Economics and Investing:

Those pesky derivatives have come back to bite: ISDA: Greek Debt Restructuring Triggers CDS Payouts. Since CDS contracts are measured in many billions of dollars, the counterparty risk is huge. As previously mentioned, they are calling this default a “credit event”, since it sounds more gentle and palatable for the sheeple. (Thanks to C.D.V. for the link.)

U.S. to sell $6 billion in AIG stock.

What does an America with no middle class look like?

Items from The Economatrix:

Consumer Borrowing Nearly At Pre-Recession Level

Why Job Growth Might Mean Unemployment

Oil Up On Greece Hopes

You Won’t Believe The Real Inflation Rate



Odds ‘n Sods:

12 states on path to [concealed carry of] guns with no permits. (Thanks to B.B. for the link.)

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Cry havoc! Reader H.M. mentioned a company that gives new meaning to the familiar old Shakespearian phrase: The Dogs of War.

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A personal request from JWR: For our collection here at the ranch, I’m looking for an antique Swiss 7.5mm Schmidt-Rubin Model 1896/11 rifle with a serial number below 236,500. It must be offered by a fellow private party here in the United States. I’m only looking for one with a nice bore and in very good mechanical condition. (Model 1896/11s with serial number under 236,500 are Federally exempt antiques.) I am not looking for one in the modern serial number range. I might consider a sporterized Schmidt-Rubin Model 1896/11rifle if it was nicely done and it is priced right. And BTW, I’m also in need of 10 to 20 original brown cardboard stripper clips (“chargers”) for Swiss 7.5mm Schmidt-Rubin rifles, as well as some SIG AMT or SIG 510-4 20-round .308 magazines. I could also use some SIG PE-57 24-round magazines if they are early production, with steel followers. Please e-mail me if you have any of the aforementioned items for sale. Thanks!



Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed [be] thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.

Thine, O LORD, [is] the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all [that is] in the heaven and in the earth [is thine]; thine [is] the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.

Both riches and honour [come] of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand [is] power and might; and in thine hand [it is] to make great, and to give strength unto all.

Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.” – 1Chronicles 29:10-13 (KJV)



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 39 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, 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 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), and E.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo.

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol. It is a $439 value courtesy of Next Level Training. B.) A FloJak F-50 hand well pump (a $349 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. C.) 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, D.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and E.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value) and F.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, C.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), and D.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 39 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.



A Poor Man’s Guide to Prepping and Food Storage, by T.P.

I started not to write this piece- not because I feel any shame about my approach to survival and prepping, but largely because I will be misunderstood or dismissed- as I have been whenever I try to enlighten friends and co-workers of the needh to have a survival plan. But I feel it may help others who are not wealthy enough to buy thousands of dollars worth of MREs or hundreds of pounds of hard red wheat and a grinder… and frankly, because I do not welcome the competition for my supply of food and supplies.

Many years ago I began prepping for Y2K. Nothing happened then, but the exercise was of undeniable importance in my life. I had been keeping a pantry for years, because being self-employed leads to a life cycle of feast or famine. At least for me.
 
I used the last of the dry goods and kerosene from my Y2K prep stash in early 2011.

I provide services for businesses now. My job involves a lot of driving, and a lot of contact with grocery stores. I discovered a long time ago that grocery stores, drug stores, and discount stores throw away tons of usable and consumable food and other necessities. Gleaning these supplies takes some work and the willingness to deal with a little mess, but for me it has been well worth it. I bet I haven’t spent a hundred bucks for grocery items in over two years- mostly for cooking oil and spices.

Just this last week I have put up 13 pints of homemade Rotel, 20 pounds of peaches, 100 or so pounds of stew meat, and quantities of canned salsa, tomatoes, etc, etcetera, all free.

As a side note: saving money on food, light bulbs, shampoo, etc., has allowed me to spend a lot more on firearms, ammo, and other important items. I now have three freezers and three refrigerators full of food- not to mention the flour, sugar, and other dry goods I have stored, all free. In the process of doing so, I have provided a lot of food to several needy families who understand what I do, and are grateful for the assistance.

As another side note, this will be the first year I have grown a garden in my new home, due to all the time I have spent on another project that took months to complete- but all I grow this year will be canned and/or shared with others. I have been saving heirloom seeds for years, and have now gathered enough old tires to grow vegetables here- the soil is shallow and requires me to do raised bed gardening.

I keep chickens for the eggs, although I get enough free eggs that I give away tons of them through the year. Cartons of eggs with one broken are thrown out every week. I wash the eggs, repack the whole ones in the cartons, and put the cracked ones in plastic tubs for immediate use as omelets or scrambled eggs or to use in batters or breads.

So, the rest of this piece will essentially be a guide to dumpster diving, and a guide to harvesting the fantastic wealth of consumables that are available to those who will seek out these sources. Understand this- if I made enough money to buy AR-15s, MREs, and Mountain House entrees- I probably would. I don’t. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t be prepared for disasters or lean times. I just had to find a way to make use of what is available to me- a willingness to do what I can to survive, and the knowledge that free food is out there for those willing to glean it. And isn’t that what survival prepping is all about? Learning to make the best use of skills and resources, learning new skills, and possibly making do with what you have when the time comes? It may not be the ideal way, but it works for me and mine, and it is what I can do. Also, there is a certain satisfaction in enjoying a fine, nourishing meal of the best kind–free.

On to the specifics.

I get tons of produce. It is generally just fine, but may have a few blemishes, like the produce you would get from an organic garden. I determined long ago that I like fruits and veggies on the very ripe side, as it tastes best. One good example- bananas with spots are much tastier than ones that aren’t much past green- but produce that needs to be used immediately isn’t saleable in a grocery store!

Another thing: veggies that are sold in prepackaged sacks, like potatoes and onions, apples and oranges, are thrown out if just one of them gets mashed or is less than perfect. All of the others in the bag are still perfectly good. Potatoes, onions, turnips, etc, that sprout are also thrown out. I get my seed potatoes and onions this way. Every time a shipment of greens- turnip, mustard, collards- arrives, the last shipment is thrown out. Greens are a vital source of vitamins and minerals in your diet! I use one of my water bath canners about twice a week to process greens for freezing.

Last year I got almost a hundred pounds of free flour that had been damaged by a fork lift. I froze the flour for two weeks to kill any weevils, then packed it in five gallon buckets for storage.

Now about meat. This will take some extra time to discuss.

Every week I get a lot of meat that is thrown out because it is near or past its sale date. Some of it is not consumable, and this I feed to the dogs. Their guts are designed by God for the purpose of consuming scavenger fodder. The vast majority of the hamburger I get is slightly brown, but perfectly useable. I freeze it, and when I get enough, can it as chili (no beans) or plain burger. The meats that require careful consideration are chicken and pork. Any that is questionable is fed to the dogs- they love it. Meats that are heavily preserved, like sausage and wieners, are usually good. Just recently, I got 90 pounds of hot dogs! I put up many quarts of pickled wieners, and made a Boston Baked Bean sauce and canned the rest with that. Add that to some cooked dry beans, and you have beanie-weanie.

Now I want to deal with the greatest source of protein that I have found. Every butcher shop throws out lots of what I call “tailings” every week. This is fresh beef and pork, and consists of cuts that are not perfect, and so cannot be sold, and the leftovers after cutting that aren’t complete enough to package and sell. This free meat is fresh and good, but does require some effort and a sharp knife to harvest. I have to trim away fat, gristle and bone to get all of it- but I get a lot of perfectly good “soup” meat this way- cut up like “stew beef”. Any hunter who has processed his own deer will know what I’m talking about. You can get the back strap, loins, and roasts easily enough, but you have to work for the remaining meat- although beef and pork doesn’t have all the “striffin” that venison does.

Unfortunately, this free meat is not best harvested all year ’round- unless you happen to be there when it is discarded. In the summer months, the likelihood of rapid spoilage becomes a factor.

Incidentally, all the venison I have harvested for the last few years has also been “free”- road kill that I have picked up. It helps to be able to tell how long an animal has been dead, and there are actually books on the subject to help the novice determine just that. [JWR Adds: But note that collecting road kill is illegal in many states.]

The last area to address is that of nonfood consumables, like shampoo and light bulbs. Like bagged produce, when a package of bulbs has been dropped and one is broken, then all are usually discarded. Drug stores and the like frequently throw out large quantities of shampoos and conditioners. I have years worth of these items stashed away- free for the taking.

Now for some details on the practicality of dumpster diving. Some stores will absolutely prosecute you for doing so. Wal-Mart is one of them. As for most of the grocery stores I hit- at one time or another I have been “caught” in the act of harvesting their refuse. I just speak to the employee in very friendly terms about how this harvesting saves me so much money on the feed bill for my “hogs” and usually they are very receptive about my future harvesting of their refuse. The “hogs” I’m referring to are, of course, of the two-legged variety. I never mention that, and it bothers my conscience not one iota to withhold that detail. My feeling is that they need know no more than that about my life and circumstances. Having to explain why you’re in a dumpster can be a bit awkward, for lack of a better word. But no more so than being caught swiping a bit of the icing off the cake before the guests arrive… In the times to come, I may be faced with situations that force decisions of even greater gravity, and if so I will feel blessed if all it costs me is an awkward moment. I’m sure everyone is eventually faced with a choice they would rather not make, but must to ensure their family’s well being. If I let a little thing like feeling embarrassed stop me from procuring supplies, I won’t be very adequate in my attempts to stop the coming tyranny from destroying my family and should join those who are relying on God alone to save them from starvation and/or persecution. Yes, I rely on Him. But I still have to do my part. Just my opinion. Your mileage may vary.

Well, there you have it. This is how I have managed to save up a couple of years of survival goods for me and mine.

I hope it provides at least one family with the insight on a way to be prepared for the worst without having a lot of disposable income.

May God be with us all.



Middle of the Road Family Embraces the Prepper Mindset by C.L.

So how does one start down this journey of becoming a prepper?  For me and eventually our family, it was a gradual transition, which included the convergence of medical, physical and political convictions.  This was not a planned journey but rather one, which we have come to embrace as our only path to survival.

We are a typical family in one sense and atypical in another.  We have led a typical life of work, play and trying to get ahead.  Where our life has veered from this typical course is the support we must provide to one of our children who has special needs.  We have a child with autism, who has been experiencing medical problems for many years.  After trying various doctors, we landed on a doctor of homeopathy.  Not only did we find a kindred spirit who also believed that typical western medicine did not seek of solve medical conditions as much as prescribe another pill.  We also found that our child had celiac disease also known as gluten intolerance to the extreme!

Learning about celiac disease, the cause or what triggers it and the need to go gluten free has rekindled the desire to grow and produce natural foods free from gluten and other chemicals, which are destroying our bodies.  Our parents grew gardens and put up canned foods but through years of grocery store conveniences, they gave up those practices. Both my husband and I grew up with home canned goods but neither of us had continued this practice.  The diagnosis of celiac prompted us to begin canning our food, and searching the Internet for recipes and outlets for whole food products.  We have found a variety of resources including Bob’s Red Mill, Whole Foods and grocery outlets in our local area to buy flours and other products, which are gluten free.  We found magazines like Gluten Free Living and blogs such as Gluten Free Girl with recipes and solutions to everyday foods, which we can no longer use.  We have made friends with our local homestead store, re-discovered useful books such as the Ball Blue Book of Preserving and sustainable recipes for everyday household needs such as Make Your Place: Affordable & Sustainable Nesting Skills, by Raleigh Briggs.  We purchase heirloom seed from Territorial Seed to grow our own garden and are learning about medicinal herbs. Several years of trial and error has led to a point where we are producing several hundred pounds of fruits and vegetables in our garden each summer.  Building the garden has also led us to learn about water catchment systems, looking for water barrels and adding a metal roof to one of our sheds in order to catch the rain water.  We also added chickens to the back yard.  We get to eat all the eggs we want, give several dozen to our neighbors and use the manure in our garden.

This should be the end of the story but it is really just the beginning.  Lack of consistent gluten free products in our grocery stores, the necessity of running to multiple locations each month to accumulate the needed groceries to round out our meals and a frustration with the lack of options began pushing our thinking toward what happens if?  What happens if there is a disruption in society’s ability to stock the local grocery store?  What happens if any number of scenarios take place including super inflation, political unrest etc.  You can imagine a variety of different scenarios based upon our current economic, political and social climates.

The result of these types of concerns has led us to begin to put away food.  Although not LDS ourselves, we discovered a local LDS Bishop’s warehouse with number 10 can sealing machines available for use. The LDS church members who assisted us were very willing to help us learn how to put up the food.  There are also several good You Tube videos that will help you with the process of storing and sealing food in number 10 cans.  We began working with other couples that have similar concerns and began buying in bulk quantities.  You can download the LDS Preparedness Manual which will give you basic recommended quantities of food, household and survival items at Abysmal.com.  It is a good starting point to determine what to put away and how much of each item.  Gluten intolerance will change some of the recommendations though.  Instead of putting away hard wheat (which could still be sprouted and used for greens) we put away more rice and corn.  In our desire to remain gluten and chemical free we search out raw food and herb suppliers such as Mountain Rose Herbs.  Fortunately there are companies which produce freeze dried gluten free foods as well such as AlpineAire, Saratoga, and Augason Farms. By talking directly with several other manufacturers we have found that many others have some products that are gluten free such as their fruits and vegetables.  We invested in food dryers and dry our own garden products each summer.  The local Costco has organic vegetables that can be dried straight from the bag with no extra preparation. 

Working together as a group of folks makes the process of locating and storing food seem to be easier and go faster, or at least it seems more enjoyable as you work together to locate resources and then prepare them together. Once per month buying trips can become an excuse for a social outing as you meet at various locations to buy food and have lunch together or put on a canning party.  It is also easy to become complacent.  When you are working with a group, the group will spur you on and keep you on track.

 We have spent hours in the evening and on rainy days on You Tube watching a variety of prepper videos and have learned a great deal about many topics as well as identifying many more topics we need to learning about.  There are so many good ones to watch but to name a few, SouthernPrepper1 and USNERDOC are just a couple that we have watched a great deal.  We are learning to divide and conquer when it comes to skills we have decided we need to learn.  While one is working on their ham radio license, another is tackling medical supplies and needed training.  We attend gun shows and prepper shows in our area.  We are reading everything we can find on the topics of food and water storage, homesteading skills and more. The popularity of prepping in the media is helping when looking for books and other resources, as local retailers are willing to stock in more items associated with prepping.  Bookstores such as Powell’s Books and the Survivalblog provide lists of books and other items, which can be useful in a variety of scenarios. Ebay and Craig’s List have also been helpful in trying to locate items inexpensively.  Remember, we are middle aged folks who did a great deal of backpacking in our twenties and thirties but have let life get in the way for many years.  We are finding that the skills do come back, just like riding a bicycle and we are having fun remembering how to do many of these skills. 

 We are learning that if we approach the prepping process step by step it does not seem so overwhelming.  We are great list makers and have lists of needed items with us where ever we go.  We divide tasks among our small group and are always looking for folks with specific skills to join our group.  We have read blogs and posts where folks are asking how to get connected.  Our answer is to be observant as you go about your daily tasks.  Notice who is looks at bulk quantities, talking a gun class with you and asking about various resources.  Sometimes you overhear a customer asking where you find a resource or explaining to someone else how to do something.  We ask probing questions and notice answers.  If we think that someone is receptive we may ask a few more questions.  We try not to draw attention to ourselves as many in our community don’t think they way we do and many don’t have to as they can eat in any restaurant or go to any store to buy their food.  We still have more questions than we do answers yet we are enjoying working together to discover the resources.  We took a gun class not long ago and found that a little competition made for some great ribbing over the next few weeks as we debated who hit the target more consistently.   The more we talk to folks we meet in our journey, the more we are finding like-minded folks who have similar concerns about our present circumstances and desires to be self-sufficient.  You too can become a prepper and find similar folks.  Just ask a couple of questions or start a conversation with the person next to you at Bob’s Red Mill as you see someone asking about bulk flours.  That’s how we started.



David in Israel on Coronal Mass Ejections

I’m writing to remind readers that the Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) that began March 8, 2012 will sweep away low speed particles clearing the way for a few days for a somewhat possible 1859 Carrington Event style kill shot should there be another large CME.  I suggest that SurvivalBlog readers keep up to date on SpaceWeather.com though utilities and emergency services will also be watching this.  Even if there is another larger CME and the utilities disconnect to save their equipment any long conductor can act as an antenna for the radio waves produced by an ionospheric event. So be ready to check electrical connections to any large metal objects, disconnect antennas and even pull removable power supplies. Good grounding is always a good idea even if there is no EMP/CME worries [since lightning is a day-to-day risk.] Purim Somayach – David in Israel

JWR Adds: SurvivalBlog reader Randy K. sent a link to a blog post at A Survival Plan with a fairly comprehensive list of very useful web links: Large X-Class Solar Flare – Resources and News. And here is an AP wire story: Biggest solar storm in years hits, so far so good





Odds ‘n Sods:

AmEx (American Expat) sent a PDF link to an expert analysis (published by Virginia Tech) on the potential impact of a major earthquake along the New Madrid Fault Line. This is food for thought, and cause to do a bit of padding and strapping down.

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FBI director: Have to check whether targeted killing rule is outside US only. It is not very reassuring, seeing men like this seated in high places. Let’s add Robert Mueller to the same list as Eric Holder. They must be forced out of office with a public outcry, as soon as possible. Both of them are clearly incompetent, morally bankrupt, and Constitutionally illiterate.

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Charming news: Uncle Sam: If It Ends in .Com, It’s .Seizable. JWR’s Comments: SurvivalBlog’s primary server is now in Sweden, and the blog is automatically posted daily to survivalblog.se. (As recommended by our Department of Redundancy Department.) And of course we publicize our dotted quad address. Please bookmark that IPV4 address: http://95.143.193.148–just in case you ever click on your SurvivalBlog bookmark and see a FBI warning displayed. I suspect that Eric Holder, et al will not stop with just seizing the domain names of bit torrent and gambling web sites. With or without SOPA, they are already on the war path against sites “identified with malware”, for instance. So what is to stop them from seizing the domain names of sites that they deem “anti-government”, or “disseminating information useful to domestic terrorists”? (We call that information preparedness and survival skills, but never underestimate the ability of a biased bureaucrat to cast a wide net.) Let’s face it: We have already been identified as “the enemy”, folks. After all, if National Pravda Radio has defined the we-they paradigm, citing their leftist “experts”, then in the eyes of The Powers That Be, it must be true.

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Yishai recommended this at the Popular Mechanics web site: How to Start Your Indoor Garden

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Choate Machine & Tool has come up with a great product for AR-15 and M4gery owners: an Essential Parts Kit that is cleverly packaged in a clear plastic tube that has the same dimensions as a stacked pair of CR-123 batteries. So this kit is a perfect fit for stowing in some of the new buttstocks, pistol grips and foregrips that have integral spare battery compartments.



Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"While we benefit in some ways from modern technology, I do wonder what state our world would be in if we suddenly lost the electrical power necessary to keep our communications functioning.  Would the younger generations know how to grow crops to feed a family?  Would they know how to drop anchor and wait for the catch?  Would they know how to survive by the sweat of their brow?  New is good.  Old is necessary." – Reverend Billy Graham



Notes from JWR:

SolarHam has issued another solar flare warning. This would be a good day to unplug your radios, detach your antennas, and make sure all of your spare radios are safely tucked away in Faraday cans. (If nothing else, this is good practice for “The Big One”.) Here is a related news article.

Today we present another two entries for Round 39 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, 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 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), and E.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo.

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol. It is a $439 value courtesy of Next Level Training. B.) A FloJak F-50 hand well pump (a $349 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. C.) 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, D.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and E.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value) and F.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, C.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), and D.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 39 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.



Warm, Protected and Modest: What to Wear in Difficult Times, by Marilyn E.

My father, a World War II veteran, suffered from trench foot, still suffers from its after effects. He contracted the condition in Europe by having cold, wet feet for days on end. A similar condition called immersion foot may be familiar to veterans who served in Vietnam where the water was warmer, but still caused loss of circulation. Dry socks are not a luxury. Warm, dry clothing is not only a joy and a comfort, it can save your body parts and your life. Protection from sun and wind, thorns and brush, cold and damp can be essential to your survival. But no matter how well prepared you are, sooner or later everything you own will wear out. When there is no thrift store, mall or internet with overnight delivery, you’ll still need to protect yourself. In this article I will lay out some strategies for keeping you covered and comfortable. I will not address specialized clothing such as rain gear, armor and personal protective equipment. I will discuss what you wear every day: how to choose clothing and preserve. In future articles I hope to describe how to reuse and recycle clothing and, if necessary, create it from scratch.

The first question is what do you need to wear? What clothing is essential to your everyday tasks? I sit in an office most of the day. What I wear in that setting is not appropriate for mucking out stalls, tramping through heavy brush or digging in the garden, so I have two kinds of “working” wardrobes. The first step is deciding what activities you’ll be performing in what kind of weather and determine if the clothing you have is going to keep you comfortable during those tasks.  Will you be hunting, hunkering down, chopping wood, following a plow? Have you tried out your clothing in these situations and how is it working for you? Will you be outside in heat and cold, wet and dry? What do you currently own and what do you need to buy? What can be repurposed for the coming tasks? How much clothing do you need for how long? Can you make what you have last until it can be replaced? What if it can’t be replaced except by your own efforts? Inventory what you have and see where you are falling short. Decide if you need more of anything and make a plan to add, repair, replace or pare down if your closets are full of things that will do you no good.

What should your clothes be made of? There are basically three types of fabric: plant derived, animal derived and synthetic. Each has different characteristics. Natural fibers like cotton, hemp, bamboo, and linen, and some cellulose-based synthetics like rayon and its kin (modal and viscose) absorb moisture, breathe and allow you to stay cool. Wicking away moisture is important both in summer, when it helps keep your skin cool by allowing evaporation, and in the winter, when sweating under clothes can leave you clammy and chilled. Silk has properties similar to plant-derived materials with the added advantage that it can keep you cool in warm weather and warm in cool weather with very little added weight. My silk long underwear is dear to me. Historically silk has been used under armor to prevent chafing, aid in cooling and, so the story goes, to add an extra layer of protection, as well as making arrows easier to remove should they penetrate your armor.

Animal fibers like wool and hair can keep you warm even when they are wet. But a wool shirt, once soaked with your sweat, can also serve as a good evaporative cooling system. A closely woven or felted wool coat will keep you warmer than anything but heavy fur, with the added benefit that it can turn water for a considerable time. Fur, leather and hide, if treated correctly, can repel water and can be made soft enough to go next to the skin, although wet leather on skin, in my experience, is not a joy.

While synthetics, especially polyester, nylon and acrylic, have their place and are available in an amazing array of textures and weights, they may be less desirable than more natural fabrics. They often do not breathe and can leave you feeling clammy and damp, especially if worn close to the skin. Synthetics are often blended with natural fabrics to improve their handling, wrinkle resistance and cost. The more of the natural fiber blended into the fabric, the better it will likely feel next to your skin.  If you ignite a tiny bit of fabric you can estimate the content of natural fibers: if it melts it is mostly petrochemical-derived synthetics, if it burns it has mostly natural fibers. You can imagine that fabric that melts into your skin during a fire is less than ideal. On the other hand, cotton gauze can burn furiously and be equally dangerous.

My vote is always for as much natural fiber as I can manage. Sometimes it’s hard to find clothing made of natural fibers because synthetics have become ubiquitous and tend to be inexpensive. Cheap clothing cheaply constructed is not a bargain. Buy the best clothing you can afford, made of good fabrics and well constructed. It will last longer. Consignment shops often have excellent quality designer clothing made of high quality natural fabrics. Don’t let the fashion fool you. These clothes are made of the best materials and built to last though they are usually worn for one season and tossed aside. That just means more for you and me at prices we can afford.

Accessorizing is not just for fashion mavens. You’ll need gloves, hats, scarves and shoes or boots appropriate to whatever tasks you’re performing. In the summer my husband and I use what we fondly call Amish sunscreen: long-sleeved shirts and hats with brims. Sunburn is painful; skin cancer is lethal.  Grown-ups put on gloves before their hands start to blister, not after. Shoes that fit and are appropriate to the task should not need to be explained. And don’t forget the dry socks.

A Side Note:
In some unusual circumstances, the best clothes are no clothes at all. Two cases in point: 1) the five women who rowed across the Atlantic recently found that their seawater damp clothing caused sores where it rubbed. By rowing without clothes, they literally saved their skin; 2) while serving on a Pacific island, my father found that by placing his clothing under palm fronds during the brief daily monsoon, he had dry clothes for the rest of the day. 

You’ve selected your clothing and tried it out in the sorts of situations where it will be expected to serve. Now how do you make it last? First, your clothes may need clothes. An apron, whether you’re a cook or a blacksmith, will preserve your clothing. Protective sleeves, butchers’ coats, and smocks can be washed repeatedly sparing your everyday clothing and making it last longer.
Clean clothes survive longer than dirty ones, but clothing doesn’t need to be washed every time you wear it. Washing clothing too often wears it out. Clothing that is to be stored for any period of time must be clean because insects and mildew are attracted to body oil, deodorant, food stains, and other soil. Clothing should be completely dry before storing. To wash, sort fabrics by weight (towels should not be washed with sheets, for example) and by color, light colors separate from dark colors. Keep the red socks out of the whites to avoid having pink undies.

Soap or detergent? Detergent, made from petrochemicals, does a fairly good job of cleaning clothes, but you will find some types of grease stains will not be removed. Soap, made from natural fats or oils, will remove stains better, but soap forms a precipitate with hard water that can cause fabrics to become gray and dull. Vinegar or citrus juice added to the wash water will prevent this, as will washing in soft water (such as rain water). Baking soda also changes the pH of the water in the other direction (making it alkaline rather than acidic) and will make the detergent foam better in hard water making it clean more effectively. Dulling of dark colors is not caused by washing in hot water but by lint and residue clinging to the fabric. Vinegar in the final rinse will reduce this. Salt added to wash water can prevent yellowing of whites and combined with vinegar will remove mildew from fabric. If you are washing in a tub rather than in a machine, my friend tells me you are better off using a bathroom plunger than the metal one she bought for the job. It rusted and left stains on her clothes.

Never wash clothing in cold water. Cold water does not destroy bacteria or prevent mildew. Use the warmest water safe for the clothing, but not so hot it will degrade the fabric. However, you should use water hot enough to purify fabric that needs it, for example, clothing that has been in flood water or has been exposed to disease or infection.

I have often heard it said that line drying is better for clothing than using a drier. However, a woman of my acquaintance found the opposite to be true. This will depend somewhat on how you are drying your clothes and whether or not they are subject to wind and sun. Sunlight can degrade fabrics (especially silk) and cause colors to fade, but it can also destroy mildew. How you dry your clothes will depend on what is available to you. Clothing can be line dried in the winter as well as in the summer, but it may take longer. If drying takes so long the fabric mildews as during prolonged damp weather, find an alternative, such as drying indoors on lines or even furniture. A drying rack in or a retractable line over the bathtub works well.

Before washing clothes make any repairs that are required. Tears become worse while laundering. Also, close zippers, turn sweaters and trousers inside out, and empty pockets – pens and chap sticks in a washer or drier will do your clothing no good. Tie drawstrings loosely to prevent them from pulling out, hook bras or other items with hooks to keep them from snagging other garments (or wash them in a net bag or a pillow case).

Storing wool, other animal fibers and fur present a special problem because of clothing moths. The tiny larvae eat the protein in the hair or fiber and leave holes. Wool blended with synthetics is less attractive to them. They can be thwarted by several means. Freezing infested clothing for about two weeks or heating fabric to 120 degrees Fahrenheit for thirty minutes will kill the larvae. They do not like sun and movement so hanging clothes on a sunny, breezy clothes line will cause them to drop off. Also, soaking in soapy water for twelve hours will drown the little nibblers. Once you’re sure the larvae are dead, store animal fiber clothing to prevent it from becoming reinfested. First, the clothing should be absolutely clean and dry. Avoid moth balls – they are toxic to more than moths, and the really awful smell is very difficult to banish. Old houses often have closets with windows in them specifically for storing woolens, but to be safe, add other precautions. Moths are deterred by the smell of cedar (the classic cedar trunk was designed to store woolens), eucalyptus, pennyroyal, lavender, rosemary, mint, cloves or lemon. Any non-edible barrier will stop the moths from getting to your clothes. This can be a paper bag tightly sealed or a well sealed cotton pillow case. Both of these allow air to circulate. I do not recommend plastic for storage as any trapped moisture can cause problems like mildew. 

To repair and maintain your clothing you will need certain tools. Not enough can be said about the value of good needles. You should have them in several sizes, appropriate to whatever you’re repairing, whether stockings or leather. 
Here is my basic tool kit. You’ll obviously change it to suit your needs.

  • Needles in various weights and sizes: sharps sizes 3 through 9; yarn needles; others as needed such as darning, embroidery, sail maker’s (also used for heavy leather), and upholstery
  • Thread in regular sewing weight and coat weight in an assortment of colors but at least white, black, and whatever most of your clothes are
  • A needle threader if you have poor eyesight
  • Safety pins in assorted sizes.  Large ones can be used to thread elastic or draw strings through waistbands
  • Buttons of various sizes; snaps; hooks and eyes; grommets and a grommet setter. I have zippers, but I don’t recommend them. More on this later.
  • Scissors, large for cutting fabric and small for snipping threads; scissors sharpener
  • Loop and hook tape; elastic in assorted widths; cording for draw strings and macramé buttons and frogs
  • Tape measure
  • Seam ripper – not essential but handy
  • Pins and pin cushion with an emery bag (the little metal-filing filled bag for sharpening pins)
  • Thimble – I rarely use mine, but they’re nice to have
  • Patching material
  • Also handy but not essential are seam tape, fusible bonding web (Stitch Witchery), liquid seam sealant (Fray Check), tailor’s chalk

A really good book on basic clothing repair and construction is worth the investment. Always make repairs as soon as possible. When adding a patch, make sure the edges are finished to prevent raveling and the patch is sufficiently large to be stitched to areas of strong fabric. A patch that is stronger than the material it is stitched to can tear out leaving a bigger hole. Creative patching can improve the appearance of worn garments, clever patching can be nearly invisible. Preemptive patches placed in areas of hard wear (leather patches on knees or elbows) can add years of life to garments.

Learn how to darn, practice doing it and wear the repaired clothing to see if the repair causes rubbing, blistering or discomfort. If so, toss or recycle the repaired item and try it again. Practice makes perfect and if you wait until you have nothing but holey socks to learn to repair them, you’ve waited too long. In most garments zippers are much harder to replace than you might think. Often to remove the old zipper and put in a new one requires nearly complete deconstruction of the item. Replacing the broken zipper with loop and hook (like Velcro) or with buttons is easier. For a coat, toggles with looped fasteners work well.  

Choose your clothing wisely and take good care of it. Still, however careful you are, sooner or later everything you own will wear out. Reusing, repurposing, salvage and creation from scratch are the next steps. These require much more time and effort, so saving your clothes saves you both.



Out of the Neighborhood and Into a Community, by J.N.

As a firearms enthusiast, I have spent far too much time reading gun-related forums.  The collective knowledge of the larger forums is amazing and far outweighs the poorly thought-out words of the few ignorant posters who have nothing to add.  Often, after catching up on my favorite firearm sections, I find myself checking out the survival/preparedness sub-forums that the major firearms forums all seem to have.  Limited on the depth of their information, I usually hop over and research a topic on survival-specific forums and blogs where the levels of knowledge and experience are at much higher standards.

The topics at theses survival postings are often well thought out and useful.  I have learned much about preparing and have taken steps to insulate my family from TEOTWAWKI.  However, I often laugh at the subjects and the false sense of security that some posters think they have once they pack a simple Bug-Out Bag stocked with a weapon, 72 hours of food, and a first aid kit.  Often posters brag about their hunting prowess or talk about the seeds they have that will apparently grow with Jack and the Beanstalk fervor.  They also usually have a ‘spot’ somewhere in the woods near a creek where they can hunt, fish, and get fresh water.  Although this sounds somewhat utopian, especially considering the hypothetical civilization meltdown that is happening elsewhere, I can only muse at the serous lack of thought that many put into their survival plans.

I may hurt some feelings with this, but, in the event of a major emergency, I believe many those who think they have prepared for a TEOTWAWKI event will be sadly mistaken.  If your plan is to hop in your vehicle with your Bug-Out Bag and head to your spot on a creek and live out the rest of your life happily hunting and living off the land, your logic may be fatally flawed.  More than likely, you will soon die next to that creek and the only thing that will be well-fed and thriving will be buzzards as they consume your carcass.  Do you think I’m being too harsh?  Compared to trying to feed yourself in the woods, I’m being pretty easy on you.

First off, thinking you can hunt enough animals to eat is a fantasy steeped in self-delusion.  Just because you can routinely bag your limit every hunting season does not mean you can do this year-round.  In reality, how many animals are in an area?  How many will you kill before they move elsewhere?  Besides, meat spoils quickly.  Unless you smoke the meat, how long will a 100-pound deer carcass lay around before it poisons you?  In summer heat, how long will it last?  A day or two at the most?  In the warmer months can you harvest an animal every two days?  Even rodents and squirrels will get scarce soon and your snares will hang empty.  The animals are smart, they will quickly move out of your range.  What then? 

Another subject that is often brought up is a garden.  Bags of survival seeds are bought with the idea that a garden is as simple as tossing out some seeds and watching them grow.  The last gun show I attended had a booth with a guy selling raw wheat by the pound.  The simple fact is, if the garden isn’t growing right now, or last year’s harvest isn’t in cans in a dark closet somewhere, you will starve as you wait for the seeds to germinate.  A garden will only work when you are working a year ahead.  Even if a garden is growing now, harvest seasons are quick and usually simultaneous.  Will you be ready to reap it all when everything matures at the same time, or will it spoil before you can store it properly?  Thinking a simple garden is your means of survival is another losing proposal. 

Running a close second to Bug-Out Bag discussions are the ever-popular Bug-Out Vehicle threads.  They are usually the escape pod of an urbanite and typically take the form of a pickup or sport utility, with big V-8s, knobby tires, and enough cans of fuel to get to the previously-mentioned ‘spot’ next to the creek.  I used to have this same mentality: something bad happens, urban chaos erupts, I load the SUV with my family and supplies and head out of town. 

This all changed by a freak ice storm that struck the Raleigh area a few years ago.  The meteorologists had all said a slight precipitation event was coming through, but don’t worry, it was not cold enough to freeze.  Unfortunately, they were off by a few degrees.  The unexpected layer of ice formed quickly in the middle a workday.  Sensing the impending traffic nightmare, I left work a few minutes after the icy drizzle began.  Working only five miles from my wife, I called her and told her I was coming by to pick her up so she wouldn’t have to drive her sports car in the worsening conditions.  By the time I was a mile away from my work, the highways formed a thin but slippery layer of ice.  I can still vividly recall a FedEx truck sliding down at me from an off ramp and bouncing off a few cars before it slid off the ice-covered pavement. 

Oddly, within a few minutes the temperature had risen and the ice on the road melted, but not before they cancelled all the schools and everyone left their workplaces at the exact same time.  The gridlock that ensued was epic.  Overloaded cell phone networks shut down and all callers could hear was a busy signal.  It took me four hours to travel five miles to my wife’s work.  To save fuel, I turned off my car until I could move at least fifty yards, which only happened every few minutes.  The guy behind me didn’t like my technique and honked his horn and angrily passed me on the sidewalk just to gain a few more inches.   Panicked parents, trying to pick up their kids at schools, drove on the sidewalks, knocking down signs and bouncing off light poles.  Impatient people honked horns and began bumping the cars ahead of them.  I saw dozens of people abandon their car and start walking.  The guy who angrily passed me later ran out of gas and someone helped him push his car up on the sidewalk.  

Figuring that the traffic would clear within a few hours, my wife and I walked over to a restaurant and watched the clogged mass of cars crawl by at a glacier’s pace.  At midnight, we decided to begin our trip home.  Usually the eight-mile commute took less than fifteen minutes.  Seven hours after our journey began the rising sun greeted us the next morning as we finally pulled into our driveway.  Vehicles of every type, stacked bumper-to-bumper littered the shoulders of the roads.  With their cars out of gas, people had to knock on the doors of a stranger to ask them for a place to stay.  It was amazing how such a minor event has completely shut down an entire region.  What if something really bad happened?  What if they were running from a deadly threat?  How much worse would the panic have been?  Do you now see the fallacy of a Bug-Out Vehicle, especially if you live in a populated area?  Raleigh is pretty small, after all.  What would it have been like in a major metro area like Atlanta or Chicago.

Right about now you are probably wondering what the point of this article is.  Why do I seem so fatalistic and seem to make light of preparedness?  Let me assure you that I have put a lot of time into the above thoughts.  Yes, I have a well-stocked Bug-Out Bag that will sustain my family for 72 hours.  I also have firearms, ammo, med supplies, food, water, etc.  I even have a decent Bug-Out Vehicle.  I am far from labeling survival items as useless and encourage my non-prepared friends to acquire the requisite survival basics.  What I am advocating, however, is to take an honest look at not only the relatively narrow focus on survival, but the broader view of a decent quality of life for you and your loved ones.  How is this done?  I’m glad you asked.

My dad is one of the best-prepared people I know.  If TEOTWAWKI happens, he’s in good shape.  Does he have a Bug-Out Bag?  No.  Does he have a ‘spot’ near the creek?  Close, but no.  A large population of deer?  Used to, until the coyote population exploded.   How about a Bug-Out Vehicle?  Nope, just an old pickup truck.  Assault rifles and stockpiles of ammo? Not really, a few guns and some ammo.  I’ll bet you are wondering why I consider him so well-prepared.  Well, let me tell you a little about him.

My dad is a grain farmer in coastal North Carolina.  On average he produces 1,500 tons of grain every year.  At any given time, he has 10,000 bushels of corn or soybeans stored (right now he has his grain bins full of soybeans that he will sell before mid-August when he begins harvesting his corn).  He keeps a 1,000 gallon tank of diesel full year-round.  Across the road from his farm is a 25,000-head pig farm.  On the other side is a seven-pond fish farm with hundreds of thousands of fish.  His closest neighbor, who lives a mere mile away, raises goats and chickens.  Dad has a capped water well in his backyard and a pitcher pump in storage.  His house was built as the centerpiece of a plantation in 1834 and has four fireplaces and a winter’s supply of firewood.  The house sits in the middle of a square-mile block (640 acre) of farmland. [Some deleted, for OPSEC.] He collects and uses primitive hand and farm tools as a hobby. 

Most importantly, my Dad has a network of friends that range from doctors to diesel mechanics to manual laborers and police officers.  All of whom are armed and can act as a manual labor and defensive force.  Without trying, he has prepared for a myriad of society-changing events.  His simple agrarian lifestyle harkens back to the society of 200 years ago.  If everything in our society falls apart, his farm would be the center of a small, agrarian community working together to both feed and defend itself, as well as having the social interactions that would give a decent quality of life.  It would not be a modern life that we are accustomed to, one would tire of eating fish, pork, and soybeans, after all, but it would far better than starving to death next to your ‘spot.’ So, after long discussions with my wife, we have decided to get out of the city and move back to the farm.  I will be taking over the family farm this spring and I already have a small plot set aside for long-term, storable foods like dry beans and open pollinating corn.  Of course, career options will be a bit limited living in a rural area, but actually living as simply as possible should offset any loss in income.  I think it is worth it.

I have already begun networking in my new community, expanding the circle of people my dad has already established.  Growing up in the community gives me an advantage when it comes to navigation and personal connections.  My new house is within walking distance of two of my best friends from high school who already have a good grasp on the survivor’s mentality. 
One of them is the son of the goat and chicken farmer I mentioned earlier.  He has agreed to trade me a couple of goats and chickens for a supply of shelled corn.  He also has a broad skill set that includes carpentry and wiring.  I have seen him repair electrical devices that all others had given up hope on.  He also keeps horses in his pastures that could theoretically be used to pull some of the antique farm machinery my dad has collected over the years, but I really hope it never comes to that.  His skill with an AK-47 is rather well-honed too.   

My other friend lives a bit further away but the distance is still less than an hour’s walk through the woods from my house.  He was awakened to how fragile our society is many years ago and began preparing back then.  He moved into a hundred and fifty-year-old cottage complete with a working fireplace, several old barns, and a very fertile one-acre garden, all of which cost him less than fifty thousand dollars. 

Since moving there, he has constructed a greenhouse and is in the process of growing exotic (for North Carolina) fruits such as papayas and mangoes.  His first greenhouse is doing so well he has another one ordered.  (My love of guacamole has me trying to convince him to plant some dwarf avocado trees.)  Next to his garden he drilled a well and attached a pitcher pump to it.  He had set up one of the barns for storage and has a good amount of long-shelf-life food, including a large supply of canned food from last year’s garden harvest.  This season I have agreed to raise a variety of dry beans and open pollinated corn in order to trade them to him for some of his fruit and vegetables.

Between the three of us, we can focus on our own specialties of dry grains, livestock, and fruits and vegetables, allowing us to barter and trade our goods without having to spread ourselves too thin by trying to individually produce a variety of food.  Getting together for camping trips and frequent range sessions with a variety of weaponry is key to building both skills and friendship.      
So, instead of theorizing about Bug-Outs or hunting and gathering skills, I suggest getting out of urban and suburban environments and move to a rural area that is far enough away from population concentrations to inhibit a visit from roaming hoards.  Buy an old house with fireplaces and make sure it has enough land to plant a substantial garden.  Along with a garden, learn to raise small numbers of livestock, especially something simple like egg-laying chickens.  Living to see that first harvest will require a lot of stored food.  Construct or convert easily-secured buildings to store substantial food and water supplies, especially since you will be staying put and not likely be bugging out to somewhere else.  If you have a skill or produce something of value, let your neighbors know and barter your goods with them.  If you don’t have marketable skills, learn one.  Local community colleges often have classes of value in this respect.  Once you learn a skill, have plenty of the supplies related to those skills on hand.  Passing yourself off as a welder without having numerous cylinders of welding gasses and lots of welding and brazing rod would be a tough sale.  

The most important thing is move to an area of like-minded people and make friends now.  No one will trust you after a major event unless they knew you prior.  Get to know the people in your community and network with them.  Churches, hunt clubs, and small outreach organizations are a good place to meet people.  Befriend a local family farmer and begin to barter with him.  Typically, they are willing to trade dry grain for labor, services, and shiny things, specifically gold and silver.

From my experience the rural mindset is a lot more accepting of a survivalist mentality due to their isolated proximity and frequent interruptions in power and communication.  Compared to most neighborhood home owner’s groups, they also seem to be a lot more tolerant of crowing roosters, manure-fed gardens, and unsightly windmills.  Most importantly, stop fooling yourself with a false sense of preparation and make a plan to thrive with a community of like-minded people.  It will likely take major changes and sacrifices in your life, but it sure beats starving to death alone in farming country.



Letter Re: Sugar and Salt Storage

Dear SurvivalBlog Editor:
I’m running out of storage room for my food storage.  Would sugar or salt stored in mylar bags and food grade bucket with a gasket lid deteriorate if stored in a hot, humid environment, (such as garage)?  Thank you for any advice you could offer. Take care, – Stephanie K.

JWR Replies: The beauty of salt and sugar is that they are “self-storing” and can have extremely long useful storage lives (potentially centuries) if they are protected from moisture. Just a bit of humid air and inadequate packaging will turn either of them into solid bricks, fairly quickly. If this occurs they can of course be broken up with hammer and chisel or dissolved with tap water, but that can be inconvenient and messy, particularly when you have the former granules stored in seven gallon super pails! Furthermore, without a good vapor seal, both sugar and salt can pick up undesirable odors, depending on where they are stored. Never store them near chlorine bottles, solvents, any petrochemicals, or any foods with strong aromas. (One exception is proximity to vanilla beans, but only if you want to have some vanillated sugar, for Liege waffles or other recipes.)

A food grade HDPE bucket with a good intact rubber seal should be sufficient for storing salt and sugar for just a few months.But a sealed mylar liner adds a layer of protection that is important for long term storage. Since HDPE is gas permeable over a long period of time, a mylar liner is recommended. (Mylar is 99% impermeable.) You can either buy mylar liners with zip-lock tops, or plain bags, and heat seal them. (The latter method takes a special tool that is fairly expensive.)

Similarly, honey has an extremely long shelf life. If it is stored in glass jars it should be protected from sunlight. When honey eventually (and inevitably) crystallizes, all that is needed is to apply low heat in a double boiler, to restore it to a palatable liquid form.

Storage temperatures encountered in a residential garage (as high as 120 degrees ) are generally not detrimental to sugar, salt, or honey. But again, moist air can be a big problem for sugar and salt.

A further consideration for salt is that if it is improperly stored in damp air, the salt vapor will induce rust on any nearby ferrous metals.



Letter Re: Some Useful Mapping Web Sites

James,
I’m sending you a link to some detailed maps of the world based on detailed data: several basic variables such as average precipitation, temperature variables, population, earth lights (and change in earth lights over time), biomass maps (vegetation) and more. Some linked pages contain data that can be used in virtual globes such as NASA World Wind.

If you explore the various links, you can find a wealth of high quality data that could be used in a long term grid down/other scenario where this basic world information could be very useful for travel, and more. This can also be used to “homeschool” children and adults in some basic high quality facts about how this planet operates.

Here are some examples:

Google Earth KMZ file for the whole earth colored topo in detail.

Highly detailed climate data that can be imported into a GIS program.

Explore with web searches for more.

Other data is out there, such as the TRMM detailed rainfall data from NASA.

Their references to “millions of years ago” are unscientific, but the data is very helpful.

Sincerely, – Calvin R.