charcoal, etc. ……….. please have a lot of fun and be sure and enjoy yourself; work safely.
For the rest of you, please take a look at the Katadyn Combi-Filter. They cost less than $175.00 and will mechanically purify over 13,ooo gallons of water through a ceramic filter and an activated carbon cartridge. The US Army Special Forces swear by them for procucing safe, clean tasting water from your closest mud puddle. It weighs less than 2 lbs. and fits into a very small apace in your pack, comes in its own zippered bag, approx. 4″ in diameter x 15″ tall. Be a big spender and also order the optional o-ring repair kit for around $10.00.
Clean Water, or the lack of it, is already becoming a big issue in many parts of the United States. I want something for my family that I know is going to work because it is used and recommended by those that I respect.
Boiling works well to pruify water, as long as you have the fuel for a fire, large container, etc. required. Let it settle first and then strain it through the cleanest cotton material that you have to remove all turbidity. That’s also assuming that you aren’t trying to refrain from lighting a fire so as not to attract attention from curious/prying eyes.
This is one item that you really don’t want to
‘Cheap-Charlie’ on.
God Bless and good luck to all.
MM, thanks for the heads up!
MM: That’s a good suggestion for those with the money, but for others without money like BJ, a “homemade” can be organized cheaply.
A 4″ pool filter to eliminate particles can be purchased for $5 to $20 and placed in a PVC pipe. It can be reused over and over and over again to remove paticulates.
Water can then be passed through a good commercial filter at Loews for $14 and if anyone wanted they could purify it farther for less than $35 TOTAL.
Each componet is less than a foot long and you could quench the thirst of an ARMY with it.
I agree that investing in something like a Katadyn TRK or similar filter is well worth it. I need to get some extra filters for mine. Knowing how to make a filter is a good idea and a homemade unit beats a blank, but I know the Kat is about as good as it gets. I have a small Kat for portability. If you have to run it would be a tossup whether it is more valuable than a gun, because without clean water you will die anyway.
Unscented bleach is cheap and a little goes a long way.
All information is good to have, you just have to sift through it to segregate the informaion that applies to you.
There are lots of websites out there with FREE information available for the taking, including pdf formatted US military manuals, and how to information on every subject including first aid.
I have an external harddrive with all the info that I have acquired. I print about 5% for quick, immediate reference right out of the bookshelf.
“But you arent’t going to get very far attempting to carry it any distance …. they are simply to large and bulkey.”
To an extent, and to be fair, you’re absolutely right.
OTOH, my own little rigging was put together with the following assumptions:
* scalability. A 2-liter bottle, length of fat PVC pipe, or an unused hot water tank… pretty much works the same way. The only diff is in how much water you can filter in a given amount of time.
* availability of resources. Aside from making the charcoal yourself (a fairly simple technology), nearly everything you need is pretty easy to get hold of and assemble.
* ease of use. Gravity does all the work – you just have to get the water into the top.
* longevity. This is the most important bit: 20 years from the SHTF event, how many unused and/or usable ceramic water filter rigs will you be able to lay hands on?
IMHO, a hand-pumped well at your BOL is your absolute best bet. The water will be naturally clean if the well is deep enough, and in many areas the supply is assured. It’s certainly not portable, but it is the best option long-term.
That said, if you have to filter it, then you can go either way. Personally, I tend to think long-term.
One bit to note: Yes, making one’s own charcoal can be dangerous – you’re literally playing with fire to do it. OTOH, it’ll likely rank as a normal thing considering all the other stuff you’re going to have to do to survive long-term.
Perhaps the difference in planning is in what you and I consider to be long-term…
Me, I think that a true SHTF situation can be broken down into two different categories:
* local/regional SHTF situations that will rectify themselves after a year at the most. I suspect that half the folks who read this site consider this time frame, but no other. I call this short-term.
* permanent SHTF situations that will set back technology and progress for decades, if not centuries. Situations that will, for all intents and purposes, last for the rest of your (and my) life.
When I do my preps, I tend to plan for both – supplies for the short-term, and knowledge, tools and ingenuity to help with the long-term.
I have to laugh when I hear people use the word “Zombie”, as if it’s some alien creature hell bent on creating havoc where ever it finds itself gnashing it’s rotten teeth, foaming at the mouth, worthy of getting it’s brains blown out at the slightest provocation. The reality is, under the “right” conditions everyone has the potential to be a Zombie, including everyone who posts here. In fact, I would say this website has more potential latent Zombies festering just below the surface than most blogs. The pictures that preppers paint of themselves; being self reliant, self sufficient, off the grid, self contained and armed to the gills (while teaching their grandchildren how to become expert snipers) ready for anything or anybody, are delusional at best.
Everyone is on the cusp between the walking living and the walking dead. All it takes is a split second lapse in awareness and “boom” it’s body and mind snatching time.
Somebody swoops in out of no where and takes all your “provisions”, rapes you and your wife, leaving you both emotionally, mentally and physically crippled and empty handed, voila, you be a zombie!
Everyone is that close. EVERYONE.
Yes, we like to think we are tough shit, the real mad max, in black leather, when the going goes thermonuclear nasty, but really, it’s all talk and mostly bull shit. Where as the Zombie is that brain dead, badass vermin and we are the hero good guys capable of saintly but lethal actions in times of great chaos, the reality is, STRESS AND FEAR will be our worst adversaries. It’s the stress and fear that create fertile ground for the cultivation of mental and emotional breakdown, leading to “mindless” behavior and glitches in our logic and rationale. That’s what a Zombie is, right? Someone with out a mind, mindless. Well, turn up the stress and fear factor and the conditions are ripe for people to go absolutely nuts, out of their minds, and that, by far, will be the most dangerous dis-ease coming down the road. In fact, that will set the stage for decisions that lack clarity and better judgement; when the mind goes so goes the health of the entire body.
If any of you are afraid now, you are in a world trouble because you already have a distinct disadvantage. We haven’t seen nothing yet. When the volume gets turned up, those who can’t maintain their sanity will loose it, no matter how much food and ammo and self sustaining provisions they have.
Once your fear level starts to blow circuits in the system, stress grows exponentially and the wiring fry’s all the systems subtle bodily functions capable of maintaining balance. When that occurs then we have that fertile ground for the body’s immune system to systematically short out, sputter and tank.
Yes, as Rachel says “the mentally handicapped will be extremely vulnerable”. That be all of us.
So, this Zombie walks into a bar……………
So “what” does the Zombie order?
A Zombie, duh…
http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink624.html
does he still have the bump on his head?
he needs to watch where he’s going
Confessions of A Latent Zombie (or not)
EA- your remark about people who say they are ‘training their grandchildren to be snipers’ was probably referring to an earlier post of mine. Even though it was obviously said in jest, I must admit, it was inappropriate and a poor choice of words by me. ‘Sniper’ and ‘children’ are terms that don’t belng together, even as a joke. I wouldn’t want anyone to think I would do that. I’m teaching her to plink with a .22 rifle. Nothing more.
Now to your larger point. You say stress and fear will turn anybody into a zombie. That’s probably true under the right circumstances. With a big enough trauma, almost anyone would crack. But that’s the whole idea of preparing for shtf-to reduce the odds of enduring such a trauma. We can’t eliminate the possibility but we can reduce the odds a bit.
And I think you mischaracterize most of us as paranoid rambo-wannabes. We aren’t really. Most reasonable prepping has a practical use in our everyday lives even if the s never htf. We’re canning food, stocking up on tuna and toilet paper when it’s on sale, and growing a garden. We’re not fondling our high capacity magazines and wearing our kevlar pajamas while watching Red Dawn for the 100th time. Honestly, most of us don’t do that. In fact I don’t even remember where my kevlar pj’s are!
And you say fear leads to mental/emotional trouble that leads to zombification(is that even a word?) I don’t dispute that that could happen but as a Christian I think there is an alternative. This life isn’t all there is. And the One who made me, and the One who redeemed me has promised me an eternal life that’s infinitely better than this one. Believing that, I recognize the transitory nature of all material possessions (even preps) and I believe if ones faith is strong enough they can endure quite a bit of trauma and not become a zombie. I’m not saying I want to die in a horrible way (I don’t) but knowing my next life is guaranteed by my Savior, I don’t have near as much to fear today or after shtf. End of sermon. Sorry, I got carried away. Must be that Holy Spirit thing.
*obviously that last paragraph was intended to hijack yet another thread into a religious discussion- happens every time doesn’t it?*
I think that last post awoke my recombanant gene splicing flux capacitor for latent zombification transformation.
I think…
SmokinOkie,
I sympathize with your Christian “sermon”. Being a Christian does make it alot easier to find peace in this crazy period of time we live. We know that no matter what happens our Lord has won the war. Knowing that makes it easier to accept what is happening in this world.
Ditto what Okie said.
Yup, this place gets its share of magazine-stroking wannabes, but most of us are a *lot* more circumspect and forward-looking than that.
Honestly, OP is right – post SHTF, one incident can leave you firmly up shit creek. OTOH, taking some basic precautions can reduce that chance to pretty low levels.
If you live out in a smaller town, and have a little land to till, you’re infinitely better off than some non-prepped guy and his wife living in a downtown high-rise.
The first step to avoiding zombiehood involves one of two things: Lots of luck, or lots of preparation. If I were you, I’d take the option that I did and avoid relying on luck.
It also requires one big, fat ingredient: a community. Anyone who thinks they can hold off alone had either be the world’s greatest badass in everyone’s opinion, or live in the remotest, most isolated parts of the world. Unless your name is Jean Claude Van Damme and you live in Siberia? You’re not badassed or remote enough.
Yep – all it takes is one incident. Just like it takes only one lightning strike, or one heart attack, or one meteor strike on your house. It’s part of life. Personally, I’m crazy enough to entertain the idea that if I’m going to face a strong potential of death due to another’s actions, I prefer to die fighting.
This doesn’t make me a badass, but with enough intelligence and from knowledge of human psychology, I believe that potential raiders aren’t going to think that I’m worth the effort, and would prefer to seek easier prey.
After all, in an ideal setup, the raiders would have to waste a ton of resources to get out to me, get past me *and* my community, and all that to get resources that may or may not be there *if* they succeed in sufficient numbers to take advantage of it. Meanwhile, they’d have to pass a lot of other towns, all of whom are not really going to put up with such behavior.
I did some water filtration and chemical treatment research for our MAG. Here are a few of the easiest and least expensive options.
This is a ceramic water filter that Cheaper Than Dirt offers for $29.95. It includes the filter, a filter sock and a pep cock. This and a pair of Homer buckets or the like from Home Depot and you have a cheap version of a Berkey Water filter.
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/SearchResults.aspx?catid=6576&site=All+Products&num=15&q=water+filter
Here are a couple of chemical treatments. There are several kinds of pool chlorine/shock, make sure you get the Calcium Hypochlorite!
Chemical Treatment #1
Granular Calcium Hypochlorite
Using granular Calcium Hypochlorite to disinfect water is a 2 step process
1 – Make a stock of chlorine solution – Dissolve 1 heaping teaspoon of hi-test granular
Calcium Hypochlorite in two gallons (8 liters) of water
2 – Disinfect water by adding one part of the Chlorine solution to 100 parts of water to be treated. Note: Let mixture sit for at least one-half hour before drinking
Sources
Locally available at swimming pool supply stores, one pound bag for roughly $5.
Chemical Treatment #2
Liquid Chlorine Bleach
Any brand of 5.25% or 6% sodium hypochlorite (chlorine) like Ultra Clorox that contains no soap, fragrance or phosphates. Do not use scented bleach.
2 quarts – 4 drops or 1/8 teaspoon
1 gallon – 8 drops or ¼ teaspoon
5 gallon – ½ teaspoon
Let the water stand for 30 minutes, Test for Free Chlorine with a residual odor. The water should have a slight chlorine odor. If it does not, add the same amount of bleach again and let the water stand for another 15 minutes
The CTD unit is not as fine as the KAT, but looks like it will keep out the vast majority of bad guys. Hard to imagine that you can build a better unit at home for less than $40 (including the cost of buckets).
It’s always amazes me how people refuse to see the darker side of their humanity. In reality most spend more time in the dark then they do the light…but, they always run for the light when they realize they are alone, and they run! but, what is that light? Where they not happier in the dark?
Speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil….but, in the dark you will wake up to the smell of it!
Mushrooms flourish in the dark!!!
Ooops! Doc. says it’s time to take your pill…
I’m just F*%king with all of you…:)
some people will embrace the dark…….for cover
and Im not F$%king with you
and still some cops are out of control
hey you cops need to start policing your selfs better..your creating your own hell when it comes, and dont come crying to me..
check out how they still have the cop under “admin leave”..Now Aint that some shit?
http://detnews.com/article/20110701/METRO01/107010387/1409/rss36
Wow, that’s odd that something like that happened in Detroit!
Its a slow lingering death
http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/01/news/economy/minnesota_government_budget/index.htm?hpt=hp_t2
Hahhahhaaha..guess the truth hurts
(CNN) – MSNBC contributor Mark Halperin was suspended indefinitely Thursday from the cable network after calling President Obama a “d**k.”
Most of the media doesn’t want to touch it or let you comment on it. Isn’t this hot dog month. If Fox can hire liberals, they need to hire him.
Believe it or not, ol’ Jon Stewart had a piece on that…
I wonder what Jon will do if/when the SHTF?
No matter – when Mark said that, I couldn’t help but laugh my ass off.
Is this rat leaving the sinking ship?
Tim Geithner considering leaving White House
Tim Geithner is considering leaving his post as Secretary of the Treasury after a deal to raise the debt ceiling is reached, a source familiar with the discussion told CNN Thursday. Geithner is the lone remaining member of President Obama’s original economic team.
Yep, all of the idiots that said that spending money and goind deeper in national debt was the solution to too much spending and too much debt have left the President’s economic team. Timmy G. will be the last. The rats leaving the ship before it sinks. What a bunch of clowns.
Even a 3 year old knows our current economic policies are not going to work. More spending/debt to solve too much spending/debt. Geez, what a bunch of idiots.
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (dim lib) went on vacation last night. No longer able to kick can down road. Couldn’t see over the horizon and balance states books.
Time to bring in the jack boots for some serious can kicking. I’m sure the MN taxpayers can give a little more with a bit of persuasion.
I’ve come to the conclusion that the only way the SHTF going to happen here in the U.S. is through various cataclysmic natural disasters. It it obvious and apparent that the sheeple will not awaken and even the ones that are awake, won’t do anything about this current corrupt system. The economy and financial system won’t collapse on its own here in the U.S. because of the Fed and its magical printing press.
Here are some key points of nonsense that people spewed about over the past few years:
• War with Iran (nothing has happened)
• False Flag event (it has been 10 years after 9/11, it is safe to say that 9/11 was the final false flag)
• Bank holiday (that was said around November 2010 and complete dud)
• U.S. Dollar losing its reserve status (with U.S. military pointing guns, missles and nukes to the entire world, no one dares to dump the U.S. dollar)
• Comet Elenin/Niburu/etc. smacking the Earth into oblivion (the last time that happened was millions of years ago)
• Major natural disaster in the U.S. such as mega quake via New Madrid/San Andreas/Yellowstone (still asleep as usual and probably dorment forever)
• Cosmic flares/CME (the chances of one hitting the Earth is equivalent to you winning the power ball lottery twice)
• Food shortages (when you have McDonalds, you don’t need to grow or farm food. GMO foods are created in labs, it’ll keep us alive)
You are a Nice Shill. False Flags are happening every month, Nuclear Plants Suddenly in trouble in the US as well as Japan. War in 5 countries now, Syria and Iran will be next, Bank Holiday Later this year, Dollar is toast will be done by 2012, Food Shortages for sure as middle of the Food Belt is mostly Flooded now, Farmers Fleeing their farms and land cannot be used for 3 years, food shortages by the end of this year, you are a Moron and cant see paat your own nose.
I’m not worried, Obama will take care of me. He’s got a nice FEMA camp for me to go to. It even has barbed wire facing inward so I won’t be tempted to leave and go out where it is dangerous.
Barack Hussein Obama, Mmmmm, mmmmm, mmmmm!!!!!
Odd Questioner, or anyone else. A question about the sand for the homemade water filter. Can I use silicon sand? It’s really fine grained. I didn’t know if it had any unpleasant properties. Thanks for any help.
Heh – most sand types are all silicon-based. 🙂
If you’re not sure, wash it first. That, or make it a policy to run a batch (or two?) of water through first, then discard those batches.
Here are a couple websites with some helpful information about medicinal uses of plants.
Type in “medicinal uses” in the search bar at http://www.offthegridnews.com
A number of common plants and their uses will come up.
This year I have planted many of these plants (herbs, flowers) with medicinal uses in the garden, so I will be familiar with growing them now.
Plantain – Medicinal Uses
Plantain is a common weed that grows around here and can be used to treat snake bites, bee stings, spider bites and even severe blood poisoning.
Select “herbal medicine” at http://www.thepreparedhomemaker.blogspot.com/
I print out the information about these plants and include a picture of it on the page. I have put all this in a binder. I also print out extra copies (for a binder) for both of my children.
KY Mom,
I’ve been researching herbs and essential oils for several months now. The best website I have found to buy herbs at good prices is http://www.bulkherbstore.com/?id=4QFNcIDS
They have darn near everything, they even have the empty capsules, strainers, dropper bottles for making tinctures. The thing I really like about this site is the search menu, type in a condition or an herbal action and it gives you links to all of the pages on their site that relate to that action. Great resource.
I make about 10 different powered herbs into capsules that my wife and I take daily. I also make two herbal teas for my hypertension and her thyroid condition. We are treating both these problem with fantastic success.
My doctor was shocked when I was able to get off my BP med after 90 days of being on my herbal regimen. My wife was back at the gym after just a couple weeks of being on the herbs and oils. She feels better and stronger than she has in years. She is in her mid 50’s and still runs 5-6 miles.
I can’t say enough about this as a modern day survival prep. Once TSHTF and the drug stores run out of drugs, this is the only option we will have. Better learn how to use them now, learn to grow them, make tinctures, salves, poultices.
I built a spread sheet with data I have pulled from half dozen books and about that many web sites. I share this with people in my MAG. We have a medical team that is researching all aspects of medical supplies and alternative medicines. Two of them just wrote a fantastic paper on Radiation protocols.
Some great books on herbs, anyone looking into this should have these 4 books in their library.
Herbal Antibiotics – Stephen Buhner
The Green Pharmacy Herbal Handbook – James Duke
The How to Herb Book – Velma Keith
Practical Herbalism – Philip Fritchey
OkPrepper,
Thank you for the information. I am new to gardening and herbs – only second year for a garden. So, I am learning.
I used diatomaceous earth (food grade) in the garden this year. I mixed it in with the soil where I planted things. Very few bugs!
They sell it at our local Feed store. I got a 50 pound bag. I also read where this is used to store grains, as a dewormer & more.
“Excavated diatomaceous earth is sold in two forms: industrial and food-grade. Industrial- grade diatomaceous earth is made for commercial products, and most often in pool filters. You need to buy food-grade diatomaceous earth for both dietary additive and pest control for pets and in gardens.
Food-grade diatomaceous earth is an excellent cleansing additive for digestion and colon health. It helps get rid of parasites by gently scrubbing the intestines, and is extremely absorbent so it gathers up bacteria, virus, fungi and detoxifies the system by getting rid of buildups of pesticide, metals and drugs (prescription or otherwise) in the system.”
Thanks again!
KY Mom
If the president was a boy scout, we would be better off.
after calling President Obama a “d**k.”
AND???
OKprepper–can I suggest storing Tang for two purposes??
1) gives you Vitamin C
2) takes the unpleasant taste from treated water
Happy christian day—oooops, can I say that here??
Wow, can you still buy Tang? 🙂 Thanks for the idea. Would be a long lasting prep.
I have several herbs that I use to flavor water if the taste is bad. I have a solar powered water well at my BOL and a Big Berkey to handle the filtration for the drinking water.
Well, if you cannot find tang, I suspect that koolaid would work (I know, bring on the puns…)
Quiz: Under what president was the Patriot Act and the TSA created?
Charlie,
Many of us are so beyond the party thing. Left/right. Democrat/Republican. They are both the same any more. Yes, George Bush was not a good guy, neither is the current president, most throughout history have not done good things for this county. Until you realize that, you are just one of the puppets.
That’s all I wanted to hear:)
OK Prepper is right – they *all* suck.
What current president continued it along with health care?
exactly, and a shit load of other ..shit
We don’t have enough time/space to go into ALL of the others.
When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty.
Thomas Jefferson
This doom and gloom talk here is just nuts. Instead of thinking about how to fix the problem, many choose to succumb to it, dig in and try to survive the fallout. American spirit is dead. Its “fight or flight”. people.
Mr G
I’ll agree, the American spirit or at least what it used to be is dead, in the democratic party. I have been fighting the fight for the past 3 years, Tea Parties, 912 Project, fighting to wake people up to the problems we face. They just don’t want to hear it. They want to live in their McMansion and watch their big screen TV and play golf or ride the bicycles and preach peace benevolence.
(My 2 brothers)
When you open your eyes to what they are doing to us, what their plans are for the American people, you have no choice but to prepare. It’s prepare or die. You will realize that fact someday, hopefully for your sake before it’s too late. Yes we continue to fight, but we prepare at the same time.
You want to truly get your eyes opened? Do two things.
Take 3 hours and watch Crash Course at Chrismartenson.com
Do that and read the book The Creature from Jekyll Island. Do those two things and then come back here and tell us we are not doing the right thing by preparing.
OK Prepper: For anyone who watches Chris Matenson’s Crash Course and reads The Creature from Jekyll Island and is still not awakened, here are two more things to do. Watch the 2 1/2 video of of Lindsey Williams talking about the middle east. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFBI1bzWzJ4
And read the complete screenplay of Pulling Through, based on James Wesley Rawles novel, Patriots. Link: http://www.rawles.to/Screenplay.html
Both of these are free with no log in. These four things will take some time but the combined wisdom and information will be life changing. It’s not about fear, it’s about preparing for the unknown, stacking the deck in your favor, gaining confidence, protecting loved ones, and in doing so, making the world a little better.
And if that doesn’t work just go down to the store and pay $10.99 for ONE piece of antibiotic laden meat for a 4th of July Barbecue. I about crapped myself; suppose I’ll eat antibiotic laden chicken instead.
Yeah, Crhis Martenson’s Crash Course is definitely worth watching.
Also check out “The Money Masters” on youtube.com. It’s an eye opening documentary about our debt based money system. As a former banker I’m fairly well versed in our fractional reserve fiat money banking system, but this movie pulls it all together in one easy to watch video.
If you REALLY want to be informed about our bankster money and banking system this is the movie to watch. I can verify that it is 100% true and factual, not hype!
What you say is very confusing. You want to fix what while you are fight or flight?
http://wills-sfmedic.blogspot.com/2010/10/survive-final-manmade-or-environmental.html?spref=bl
Great article, it ain’t all about shooting mutant zombie bikers gangs.
Goog article. Just remember that before 1947 (penicillin) there wasn’t squat for antibiotics.
In the civil war, the most common treatment for a gunshot wound to the extremities was amputation. The problem was time and debridement of the wound. Remember that bullets were lubed with rancid animal fat. Hence the term “sawbones” to describe efficient doctors as those who did fast amputations. BTW think about this debridement issue and the good reason for wearing clean clothes. Imagine the mess inside a wound from dirty, greasy cloth being driven into the wound.
Ever hear of paregoric? Tincture of opium used to control diarrhea. I’m not advocating anyone growing poppies. Just that it was commonly used until the Drug Control Act forced its removal from the market. Then there is the pain management issue to consider. Extreme pain can lead to shock and shock kills.
Project Unity can help!
This website is still in it’s baby stages but it’s going to be a really useful tool when SHTF. It’s got some great features, including anyone who joins can post Blogs about what’s going on in their area, make friends and interact with fellow ‘awaken’ cyber neighbors, even form your own survival clan!
I can promise you this website will only get bigger, I’m in the process of moving all the blogs from RealitySlapNOW even worldwidewakeupNOW over to the blogging section of this website. Gimme a week or two to get everything over the web will be fantastic, informative and very useful
http://worldwidewakeupnowprojectunity.ning.com/
PS, the products Mac has listed here can keep you safe through ALL of those ‘likely ways to die’, we’ve got the same over at our websites. It’s a choice, you DON’T have to die if you don’t want to and prepare for it in the right way