Letter Re: A Female’s Viewpoint on How to Prepare

Regarding the piece by I.S. on a female’s point of view, she is right on with how to introduce a non-prepper to this world.  I have done the same but with my husband, I am the gardener, shooter, and all around prepper.  Though we do not have a lot of funds, you can nickel and dime it towards your survival goals and I have done this with proof to him such as becoming debt free, minus the mortgage, getting branches and salvage wood for free for the wood stove to save on heat, stocking up on food and now growing seedlings for sale.  You have to work with what your spouse can relate to.   Mine relates to the profit of an action, he can now rest assured that if he loses one of his jobs, (he is a great worker), we will not do without.  He calls my storage area my “little store.”

I now have him helping me make decisions about items to keep and get rid of and he will now use terms like “that would be good for barter.”  (I almost fainted the first time I heard him say that.) He was even okay with my closing a small retirement account to convert it to silver and a little gold, he is also good with the saving nickels concept.  I told him that if absolutely nothing happened and all was well, the little coin I am saving, will not loose value.  He is still in baby step mode.  I will now be storing larger quantities of beans and grain, I explained to him that a bean has many uses, you of course can eat it, grow it and use it for sprouting should greens be unavailable.  

I also do a great deal of shopping at yard and estate sales and have shown him the savings and resale values of the items I get, he sees the profit I make with reselling.  It is also best to explain the value of a changing life style for the simple health benefits rather than just gloom and doom.  It makes the pill a lot easier to swallow, so preppers, just keep at it with your significant other, some or any preparation is better than none, work with their dreams and desires to get to the prepping world even if you have to use that fictitious 2×4 upside his head. 😉 – C.N.

Auction Update: PVS-14 Gen 3+ Night Vision Scope to Benefit C.R.O.S.S. Ministries

CURRENT BID is $3,000 (Bid by Reader D.J.G.)

Simply e-mail us your bids. I will post regular updates on the bidding. The final deadline will be Midnight EST on Monday, March 11, 2013. Thanks for your generous bids in support of C.R.O.S.S. Ministries.

We are continuing a benefit auction of a brand new AN/PVS-14 Gen 3+ Night Vision Scope. All proceeds (100% of your bid) will be donated to C.R.O.S.S. Ministries. (A very worthy Christian ministry that is sharing the Gospel of Christ in South Sudan. Their outreach method is unique: They are teaching rural villagers tactical marksmanship, water purification, and firefighting skills, free of charge.)

The monocular is one of these. (The same model that we use here at the Rawles Ranch.) These night vision scopes normally retail for around $3,600. (Although Ready Made Resources sells them at the discounted price of $2,695.) This monocular was kindly donated by Ready Made Resources, in cooperation with Night Ops Tactical.

Economics and Investing:

G.G. flagged this: Is the dollar as good as gold?

Life After QE: The Fed Is Starting To Prepare For A Future PR Nightmare

The Daily Bell reports: The New Era in Gold Repatriation Will Affect Everything

Items from The Economatrix:

Dow Surges To New Closing High On Economy, Fed’s Help

Dow Breaks Record, But Party Unlikely To Last [JWR’s Comment: The Fed’s addiction to Quantitative Easing has created this bubble. As with other severe addictions, this won’t end well.]

Jobless Claims Fall Sharply

Odds ‘n Sods:

Holder: Yep, Obama could kill Americans on U.S. soil. And here is an interesting companion piece: Police Search Cell Phones On Massive Scale. (Thanks to J.B.G. for the link.)

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“Why Am I Not Surprised? Department: ‘Freedom’ license plate banned in Washington D.C.

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James C. sent: Self-Igniting Fire Starter

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South Dakota approves guns in the classroom. (JWR’s Comment: It is amazing to see the difference between the various states and their prevailing attitudes, in the ongoing debate over civilian disarmament. At the same time that California, Colorado, and New York are engaged in an orgy of legislated gun grabbing, other states are encouraging an armed citizenry. I expect the differences between the states to become more pronounced, as time goes on.)

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Seized Chinese Weapons Raise Concerns on Iran. (A hat tip to Pierre M. for the link.)

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TSA Will Permit Knives, Golf Clubs on U.S. Planes

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 45 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), and F.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and G.) A $200 gift certificate, donated by Shelf Reliance.

Second Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. C.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. D.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, E.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials and F.) Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value. E.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value), and F.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 45 ends on March 31st, 2013, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

A Female’s Viewpoint on How to Prepare, by I.S.

Everyone has their own unique story why they became a prepper. Mine began five years ago when my husband started ranting about the worsening economic situation in the country. I was only listening with half an ear. Sure, I noticed that food prices were creeping up with every shopping trip, and that it was getting more expensive to fill up my car every week, but didn’t that happen every year due to inflation? Why was my husband so upset about this?
Although, we started discussing world events and politics more often, I still did not understand why he was so worried. It almost felt like panic, which was a bit worrisome. Talking to me was obviously not the best way to wake me up. He began forwarding me some of the articles that influenced his thinking. They illustrated what was going wrong with the U.S. economy, the government, and the world in general. The latest White House policies only seemed to make the current situation worse. There was a lot of talk and little action. It is needless to say that I was shocked.

It was a rude awakening. The future was not as safe and secure as our leaders had made us to believe. Now, I was in a state of panic, and the only way I could alleviate some of the stress was by becoming more informed, and working feverishly on organizing food reserves.  
I have learned a lot since. Going through every beginner’s growing pains taught me to be persistent. I kept reminding myself that Rome was not built in a day either. My biggest challenge was to keep my head leveled and avoid panic attacks every time the government made another bad decision. Not all my apprehension was political. I worried about another drought, the discouraging news of the world’s dwindling food reserves, as well as the threat of war. Did you know that solar flares from the massive sunspot identified as AR1654 are closing in on earth? Scientists say that if Earth gets a direct hit from a major solar flare, the damage could be enormous. Our country’s electric grid could be damaged severely, and it could take years to recover. Those are not the only things I was worried about. There is more, such as the following:

  • The UN warns us of a looming worldwide food crisis in 2013.
  • The global grain reserves have hit critically low levels.
  • Unreliable weather patterns around the world caused many crops to fail for several years in a row.
  • Harvests in the U.S., Ukraine, and other countries around the world have eroded due to record heat waves and droughts.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that the combined inventories of wheat, corn, soybeans, and rice will drop 1.8 percent to a four-year low in 2013.
  • Corn is being used for ethanol production, driving the price up for livestock producers, food manufacturers, and consumers.
  • Our farmland is depleted – chemicals do not offer the nutrition the land needs to produce healthy, tasty foods.
  • We produce less than what we are consuming.

The ominous global food crisis and the rising prices threaten to cause a lot of unrest. They were a great incentive for me to stock up far more than the recommended three-week survival reserve everyone was talking about. I also found that buying now would save me more money than putting it in a savings account. I do not need statistics – which are often tweaked to look better – to tell me that my dollar has been shrinking over the years. That can of beans I bought on sale for 50 cents two years ago now costs twice as much. Where is this going to end?
The Why
There are times when I wonder when all these preparations will be useful. Many possible scenarios go through my head. We are most certainly going to face an economic meltdown, and if the droughts continue, people will starve. Even if, by miracle, this does not happen, it is still necessary to prepare because we are nearing retirement age. Will we still be able to achieve those “Golden Years” we had hoped for?  I have my doubts. In case you are wondering about some of the other reasons why I became a prepper, here are some examples:

  • Diminishing Social Security funds – Although we, the people, will never be told the whole truth, there are enough rumors going around that we can figure out that the country’s social security account is depleted. It is not likely that there will be money left by the time we, the Baby Boomers, retire. In fact, will we ever be able to hang up our hat? The official retirement age will continue to rise, despite all our young people feverishly looking for work. Due to fiscal mismanagement by local governments, property taxes will skyrocket, and it is doubtful that we can keep the home we worked for our entire life. Without supplementing our pension – if we’ll get one – we may need to go live in tent city.
  • Natural Disasters – Have you noticed that the weather patterns are changing? They have become unpredictable, causing a tremendous amount of natural disasters. Where are FEMA, the Red Cross, and other aid organizations during disastrous catastrophes? Their relief efforts are probably focused on Africa or some other poor country far away. I have the impression that foreign aid is more important to them than what happens under our country’s own roof? Do not count on your government for help. I am not making this up. Just ask all those devastated Sandy storm victims who had to wait because New York’s authorities took their sweet time deciding how to spend relief aid funds. There was no need to hurry, as they were not the ones without food, water, shelter, and electricity. Do you want to take your chances? I don’t.
  • Hyperinflation – The American dollar is soon going to be useless. Printing money as if there is no tomorrow makes it much tougher for the U.S. to import the necessities we need to keep our citizens content. Fuel and food prices have nearly doubled in the last two years. That trend is not likely to end soon. We are still able to buy most of what we need at the store to live comfortably, but be honest, how much longer is that going to last? Add all the recent and upcoming tax increases and high health care costs forced upon us by Obama Care, and it is not difficult to predict the future.
  • Agenda 21 – The dangers do not only lurk at home. Be aware of fanatical outside influences. They are steadily closing in. According to Wikipedia, Agenda 21 is a non-binding, voluntarily implemented action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable development. Take a closer look, and you will realize that this plan is actually a blueprint for depopulation. It gives total control to the world authorities, all under the slogan of saving the environment. I do not think I will ever be ready to be enslaved, no matter how many Agendas they come up with. FYI, there is more than one.
  • The possibility of war – Countries like Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Israel, and Egypt are constantly in the news. China is getting more powerful and ready to become the world’s leader. They are up to something, otherwise why are they buying food and other essentials when they have plenty? I grew up in Europe and heard many war stories from my parents and grandparents. Is history going to repeat itself just on a different continent?

The How
It is amazing all the things you learn when paying attention to the news. Instead of turning the radio to my favorite music station, I started to listen to talk radio. I did not care for every topic that was discussed, but at least I got the news that was conveniently missed or spun by the mainstream media. Survival blog sites were also quite helpful. They pointed out things I should focus on besides amassing food for us and our animals. Here are some of the things that every new female prepper or survivalist, in my opinion, should do:

  • Start a garden
  • Learn how to manage without electricity
  • Explore alternative cooking methods
  • Learn new trade skills, such as sewing
  • Turn hobbies into practical applications
  • Raise chickens, ducks, goats, and rabbits
  • Grow supplementary food, like fodder, for the animals
  • Experiment with dehydrated and freeze dried foods
  • Reduce your debt
  • Take self-defense  and First Aid classes
  • Buy a gun and learn how to use it
  • Start paying with cash
  • Purchase precious metals
  • Learn barter techniques
  • Keep a diary of your failures and accomplishments
  • Buy books or print survival guidelines now in case electronics stop working
  • Practice what you preach

I insisted on having a wood stove installed in the house as a back-up heat and cooking source. My husband built a hoop house to prolong our growing season. We began raising chickens, ducks, and rabbits. It was time for me to improve my skills before the SHTF. Working out all the kinks now would make life more sustainable when it really matters.
The Details
I am an average woman with a simple life and ordinary skills. I had never pictured myself as a prepper or survivalist. All I ever wanted was a peacefully, enjoyable life. I had many wonderful, carefree years, and that keeps me going. At least I had them, which is something many young men and women will not be able to say when they reach my age. Many thoughts go through my head every day, whether it is consciously or subconsciously. They include some of the following:

  • How to pay the mortgage down as fast as I can
  • The need to learn basic medical skills and buying more supplies
  • Ordering more dehydrated and free-dried foods
  • How to implement these specialty foods in my cooking
  • Learn more food preservation methods
  • Bring variety in a simple diet when food supplies get scarce
  • Improve my gardening skills and collect my own seeds
  • Expand our livestock
  • Buying essentials, like salt and soap, that can be used for bartering
  • Learning more survival skills and practice them
  • Switching to leisure activities that do not involve electronics
  • Eating better to live healthier and improve strength
  • Implementing alternate energy sources
  • Getting more familiar with my gun
  • Improving my shooting skills
  • Always read between the lines during newscasts
  • Develop a support network with like-minded people
  • Always keep an open mind

I work on these goals every day. By doing so, my husband and I are cultivating a self-sustainable lifestyle. We are a team. He has his responsibilities and I have mine. Regardless what the authorities say about gender equality; there are limits. Yes, I am all for equal pay when doing the same job, but nobody can ever change the fact that, in general, women have a uterus, are destined to bear children, and have the urge to nurture.
Conclusion
Be persistent if you want to convince your wife or girlfriend to jump on the survival bandwagon. Do not talk about situations that are difficult to relate to; EMP blasts, revolutions, gun and food confiscation by the government, or any other unimaginable disaster situation. Confrontation is not the way to convince a female, at least not when it comes to such serious matters. Keep it simple by pointing out natural disasters that have been in the news lately. Ask her how she believes she would survive if a hurricane, tsunami, tornado, or ice storm would hit her neighborhood. How would she be able to care for her children when the stores are empty and the banks closed? What would she do if there was no power for two weeks or more?
Talking alone about the looming crisis is not going to do the trick. Confront her with proof, and ask her to participate in a simple training exercise. Turn of the electricity for an entire day, or ask her not to go grocery shopping for a week. She will soon realize that surviving without modern conveniences can be extremely tough. Point out facts, but do not go overboard. Pushing too hard can have an adverse reaction.
I was never really a girly-girl. For as long as I can remember, I have been interested in world politics, science, and how to improve myself. I am glad that I am aware of what goes on around me. However, I also envy those women booking appointments at the beauty parlor or spending hours at the mall to find that perfect dress or pair of pumps. It is probably not true that they have no care in the world, but that is how it seems to me. Would I want to trade? Absolutely not, because I will at least have a chance to survive if or when disaster strikes.

Letter Re: Hiding What is Mine

Dear JWR:

Like most of us I am storing food in preparation of something bad happening. I have some super pails along with regular grocery items as well as some freeze dried items. I have a pantry which has long since been over run with supplies, so I built a couple heavy duty cabinets in which to store my overflow. When the great SEE (Society Ending Event) comes about I am quite sure our government won’t just shrivel up and go away. Quite the opposite, they will go from house to house looking for stored supplies. If they come to my house and search they will rejoice in the cash of supplies they will retrieve from my family. Not to be selfish but these are my supplies that I made personal sacrifices to acquire. They Are Mine! What can I do? If I hide them in my attic the heat will destroy them in the summer and the cold could possibly freeze the can goods in the winter. Under the house is a decent place to hide my stores with an even temp year around, but who are we kidding… this location is difficult to get to and under most houses there isn’t a lot of crawl space. More importantly the men in the black suits will probity take a long and hard look under the house anyway. And what can You do if your house is built on a concrete slab?

I have read several articles about burying your supplies. I am ashamed to admit I currently have 65 pails in my supplies and more on the way. I have an old barn on my property and over the years I have given serious thought to tearing it down. I am so glad I didn’t. In my stall area I have dug a hole 4 X 8 that is four feet deep. I built a simple box from plywood. On the outside I sealed it with [asphalt emulsion] the same sealant used on the outside walls of a basement (this can be purchased at your local hardware store). This tar-like coating will protect moisture from reaching my stores for some time. I am able to store 63 buckets inside. When I am done I lay plastic over the lid and cover and conceal everything. If you don’t have a convent barn then a small metal shed will suffice as possible cover. I have plans to install a second one for my can goods which I will use old milk crates for easy storage and access of any can goods inside.
Cool! This idea has some merit… but if I don’t have an old bard or the space or even the time to build this vault what is another option? I have 5 gallon buckets buried around my place. With this the problem lies in finding your bucket later without digging up half the yard. One cool way to remember their location is take a photo of the exact spot with your kid or dog in the photo for subject matter. One minor problem is finding the exact spot again. While this is a good idea I have another thought, a map. I already hear your grumblings about this idea, if the men in the black suits find my map then they find my food. Not If It Is Coded.

I live in the sticks, I have a lagoon for my sewage needs. The county requires a fence built around this to keep unwanted animals out. I have numbered the corner post 1-4. On my “map” I write 1S (this tells me to go south from that post) 1S 65 + 2S 53. I measure from post 1 on the south side 65 feet. I also measure from post number 2 53 feet. Where these two points intersect there is my bucket. I also have color Gamma Seal lids for the buckets. Red is for dry goods like beans and rice and noodles etc all mixed together. This is enough food in each bucket for my family to eat on for a week. Yellow is used to store different types of can goods. and Green is for meat items like stew and ravioli etc. Blue is bullets. A typical entry for my ‘map’ would be R 1E 73 + 4E 25. From this I know what it buried in the bucket and the precise location of it as well. If I need more can goods I go to the yellow location and dig. Any reference point can be used as long as you remember the points, such as a flag pole and a mail box or the corner of your house. Use your imitation.
This won’t do you a lot of good if the whole neighborhood watches you dig these holes in your yard while you have your bucket siting next to you ready to place in the hole. I have a small 2×4 tee, this is the depth of the hole needed and how wide it needs to be. Once my hole is dug I can come back under the cover of darkness to place it in the hole and cover it up quickly and quietly. This needs to be done early enough in the spring to allow the grass to grow back over the top of this bucket. An easy place to put your ‘map’ is on the inside of the breaker box cover, if the map is discovered it is a bunch of meaningless numbers. I personally don’t store this info on my computer in the event of a power down situation. My stores are in a safe location from the elements and any one who wants to come and take them from me. Happy Digging.

In His Service, – WKR

Letter Re: Gabbs, Nevada as a Retreat Locale

James,  
I recently moved from Phoenix to a neat little remote town in North central Nevada about 7.5 hours north of Vegas and 3 hours west of Reno.   It is a survivalists dream,  sits in a approx 50 mile high desert valley about 4,500 foot elevation surrounded by mountains ranges that protect it from almost all adverse winter storms, etc.   The people are mostly mine workers and very old fashioned, level-headed types who enjoy being isolated and unregulated by the current trends elsewhere.  The area has hundreds of old forestry, mining locations most long since shutdown and forgotten, historic ghost  towns, and many Bureau of Land Management (BLM) areas, with abundant springs.  You can travel 30 to 75 miles in any direction from Gabbs and not see human habitation. There are several mine built homes in Gabbs, vacant and for sale, prices range range from a few thousand to approximately $35,000 on the high side, with water and electric service.  
 
We are inviting preppers to relocate to the area. Many longtime residents were preppers without knowing the word.  Your word and reputation are still King. This is a very tight community, but a like minded country attitude goes a long way here. There is a Mormon church and they provide open arms to all that respond.

I would like to make your readers aware of the town.  We have a post office, fire department and limited city services. But the area is a very viable location with little or no restrictions on housing, firearms, ATVs, camping, hunting,  and prepping are a way of life here.
 
Your friend in God. – John in Nevada (formerly John in Arizona)

Letter Re: Surviving Snowmageddon

James,

Regarding the recent piece Surviving Snowmageddon: The precursor to Seattle’s 2012 storm was the December 2008 Snowpocalypse. While the power outages weren’t as severe as 2012, the well-publicized driving conditions were nightmarish. [JWR Adds: Ditto for driving Seattle’s steep streets in 2010.]

The storm hit during a workday and dropped about two feet of snow across the Puget Sound region. Temps were in the teens, visibility was whiteout, and the snow remained on the ground at least 10 days – quite rare for these parts. People were totally unprepared, especially for the drive home. Freeway traffic was literally at a stand still by late afternoon. I-5 was a parking lot from south of Olympia all the way up through Everett (approx 100 mile stretch with Seattle in the middle). People were stranded on the freeways for hours – cars were running out of gas while people tried to keep warm. Accidents everywhere. It took my sister-in-law’s mother nine hours (9!) to drive from downtown Seattle to her home 15 miles south. My dad and I were working in Portland when the snow hit. As soon as we saw/heard of the traffic nightmare on I-5 we opted for a plan-B route. We headed east past The Dalles and crossed the river on Highway 97, made our way up through Yakima and Ellensburg, then up and over Snoqualmie pass on I-90. We added many miles to the trip but the lower traffic volume on the east side of the Cascades made for relatively easy driving. Ironically, the road conditions on the mountain passes were better than down in the metro area. Since Seattle might receive snow once per season, you can imagine how many snow plows are allocated to the metro area and the city of Seattle. Road conditions were bad, but it was the shear volume of traffic that simultaneously descended upon the freeways (and the poorly experienced snow drivers) that made for the nightmare. Snowpocalypse illustrated the problems with trying to bug out of Seattle in the eleventh hour. 

Seattle is also hilly. Except for the major river valleys, the entire region from the Sound east to the Cascades is a series of gradually rising foothills and plateaus. This means that when it does snow those without a capable vehicle are stranded. By the next morning there were cars abandoned everywhere, especially at and around the bottom of hills. I can remember driving (comfortably, in my 4×4) up the hill to my parents house, weaving through a maze of cars that had been left smack in the middle of the road (did I mention their bad snow driving?) The only boon was that after a couple days the roads were pretty deserted and you could drive around like it was Mad Max. The interesting observation here is that the snow lasted long enough that gas stations on the tops of hills experienced gas shortages – the trucks couldn’t make it up the unplowed hills. 

Finally, the whole situation was amplified by the City of Seattle/DOT bureaucrats and their miles of red tape. City residents, for example, weren’t allowed to plow their own streets – they had to wait for the City. Most neighborhoods were never plowed. In another brilliant move, the City decided not to clear the roads (the roads they did plow) all the way down to the road surface (to avoid damage), and left behind a solid sheet of hardpack (remember the hills?). Even better, the City decided not to salt the roads (ecological concerns of course) and instead simply sand. When then mayor Greg Nickels gave the City’s response to the storm a “B” grade, people were angry. The whole fiasco likely cost Nickels his job in the next election cycle, but it took a major crisis that directly affected their well being before voters came out of their coma to recognize bureaucratic buffoonery for what is was. 

Fortunately my family is used to this kind of thing and was thus mostly unaffected, and I have a nice photo of my wife and I cross country skiing down the neighborhood street to remember it by. – L.D.N. in Bellevue, Washington

Economics and Investing:

Notice the lack of large bumps in the American Redoubt on this zoomable population density map? (Thanks to Craig S. for the link.)

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Wyoming legislators lay down welcoming mat for Colorado gun-accessory maker.

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In his characteristic writing style, Montana veterinarian and state legislator Krayton Kerns bemoans the nationwide .22 LR ammo drought: Without a Shot

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Some Idaho legislative news, courtesy of reader RBS: Idaho Lawmakers Want More Information Before Exempting Pocket Knives as Concealed Weapons. And: Ada County Sheriff Raney’s Idaho gun legislation forum. Also in Idaho: Lawmaker: Make all Idaho adults militia members. And: Senate panel to weigh bill on gun silencers

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Montana Anti-NDAA Bill Moves to Senate With 98-0 Vote. (Thanks to James C. for the link.)

Economics and Investing:

Mayor Bloomberg: Don’t Panic About the Sequester. “Mr. Bloomberg argued the United States could owe “’an infinite amount of money’ and there is no specific amount that would cause the country to default.”Yeah, right. (I think he’s been sneaking a few 32-ounce Mega Big Gulps of Mountain Dew, in violation of his own decree.)

Walter Zimmerman: Every Indicator I Follow Shows The Market Is Going To Tank, And There Will Be A New Financial Crisis

In Debt We Trust America Before the Bubble Bursts. (Thanks to R.B.S. for the link.)

Items from The Economatrix:

Wal-Mart Situation “Getting Worse” New Leaks Reveal

Gold And Silver Approved As Legal Tender By Arizona Senate

Expect Relief From February Gas Prices

Note from JWR:

The Rawles Gets You Ready Preparedness Course is available again, via digital download, and selling at a brisk pace. Because of the efficiency of digital delivery, it now available at just a fraction of the price that had been charged for the original hard copy binder edition. The course was designed for beginning and intermediate preppers, with this premise: Could you prepare your family for a major disaster, with just one or two trips to your local COSTCO or Sam’s Club store? In the course I describe exactly how to do that. One of the most useful course appendices is a lengthy table of shelf lives for various foods that was assembled from various sources and my own research. That table has not been published anywhere else–even in SurvivalBlog.

Islands in the Darkness: Some Local Power Utilities Have Prepared to Go It Alone

Many readers will recall that my 2011 novel “Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse” was partly set in and near Farmington, New Mexico. I chose that region because it has a particularly resilient power grid. In the novel I described how Farmington Electric Utility System (FEUS) has made contingency plans to immediately reconstitute a local power grid, in the event of a western power grid collapse. This was not just literary license on my part. It was based on a face-to-face interview with a FEUS manager that I conducted in 2009, as I was researching locales for the novel. That manager told me that if the western grid collapsed, all FEUS customers could have their power restored in less than a minute. This capability is called “islanding” or “controlled system separation.” While not a secret, islanding capability is not well-known outside of the power industry. Islanding is also uncommon in most of the United States. (Most Americans live in areas where the majority of their power is imported from the larger grids. It is only in a few areas such as the Pacific Northwest and the Four Corners that are net power exporters. This zoomable map shows you the Big Picture for the US and parts of Canada.

America’s Three Power Grids

There are actually three main power grids in the United States: an eastern grid, a western grid, and a Texas grid. This map shows the dividing lines, and this map shows some planned changes. Within those three grids, there are distinct service areas. And within those service areas, there is a patchwork of large power companies, co-ops, and a few independent power producers.

The majority of Americans depend on power that comes from coal-fired or nuclear power plants. Both of these sources would be problematic in the event of major societal disruption. NERC regulations require shutdowns of nuclear plants for trivial reasons, and coal-fired plants require literally trainloads of coal to keep running. The most stable power in event of an economic disaster will be hydroelectric. The Pacific Northwest has the clear advantage in hydroelectric power and some of the most reliable and least expensive power in the country. Generally, where there are large dams there is plentiful hydro power, and the greatest potential for stable local islanding. (But note that potential does not necessarily mean planned. You will need to check on that with your local power company’s management to see if they have made the requisite arrangements for islanding.)

Where Will the Islands be?

Do some online research to find maps like this one: Map of Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) transmission lines. Then call you local utility and find out if they are power exporters or importers. If they are exporters, ask if they have an islanding plan.

Long Term?

In the event of a long term grid-down situation where the coal trains stop running there will just be a few areas that will have reliable power. Most of these will be in the Pacific Northwest, where hydroelectric power predominates.

Black Startup

In the event that one or all three American grids collapse because of something catastrophic such as a major solar flare, or an economic whammy that stops coal train traffic, getting the grids back up might be difficult. Typically a power plant requires lots of outside power to be re-started. The re-starts that done without functioning outside power–commonly called Black Startup or Dark Startup –are a challenge. Here is a quote from the sometimes useful LeftistAgendaPedia: “To provide a black start, some power stations have small diesel generators which can be used to start larger generators (of several megawatts capacity), which in turn can be used to start the main power station generators.” In the event of a nationwide collapse of the power grid, the best chance for power plants to be restarted and partial grid restoration will be in the Northwest, where hydro power will be available to feed the grid.

Off The Grid

Home generation is the sure way of knowing that you will have power. (Even if you are fortunate enough to live near a hydroelectric dam or geothermal power plant, you can’t assume that your power will be restored in the event of a power grid collapse.) Home power systems that are not grid tied will be the most resilient to solar storms or EMP. This is because grid power lines can act as unintentional antennas. To be fully prepared for a solar storm, it might be necessary to store spare charge controllers and perhaps even spare inverters, for a worst case. These spares should be stored disconnected, preferably in Faraday enclosures.

If you are planning to strategically relocate your family to a safe region, I recommend that power utility islanding be part of your criteria for choosing locales. Places with plentiful hydroelectric power are your best bet. But again, don’t just assume that they are ready for islanding. Take the time to call the local power company or co-op, and ask them if they have contingency plans for islanding, and if so what would be the geographic boundaries for their planned island. This could make a huge difference for the quality of life that you will have in the dark times to come. – J.W.R.