SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at the latest on the drought that is affecting most of the western states.
A Serious Utah Dust Storm
Dust storm in Utah causes series of crashes on I-15, at least seven dead.
Western Drought Sets 122-Year Record
Reader C.B. sent this item from Fox News: Expanding Western drought sets 122-year record: scientists. The article’s opening paragraphs:
“A devasting drought has spread virtually throughout the entire western U.S., setting a 122-year record, scientists say.
Almost 90 percent of the the region is now considered to be in drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor – a partnership between the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – reports that more than 60 million Americans are currently affected by drought conditions.
A multi-agency webinar discussing the status of the drought and response efforts in the region was held Tuesday, hosted by the National Integrated Drought Information System.
The webinar featured remarks from USDA and Interior Department officials, and an update from NOAA Administrator Richard Spinrad, who said the lingering drought costs the U.S. $63 billion annually, in addition to multibillion-dollar losses from wildfires.”
Meetup.com’s Prepper Group List & Map
The amorphous Meetup.com maintains an interesting page with a map and listing of “Prepper” groups, mostly in the U.S., with a handful scattered across Europe and East Asia. Of course, all of the usual OPSEC rules apply. To echo what your mother surely warned you, many years ago: Proceed with great caution when meeting strangers.
Taco Bell Hit By Ingredients Shortages
Reader T.O. sent us this: Taco Bell’s menu hit by nationwide shortages of ingredients.
Rammed Earth Building Techniques
From Tim. J comes these two quite useful links:
- An Introduction to Insulated Rammed Earth
- Video: Building with Rammed Earth – An Impressive & Super Durable Natural Material!
Victor Davis Hanson: Democrats Have Turned Neo-Maoist
Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: From JFK to AOC: How the Democrat Party Turned Into a ‘Neo-Maoist Movement’ — Victor Davis Hanson.
Biden’s UN Adviser Met With Group To Push CCP’s ‘Preferred Policies’
Biden’s UN Adviser Met With Group ‘Co-Opting’ Americans To Push CCP’s ‘Preferred Policies’.
California: Water-Stealing Pot Growers
Reader S.B. sent us this: Thieves are stealing California’s scarce water. Where’s it going? Illegal marijuana farms. The article’s intro:
“One day last spring, water pressure in pipelines suddenly crashed In the Antelope Valley, setting off alarms. Demand had inexplicably spiked, swelling to three and half times normal. Water mains broke open, and storage tanks were drawn down to dangerous levels.
The emergency was so dire in the water-stressed desert area of Hi Vista, between Los Angeles and Mojave, that county health officials considered ordering residents to boil their tap water before drinking it.
“We said, ‘Holy cow, what’s happening?’” said Anish Saraiya, public works deputy for Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger.
It took a while for officials to figure out where all that water was going: Water thieves — likely working for illicit marijuana operations — had pulled water from remote filling stations and tapped into fire hydrants, improperly shutting off valves and triggering a chain reaction that threatened the water supply of nearly 300 homes.”
Scenario Video: A Survivalist’s Journey In WROL
Over at the great American Partisan site, an instructive and fairly realistic fictional video from survivalist commentator J.C. Dodge: Scenario Video: A Survivalist’s Journey In WROL, Part 1.
Nikki Fried Suspends 22 CCWs of Those at January 6th Protest
And finally, this news that could mark the beginning of trend: Nikki Fried suspends 22 gun licenses of Floridians involved in Capitol riot. JWR’s Comment: “Involved” may mean merely showing up outside of the capitol building, to protest. If so, then this is a gross violation of both the First Amendment and Second Amendment.
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