Letter Re: A SurvivalBlog Reader Prepares for Hurricane Ike

Dear Mr. Editor: Just a quick note to tell you how people that read your blog are preparing for Ike. Thanks for all the great information. I live near Houston in the suburbs, about 60 miles north of Galveston. Most of the stores are open and have plenty of water, drinks, bread, tuna and other canned foods. The stores have done a much better job this time of keeping needed items in stock than they did when Katrina was headed this way a couple years ago. The gas is going fast, and many stations are closed. I filled both my …




Letter Re: National Geographic’s Cover Story on Soil and Food

JWR, Here’s a link to the September 2008 National Geographic cover story about the world’s fragile soils and their diminishing capacity to feed 6.5 billion+ people as well as cautionary examples of places where the soils can no longer support the existing population due to poor stewardship in the past. Pages 92-93 of the hardcopy edition have a great fold out map showing soil fertility areas around the world — a good retreats and relocation general shopping reference (although certainly not detailed enough for researching specific properties). My Best, – Lee in Hurricane Alley




Hurricane Iniki – Some Lessons Learned, by B.

Hurricane Iniki, which struck the island of Kauai on September 11, 1992, was the third-most damaging hurricane in U.S. history and provides some valuable insights into how people react when an entire self-contained community loses most of their creature comforts. By way of background, Kauai is the fourth largest island in the Hawaiian Archipelago. It, along with a small, privately-owned island off its western coast make up the County of Kauai. The population in 1992 was about 50,000. On September 11, 1992, Hurricane Iniki made a direct hit on the island with winds upward of 150 miles per hour. Approximately …




Letter Re: Is a Little Ice Age Approaching?

Hi Jim, Thought you might find this article interesting: Sun Makes History: First Spotless Month in a Century As a scientist (Oceanography) I have been astounded with scientists who can not see the forest through the trees when it comes to global warming. The ocean temperatures have been dropping over the last 1-to-2 years (as well as the overall temperature on Mars). Correlate the ocean temperature with sun spot activity and you do not need any more “proof” as this will show the direct cause-effect relationship of the sun to the temperature of the oceans. Note that if we do …




Letter Re: More Observations on the Aftermath of Hurricane Dolly

Dear JWR and Memsahib, On June 30, in a response to “Help with a Non-Preparedness Minded Spouse”, I shared the thoughts of like-minded men in a group meeting regularly with my husband to prepare for survival needs. Due to the lack of female companionship I was experiencing, and the frustration my husband’s buddies were experiencing, I offered to start a “Ladies Auxiliary” group to motivate the wives to see the value of preparing for emergency survival. Living near the coast of Texas provides us with the challenge of hurricanes each summer, so that became the topic for personal and immediate …




Letter Re: Advice on Post-WTSHTF Weather Forecasting and Barometers

Sir: I just realized that if the Schumer impacts the oscillator that we won’t have a clue about upcoming weather without the National Weather Service. Being able to predict future weather will be very important for gardening, hay cutting, and on and on. What do you recommend? A barometer? Thx, – Barry JWR Replies: A barometer is indeed the most important forecasting tool. Luckily, they are fairly easy to find in second hand stores. Make sure that you get one with a finely-gradated scale and with a proper elevation offset adjustment in the back. (If you live at high elevation–such …




Letter Re: A Severe Storm Provides a Valuable Lesson

Hi Jim, I’m a long time reader. I wanted to relate to you a recent experience I had, which may be of value to SurvivalBlog readers. I live in a state that is prone to tornados and severe weather. We recently had a storm tear through our area, causing several million dollars in damage across much of the state, my neighborhood notwithstanding. My wife and I went to bed Wednesday evening, expecting only scattered thunderstorms. What we awoke to at 3:30am was much, much more than a thunderstorm. As I looked out our bedroom’s open window, I saw and heard …




Letter Re: Advice on Constructing a Secure Underground Shelter

Sir: I have read your web site and thanks for posting it. I am presently purchasing seven acres in Wyoming with an existing log home. We are going to build a new home on the same property and would like to invest in a good attached underground bunker. Can you please tell me where I can find decent plans and specs for a bunker to sustain five adults and three children? I would like to branch it off of our new basement. I would really appreciate it. God Bless, Mel JWR Replies: I would recommend Safecastle. They have lots of …




The Elephant in the Room, by Norman Church

“I’m right there in the room and no one acknowledges me.” “We must face the prospect of changing our basic way of living. This change will either be made on our own initiative in a planned way, or forced on us with chaos and suffering by the inexorable laws of nature.” – President Jimmy Carter (1976) Before we discuss this Elephant in the Room we must first briefly consider the notion of ‘sustainability’. Too often people debate sustainability issues from an understanding that is vague, incomplete or frankly flawed. “Just exactly what is meant when the word ‘sustainable’ or ‘sustainability’ …




Letter Re: NOAA Weather Spotter Training

Jim, I recently attended a presentation by the National Weather Service (NWS) which was intended to educate volunteer weather spotters. The training is put on by NWS meteorologists, and is focused on the weather typical for your area. Throughout the night I felt like this information would be especially useful in light of a SHTF scenario, where regular weather alerts may not be available. Worst case? It’s free, only takes a couple of hours, and it could put you in touch with other volunteers who might be more receptive to a preparedness mindset. To find out more about schedules and …




Shortages Can Induce Deep Drama, and Making Do-It-Yourself Fire Logs, by Heghduq

I live in the Midwest. With the recent snow storms hitting the area there has been an abundance of snow and ice. We have had record levels of snowfall for the month of February. It comes as no surprise that the state was ill-prepared for this. As a result there is a statewide shortage of road [de-icing] salt. The distributors are out of stock and it is unknown how long it will be before they will get more. To those of you who have never had the pleasure of driving on winter roads in the Midwest, you may not understand. …




Letter Re: The Recent Blizzard on I-90 in Wisconsin

JWR, I read the link that was submitted by Craig in Odds ‘n Sods. The Channel 3000 story couldn’t be farther from the truth. As a local first responder, I can attest that we are getting the short end of the stick. The State Patrol didn’t even acknowledge there was any problem on the interstate until hours after our crews were already on scene. They didn’t even know that Dane County had set up an incident command headquarters at the Highway 51 interchange. The first semi trucks started losing traction as early as 10 a.m.that day. Near blizzard conditions had …




Letter Re: U.S. Climate Data Available Online

Jim: Some comments on studying climates and microclimates: I do a fair amount of this professionally, and there are a couple more things worthy of discussion: 1) when looking at a specific area, in which a subject property is located, pay particular attention to low areas where cold settles. These areas will freeze first. Crop performance will vary widely. Study not just the winds, but the exposure–the microclimate. Solar, wind, rainfall and snowfall patterns. 2) Do not build with haste. We encourage people to live with a property in as-is conditions for a year if they can, so that they …




Letter Re: U.S. Climate Data Available Online

Jim, I’m not sure if this has been covered here before, but here are a few links to Government climate data and maps in the US. Microclimate data are represented as well, to a degree limited by the number of stations: Climate Maps of the United States – Lookup Page Monthly Station Climate Summaries – By Station U.S. Climate Normals For those interested in wind speeds and patterns across the USA for whatever reason, the map link above can be supplemented with the data for the major population centers. Thanks again for your hard work, – The DFer JWR Replies: …




Sources for Free Survival and Preparedness Information on the Internet, by K.L. in Alaska

Recent comments in SurvivalBlog provided excellent advice on using the public library. You can gain lots of knowledge with no expense, then purchase only those books you want to keep on hand for personal reference. Also, many colleges and universities loan to local residents, so you can use them too, even if you aren’t a student. If your local libraries participate, a great resource is Worldcat. It lets you search for books from home, then go check them out, or get them through interlibrary loan. What will happen to the Internet when the SHTF? There’s no guarantee it will survive. …