Category: Emerging Threats

Letter Re: Regarding Massive Solar Events/Power Generation

HJL, Working for 35 years as a field engineer for a major oil company, then five years as an engineer for the Cat dealer in KY, I was in and out of almost every industry in the U.S. In 2008 I was tasked with making a presentation to the Kentucky Association of Hospital Engineers on the subject of Emergency Diesel Generators. My research for the session included calling on all of the fuel terminals and most of the fuel distributors, as well as studying the fuel requirements of the various major hospitals in the Louisville area. At one major hospital …


The 100-Year Geomagnetic Storm and The Electric Grid – Part 2, by Tango Delta

Defense Strategies If you’re not ready for TEOTWAWKI, you’re probably asking, “Can’t we do something to keep the grid from going down?” The answer is “yes”. There are two approaches– early warning and hardening of equipment. In theory, early warning relies on the ACE and DSCOVR satellites, located one million miles from the earth, to measure the intensity and polarity of a storm and then issue warnings, which utilities would use to take steps to protect their equipment. In reality, large storms are too fast, allowing maybe 15 minutes of warning. Nuclear plants are supposed to be in “cold shutdown” …


The 100-Year Geomagnetic Storm and The Electric Grid – Part 1, by Tango Delta

An average of once every one hundred years the sun takes aim at earth and launches a ginormous coronal mass ejection(CME). Less than a day later, it arrives as a cloud of charged particles and hits the earth’s magnetic field. It has a southern polarity and, therefore, “couples” with the earth’s magnetosphere, creating swirling “electrojets” of charged particles 100km above the earth. These produce geomagnetically-induced currents (GIC) in the earth itself. These currents flow into the grounding mechanisms of large Extra High Voltage (EHV) transmission towers. The current then flows through the transmission lines and into the EHV transformers in …


The Long Good-bye, by Captnswife

Well, it has begun. Today, I closed my Paypal account. This is just the first step in the slow and admittedly painful process of disconnecting from the Internet. I’ve known it was coming for awhile, but I can’t say that made it easier. Honestly, I love this thing. The greatest joy in my life was the moment, at age six, I realized that because I could read I would never have to stop learning. The invention of the information super highway was beyond my wildest dreams. It’s the largest and most diverse library in the world, and it’s open 24 …


Pulling the Trigger, When They Don’t, and After the Action, by K.B.

Are you prepared to take a life, and are you prepared to deal with the consequences? The answer is not as clear as you might think, but there are three very important concepts to understand that might make answering that question easier. First, in what situation would you take someone’s life? Second, how do you respond to someone not firing or freezing up during a firefight? Third, are you prepared to deal with the mental trauma associated with taking someone’s life? These are very real issues that need to be addressed, and this article attempts to show how to deal …


Tyranny 101, by M.T. – Part 2

In Part 1, I shared some of the history of tyranny and some of the acts of the well-organized conspirators against liberty, here in America and around the world. However, there is more that should concern us and much to do in preparation. There are other reasons to prepare wisely in a God, guns, and grub reality. Our open society is totally reliant on vulnerable technology. Consider the electrical grid, the water supply, trucking, computers, the Internet, and our food supply in general. All these, as well as many more key categories, are extremely vulnerable to mechanical malfunction, human error, …


Letter: Emergency Preparedness

Gentlemen: My County Sheriff called me out of retirement to consult with him and the County EMA director on these topics. I drafted this letter after several hours of discussion with them and a few other community members in the meeting. I sent this to every County EMA director and County Sheriff in Ohio and also every EMA County and State level DHS Emergency official in Michigan. (It was sent to Michigan on the day of the recent Detroit outage, for enhanced effect.) It would be great to be spread wider, if you could see fit to link it on …


Letter: Regarding Ebola PPE

Mr Editor, I’m a small town Fire Chief here. From considerable reading on the subject as I plan for our EMS personnel, I agree with your opinion that N95 is a lame attempt at respiratory protection from Ebola. However, I disagree strongly with anyone suggesting depending on a castoff “gas mask”, discarded decades ago by some 3rd world military, to protect your lungs. Obsolete military gear of unknown history was likely improperly stored and not maintained for years or decades and, equally important, has filters of unknown capability, age, and condition. All filters have a shelf life. How old are …


Guest Article: Six Common Misconceptions About EMP, by G.B., PhD

Many misconceptions about electromagnetic pulse (EMP) effects have circulated for years among technical and policy experts, in press reports, on preparedness websites, and even in technical journals. Because many aspects of EMP-generation physics and its effects are obscure, misconceptions from those who do not perceive the seriousness of the effects to those who predict a doomsday chain of events are inevitable. However, not all EMPs are the same, with the most significant effects being caused by E1 and E3 fields. Nuclear bursts detonated at altitudes above 40 km generate two principle types of EMPs that can debilitate critical infrastructure systems …


The Accidental Prepper, by J.C.

This isn’t as much of a “how to” as it is a “how I have done it” in the spirit of sharing my “experience, strength, and hope” instead of giving advice or instruction. I am a little over two years into my own serious preparations as well as recovery from my own personal TEOTWAWKI. Prior to August 12, 2012, I had been sort of a hobbyist or dabbler but mostly a self-absorbed guy. I was working 55 miles from home in my chosen career, which I will acknowledge will never be worth more than about 45K a year. My wife …


Making Your Own (An Ebola Unafraid Followup), by ShepherdFarmerGeek – Part 1

Optimistic. I continue to be guardedly optimistic that Ebola will not become the pandemic many people have feared.[1] News about its limited transmission in the United States is very encouraging. Also encouraging is the fact that, should Ebola (or some other dangerous virus) become a pandemic and crash the nation’s healthcare system, we can still purchase our own protective equipment and supplies and even have a reasonable chance of treating it, which was the premise of my recent article “Ebola Unafraid: A Preliminary Ebola Treatment Protocol Part 1 and Part 2.” Objections to Previous “Ebola Unafaid” Article Now I’m hearing …


Letter Re: Kids Can Earn Their Keep

Dear Hugh, I thought T.B. had some good ideas for kids involvement in almost any situation, but I wanted to bring up a point about feeding the animals. We are about two years into our new retreat now, and in the process we acquired farm animals. The first year we bought chickens; the second year we bought cattle. My experience with both has led me to believe it is not necessarily a good idea for children to be working with farm animals, as I had my own learning curve with them that has resulted in some injuries. I’ve owned two …


Ebola Unafraid: A Preliminary Ebola Treatment Protocol, by ShepherdFarmerGeek – Part 2

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PROPOSED EBOLA TREATMENT PROTOCOL Disclaimer: There are many foods and supplements with antiviral properties; some of them are common (Garlic[2]), some of them are exotic (Star Anise[3]). What I’ve tried to do with the recommendations below is focus on the most common and highly recommended. Nobody knows what will work against Ebola, so try your own favorites to see what you can tolerate when ill. None of this is “medical advice” for purposes of federal obfuscation and interference. Consult your doctor, who will have no idea what to do. The information below is not exhaustive; it is not authoritative; and …


Ebola Unafraid: A Preliminary Ebola Treatment Protocol, by ShepherdFarmerGeek – Part 1

In a few days my former-Navy-nurse daughter will fly out to help stand up a brand new 100-bed treatment facility for the International Rescue Committee in Liberia. Ebola is not a theoretical threat anymore. Now it’s personal. My daughter has always loved being in the thick of things and has been fascinated with Ebola since childhood. Now, in just a matter of days, she will walk into a room filled with sick and dying Ebola patients, and all her training, grit, and compassion will be tested. She will eventually come home on a rotation and be under medical isolation here, …


Letter Re: Police Depositing Gloves in a Trash Can and Ebola in NYC

Hugh, With the dynamic population of rats in New York, we better hope that they don’t become a reservoir for the Ebola virus, like pigs and bats apparently are. Endemic pandemics are NO FUN for ANYONE! This is a very big deal in the concrete jungle and perhaps a perfect storm with cold dry weather on the way, which enables the virus to survive longer on surfaces and perhaps even go airborn for long distances. We should be completing our preps for this one. FB