Here we are in 2012 already. Those of you aware of the Mayan calendar (and who isn’t anymore) may be wondering about that. I am too – but being prepared this year doesn’t automatically make you someone who thinks the world is going to end in December. Last year holds the record for the costliest year of natural disasters since records have been kept. Already in 2012, bizarre weather patterns are erupting around the globe – whether it’s El Nino or Planet X, it doesn’t really matter. And earthquakes can happen anytime, anywhere. Being prepared for any emergency means keeping your loved ones safe as best you can.
In Hawaii, a mainland disaster – say, a massive earthquake on the west coast for example, could easily threaten our shipping schedules. And we know all too well how tsunamis can travel thousands of miles very quickly. Having extra medicines, toilet paper, and some storable food and water should be a given, living out here in the middle of the Pacific. Recently we’ve been researching some further detailed items we think are worthy of consideration, depending on your budget and personal concerns.
Figure if the shipping gets halted for any reason, fossil fuels will run out in a few days. Consider having a bicycle with a cargo attachment to get around. And, nowadays you can do a lot with solar power. If you have the money, investing in a solar generator of any size is not a bad idea. You can run out of gas – but (God willing!) the sun will always be there. Beyond that larger expense, there are smaller items to consider. D.light has some pretty nifty solar lanterns for sale on Amazon. We got some and have been using them in the evenings on our lanai. Plenty kine light and no electricity usage! There are also all kinds of solar and crank powered flashlights, battery chargers and shortwave radios that won’t break the bank. We have accumulated some of these over the past couple of years and store them in a small, cardboard-lined steel garbage can. Think of it like a poor man’s Faraday cage – if there were an EMP flash (read One Second After – this is a very real concern) it might protect some electronics. They need to be stored somewhere anyway where they are easy to organize and quick to access.
Vegetable seeds – non-hybrid, heirloom seeds – are another important consideration, even if you don’t have a garden right now. Buy a sealed emergency seed kit or vacuum seal them up yourself and stick them in the fridge. Ya never know.
Toilet paper – very important. That is typically the first thing to disappear from store shelves when shipping goes down, I can say from having lived through a strike here years ago. That’s also why having extra rice, pasta, canned foods and things like dehydrated mashed potatoes and dried beans are also good things to have extra of in the pantry. And be sure you can cook them without electricity – or gas for that matter, which again, could eventually run out. Camping stoves and grills are compact and inexpensive. And water – whether you buy cases from Costco or go for a larger catchment tank or barrel, if the grid went down, depending on where you live that is the most important consideration of all. Invest in several different water sanitation and filtration options, if you can afford. Again – never know.
My latest personal goal has been to flesh out our home emergency medical kit and “pharmacy”. After a lot of research I’ve found a few items any good prepper would want to know about. Obviously here in the US we can’t get antibiotics over the counter, so we have to be aware of other options, as this could be a very, very important piece of knowledge in case someone gets hurt and there is no doctor available. Even a small cut or scrape, without proper care, could lead to infection and even death. In fact, many dangerous strains of disease-causing bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics, so oftentimes an alternative can be life-saving. However, it is also possible to purchase fish antibiotics, even on Amazon, that are identical to those used for humans. More information on that is available here.
Grapefruit seed extract, or GSE, is monumentally useful. It’s a powerful antibacterial and antifungal. It also sanitizes water, believe it or not. In fact, it’s so powerful it can kill giardia and cryptosporidium, clear athlete’s foot, disintegrate warts and even treat colds, flus, malaria, Lyme’s disease, and perhaps even prevent HIV transmission. (Always dilute – a drop or two goes a long way.) If you use it to fight an internal parasite, consider also having something on hand to repopulate the good bacteria, like acidolphilus capsules or yogurt. Yes, it’s that strong. Do a little reading on this one, and get yourself a bottle.
Oregano oil and olive leaf oil are two others that fit into that antibiotic category. And since they contain dozens if not hundreds of naturally occurring compounds, unlike traditional antibiotics which are only one, they are less likely to cause resistance in the infection you are fighting. Olive leaf extract has some similar uses as GSE, but doesn’t kill the “good” bacteria, so it can be used daily as a prophylactic against colds and other infections. A few drops in a glass of water or juice, and you’re good to go. I’ve read lots of people put a few drops in their pet’s water as well, to prevent parasites and such.
Chinese medicine also offers a couple of things I want to mention here. I see many preppers spending a lot of money on Quikclot and other expensive blood clotting pads and powders. Check out yunnan baiyao. Much cheaper and does the trick quite effectively. I bought several and put a vial in each of our BOBs. Available on Amazon. Same goes for Ching Wan Hung, a burn ointment I have used with great success myself. Stops the pain and quickens healing.
Another topic concerns essential oils. Going back to the basics means knowing what herbs can treat what ailments, from headaches to depression, fever to bug bites. I found a great site that posted some good information – here is part I, and part II. But do your own searching as well. There is a lot to consider here.
In Hawaii, we have access to another wonderful miracle, and that is Noni. Read up on that one, if you haven’t already. Buy yourself a jar, drive down the street, gather some fruit, and make some juice.
The last item I want to bring up is called MMS, or miracle mineral solution. Of course it is followed by a lot of controversy online. Big Pharma doesn’t want us to know this stuff. But read up on it, and for the price, consider ordering a kit or two. (Sometimes available on Amazon, but they run out quickly.) It is a powerful water purifier, antibiotic and has even claimed to have cured cancers, malaria, TB, hepatitis and HIV, among others. Who knows – might save your life one day. Figured I would put that out there.
I have enjoyed reading through the Doom and Bloom site. Even their title encapsulates it all for me – doom doesn’t have to mean gloom, my friends. But, only if you’re prepared. This doctor and nurse team recently published a book on survival medical information. I look forward to reading it.
One good thing about Hawaii, depending on your elevation, hypothermia probably isn’t going to be a big concern. And if you’re on a less populated island, neither are thousands of ravenous zombies rampaging through the streets. Gardening can be done year round, and lots of people still know the old ways of life. But the possibility of not having access to proper medical care means each family needs to consider items that might save lives, if the worst happens.
I recommend a few sites specific to Hawaii prepping that I can find, including Hawaii Preppers Network, American Preppers – Hawaii network, and Survival Hawaii. Hawaii.storablesurvivalfood.com is another resource I found. If you know of another site to be listed here, please comment.
Happy 2012, and happy prepping!
