Survival Shelters

Shane: Hey, welcome back YouTube. Another episode of Lonewolf Survival.  And with me always are my partners in crime, Terry and Paul. And today we’re gonna be talking about improvised shelter making. And what we want… what we wanna really drill down on today is that it’s not difficult to slap something together, to get you through a night. Now, this isn’t long-term survival, this isn’t long term anything. What it is, it’s simply a hasty shelter that I can put together that can get me out of inclement weather, whether it being rain, whether it being cold, extreme heat. ‘Cause you know, even in a hot environment, as hot as it is today with the sun out, you know dehydration, heatstroke. A lot of different things come into play. So, you’ve gotta have some kind of shelter in order to help your chances of sustainability, and even a short-term environment.

So, we’ve picked three of our top choices and out of different building materials that you can throw together relatively fast. And I’ll talk about you know, as far as the time frame it takes to put these together. So, the first one I want to talk about is just a basic, simple lean-to. And that’s actually what is behind me right here. And all in all, roughly about 45 minutes to put this simple lean-to together. And understand that you can still add more to a system like this, but we’ve got a good setup. We’ve got a good set of coverage. You know, it’s actually, it’s a little cooler in here than it is out there. It’s gonna protect me from… it’s gonna protect me from wind, I’m gonna have a wind block. I’m also gonna have, if it starts raining, I’m gonna have a dry place to get out of the rain. You know, I can set my fire, I can set my fire pit area out here.

So this is a real, real simple system and what I wanna do is kinda talk to you about the construction of a system like this. And as you can see, you have your main support poles, between two trees. And we just got it lashed with cordage. We’ve got three ridgepoles here, here and here, that run down the backside of the lean-to. And then we simply, simply take in a green foliage and we packed it in and layered it and kind of woven it on top. So, if you walk around back with me… 

And you can see right here we’ve already started on half of one side, we started laying pine straw in on top of this to lock this in to more waterproof this barrier. So, you can see overall for 45 minutes you know, is it something I’m gonna live in with the family? – probably not. Will it get me through a night? Absolutely. You know, I can bed it with pine straw, I can pull in the sides. A little more work on this and this is gonna be a good, sustainable shelter for one, two days, maybe three, depending on you know, how much work you wanna put into it. For 45 minutes, 30, is I got a dry place to sleep in at night? So, that’s the first one.

So, let’s step over here and we’re gonna talk about another system. And this is a system that is also a lean-to type, but what we’re using, we’re using two garbage bags, two contractor garbage bags that are slit. We take a piece of cordage, tie it between two trees. We weave the bag in on the top, and any water that we get is gonna run off the back. And we’ve got sharp end-up sticks on the backside of the bag to hold it down. Now, I’ve bedded mine with pine straw and I’ve still got a few sticks to pick out here. But in a pinch, it takes about… I had this up in about 20 minutes. In a pinch, this is gonna give me a decent dry place, it’s gonna protect me from any wind. I can fasten this in a little better. You know, this thing, this really is not bad you know. I might actually stay here tonight. I’m just kidding.

So, and then you look at location – what do I have around me? Well, there was a smaller hole in front of me so I went ahead and grabbed some rocks and made me… started a heat shield. And then I went ahead and put some wood in here so you can see, I can have a fire here tonight. I’ll get some more rocks and I’ll stack these up to kind of devote this heat back in on me. Yeah, I’m in a pretty good spot right now for myself. Real simple – two contractor’s garbage bags don’t take up a lot of real estate in a pack. They don’t weight anything, they also have multiple uses. Like, if I had another one I could take it and actually fill it full of pine straw and actually make an improvised sleeping mat out of it or sleeping bag that I can actually get down in. So, plastic bags have a lot of uses. And then when I’m done, I roll this up and I take it with me. You know, I can use it to carry materials and I can use it for storage, I can also use it as a water filtration system and we’ll be showing you… talk a little bit about that in a later episode. But all in all, this is a real super quick, real easy, it doesn’t… I don’t have to have a lot of materials, I don’t need machetes or hatchets or anything like that. I can do this, everything with working off of my side-knife. And you know, is it the most comfortable in the world? No, but you know, it’s not the Hilton. 

Alright, so the next one we’re gonna do is we’re gonna walk back and we’re gonna talk about our third and our final shelter we’re talking to today. So, if you’ll follow me back here… I always like doing these, these are a lot of fun, too. And it’s a simple, simple pole system teepee. This is… takes about 15 minutes to put together. I’m using a canvas material that all in all weighs about 3 pounds, I carry one in my pack anyway. I can use this for a lot of different things, I can make a hammock out of this. I can use this type of material for a lot of different stuff. So, basic construction on this is, I’m just gonna go take and I’m gonna cut me some straight poles that are 6 foot, a little over 6 foot tall. I’m gonna lash them together, you can see I pulled the material down so you can see the cordage, where the poles are lashed together. And obviously I’ve wrapped my material around the teepee frame. And what that does is once again – is this long-term, is this long-term sustainability? Absolutely not. What it is, it’s gonna give me a dry place to sleep tonight, it’s gonna keep me out of the wind, it’s gonna keep me out of the rain. Also, if I got a fire pit right here and I got a small fire going, it’s gonna help in the summer with the bugs. So, this is you know… I’m 6 foot – and we were laughing about this earlier – but you know, it’s not the Ritz Carlton, but it’s not bad. And then you know, I bring in some pine straw and make me a good bed, and I fill these corners in. Can I sleep in here? Yeah, of course I can. Good wind break. In a downpour, is it gonna keep me completely dry? Probably not, but you gotta understand when you’re looking at these situations like this, it’s what I have available. It’s what materials I have on hand and what I can do with basically what nature provides me and then what I provide myself.

So, we’re gonna walk back over and we’re gonna talk a little bit about some of the tools that you might need and some of the things you need to pack out to bring, to make structures like this. So, we’ll be back in just one moment.

Welcome back, YouTube. So, we’ve looked at the structures that we put together today and I just wanted to talk about some of the… some of the tools that we used to actually build, the tools in today’s episode. You don’t need anything complex or anything complicated, everything today was constructed with a few simple things. A machete was the primary tool in building most of these different shapes, forms and fashions of these. These are some cheap ones that we use. If you’re gonna have a machete in your pack, if this is what you’re gonna carry with you, I would suggest that you do a little research and get a good one. Cold Steel makes a really good machete as well as Gerber. You know, you can find the… I call them the flea market bucket machetes, buy-five-get-one-free for two dollars. These are great for playing around and chopping just reck’er, having a good time. But am I really gonna put a six dollar machete in my pack and put my life on it? Probably not, but they’re good for utility stuff. We use stuff like this for constructing a lot of our demo shelters and doing a lot of our demos in the field – for that reason I don’t wanna use my good stuff. So, machete.

Also once again, this is a small, this is a small UST blade, paracord wrapped panel which is terribly done by the way, the paracord’s already coming off. I’ve got to rewrap this one. A machete this size is good to have for primary cutting and chopping, because I don’t wanna dull the blade of my primary and my hunting knife or my defense knife, as I call it. Remember, you have 3 types of blades. You have a utility or a general purpose knife, which is normally a pocket knife that’s used for cutting of sharpening, skinning things, like that. And then you have your general purpose, which is your general utility. General purpose is your machete, I’m gonna use this to chop limbs with. And then of course you have your primary, your hunting or your defense blade. I don’t want to take you know, my Wolf Creek and go out here and start beating on the back of it with a rock, because I keep a razor edge on this, I’m gonna use this for… I’m gonna use this for defense, I’m gonna use this, if I have to skin an animal. So, it’s good to have… it’s good to have a small, short blade for that reason.

And then, another good item to have with you, as before is a bowsaw. They don’t take up a lot of real estate, they go in the pack real nice. There are different versions, this is a large one. This is a 21 inch, one of the better ones. You know, a bowsaw can really help in taking fallen small trees. If I’m sitting here, I’m not wasting a lot, burning a lot of calories by hacking and chopping with a hatchet or a machete. I got a bowsaw.

And that’s some of the stuff that we used today. So, but I wanna show you the most primitive of tools that helped do a lot of construction today, which is… You may not see this, I have to go real far back now, which is the Ryobi cordless chainsaw. You should really carry one of these in your pack, I do. Actually, these are actually awesome. Good on the environment, it doesn’t take up a lot of real estate. I actually have a solar, a solar chargeable system wired up to AC/DC power inverter that I bring with me and I keep in the back of my vehicle, and I can charge my batteries up. And this thing is… this thing is phenomenal. I don’t go in the woods without my Ryobi. If I could just figure out a way to strap this to the bottom of my M4. Oh my God, I would be so on it.

So, these are just some of the tools that you can use when you’re looking at tooling for survival or camping, this is what you need to consider. Do a little research. Hatchets, machetes, axes, things like that. So you know, and make sure that you’re carrying quality stuff with you, and that’s gonna sum it up for this episode. I hope you’ve enjoyed it. There’s gonna be a lot more of these short episodes coming in. The next subject we’re gonna be talking on is water collection and purification.

So, until next time, I’m Shane from Lonewolf Survival and we’ll see you later!

Preparing for Fire

As global warming begins to increase across the world, some areas are likely to see a rise in fires. Even for places that are not affected by this change in temperature, having a plan in place in the event of a fire is imperative. Both homes and business places are wise to plan ahead in case a fire starts for any reason.

Take Preventative Measures

• Some fires do start as a result of the weather, but others come into fruition because homes and businesses are dangers waiting to erupt. Right now, for example, is a smart time to have an electrician come in to check out the property. Also, people and businesses can speak with their local fire chiefs to see if their homes are up to code.

Develop an Evacuation Plan

• Whether you are a homeowner or a business owner, you need to sit down with your family or your employees to discuss an appropriate evacuation plan. Make sure that the plan accounts for different scenarios and for each member of your family. Also, you should not just discuss this plan once and then never return to it. You should develop written plans. In a place of business, having signs posted is generally mandatory. You may even want to develop reminders around your home. At a business, you can put together a safety staffing team. Have an Emergency Kit. Not only do you want to make sure people know what to do, but also that they know what materials are available to help them. Your safety staffing team can go over how to use the materials, such as the hazmat suits. Wearing hazmat suits can make the difference between life and death. The emergency kit should also include first-aid items in the event that someone needs to grab it as a fire breaks out.

Make Provisions for Pets

• In the event that a fire happens in your home, your children may, for example, try to combat the smoke and flames to grab the dog. Let your kids know that you will take responsibility for getting the pets out of the house safely. You can also look for stickers to post on the windows to let emergency personnel, namely the individuals from the fire department, know that pets are in need of rescue inside of the home. You can list how many of each pet you have on the list.

Talk to Your Children’s School

• When you have kids, you want to make sure they know what to do in the event of a fire at home. However, you also need to ensure that the school is taking the appropriate steps to make sure the kids are ready in the event that a fire breaks out in the building. Speak to the teachers and the administration to see what type of program they have in place for the children.

Install an Alarm System

• You may have an alarm for your home security, or you might feel that these systems are used for break-ins only, but that is not the case. You can also get a device that alerts the fire department in the event that smoke or fire are present in your house. By installing this type of device, you can have a sense of comfort that whether you are home or not, or if you are sleeping, a signal will go out to the fire department. Be extra cautious when deciding what smoke detectors to use as most of them do not wake up children. For more information on this please read this article.

Consider a Move

• If you are in a part of the world that already experiences issues with fires, you may want to start consider moving before the issues with global warming get worse. When you suspect that your area may be one of these places, start to look into areas with safer climates.

Fires are major threats to the environment and to individuals. In order to make sure that you stay as safe as possible if a fire does break out, be sure to follow these tips.

Robots are going to steal the jobs of chefs, salespeople and models, researchers say as they unveil full list of likely robot professions

Scientists have created a huge, in-depth analysis of what jobs are under threat from robots — with salesmen, chefs and even models all in the firing line.

Researchers have assembled a full list of all the things that robots are good and bad at, and so what jobs they are likely to take. In all, about 35 per cent of jobs are likely to have been taken on by robots in the next 20 years, researchers have said.

Some professions — such as therapists, personal trainers and teachers — are safe from the coming robot apocalypse. But those that require repetitive skills, the manipulation of data or manual entering of information could see their jobs taken away.

The full list of probabilities is given at the end of Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael A. Osborne's report, 'The Future of Employment'.

The researchers calculated all of the various advantages that humans have over machines. Jobs that reward those traits were more likely to be safe from being stolen by robots.

Those traits include creative endeavours, such as writing, entrepreneurship or scientific discovery. People in those fields might actually benefit from the robots — entrepreneurs can use technology to “leverage your invention”, the researchers point out.

Social interactions are also still highly-desired, and something robots aren’t especially good at. Humans will still be needed as managers and carers, for instance — at least for the time being, though scientists have been creating robots designed to be friends to lonely people for years.

READ MORE
WORKER KILLED BY ROBOT AT VOLKSWAGEN CAR FACTORY
ROBOT REVOLUTION GATHERS PACE – BUT AT WHAT COST TO JOBS?
A THIRD OF UK JOBS TO BE REPLACED BY ROBOTS AND COMPUTERS IN NEXT 20 YEARS

Putting all of those characteristics together let the researchers score the likelihood of robots taking certain jobs, out of 1. The BBC has created a special tool for finding out exactly how likely a robot is to have your job — online at its Intelligent Machines website. 

In pictures: Artificial intelligence through history

1 of 7

• 

Next

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Robots have already taken on a good deal of jobs, the researchers point out. “Computer” used to be a word that referred to people who did data entry, for instance, and now it is the word for the little robots that sit on everyone’s desk.

Underestimated Survival Skills That Will Save Your Life When the SHTF

Whether you’re thinking about the basic skills that might be needed to deal with a sudden emergency in daily life or planning to survive the collapse of civilization, there are a number of talents that can be very handy when everything goes bad quickly. It’s easy to think that having a cell phone on-hand and car with enough gas to get you to the next state will be enough, but that supposes that someone will be there when you call or when you arrive. In most cases, it’s better to have practiced those survival skills before you need. Let’s take a look at a handful of survival skills that don’t get the credit that they deserve.

Sewing

Sewing can seem like such a simple and boring thing, so why would a survivalist ever need to know it? Survivalists are big and cool types who go off having adventures. People who sew are grandmas, right?

Imagine one day you’re out in the woods, taking a long hike. You fall, and the sharp edge of a rock rips your leg open. It’s bleeding profusely, and you realize that you have to get it closed up right away. Sewing the wound is the first order of business under such circumstances. (Meaning with a suture kit, not a needle and thread.)

Sewing also comes in handy when you need shelter. You can take pieces of fleece fabrics and stitch them together quickly into a tarp or a tent. Clothes are also likely to get ripped or worn out, and a person who’s good with a needle can make repairs quickly.

High Angle Rescue

Being able to go down a cliff can be a surprisingly useful skill, even in the modern world. This process is more technically know as “high angle rescue,” and it’s used all the time to recover people who’ve fallen down holes, over the sides of cliffs and into other places that may be hard to access. It’s a skill that requires serious practice in advance of real-world use, and you should never attempt it without proper training. If you want to truly be good at this skill you can hire safety consultants to teach you about high angle rescue and all of the ways in which you can be trained to be the ultimate prepper.

Hunting

In a long-term survival scenario, you’re going to need some protein, and that ultimately means that you’re going to have to kill something to get it. Eventually, all those nice fleece fabrics you have for exercise are also going to wear out, and one of the quickest ways to get new clothing is to take it off of the back of an animal. In most scenarios, the animals probably aren’t going to be standing around waiting to be sheered.

Hunting is another skill, like high angle rescue, at least in the sense that you don’t want to have to figure it out on the fly. That means obtaining a weapon and ammunition learning how to put them to use. Whether you intend to use a gun or a bow and arrow, it’s wise to become familiar with the weapon. Take a training course and find a target range, and when hunting season comes around, go out in the woods with a knowledgeable person and kill something.

Gardening and Raising Livestock

Hunting requires spending a lot of energy, and there’s a reason that settled human populations eventually overran everyone else who hunted. Gardening is, at its base, subsistence farming. Growing your fruits and vegetables not only saves you from having to hunt as much, but it also provides nutrients for your diet that you might not otherwise obtain. Just as sailing vessels at sea once encouraged their crews to avoid scurvy by consuming fresh fruits and veggies, your garden can save your from crippling diseases in a time of deprivation.

Raising livestock is also a worthwhile enterprise. In a difficult survival scenario, smaller animals represent smaller risks. Stick with animals like chickens or goats in order to avoid the dangers of being gored by a bull.

Preservation

When you have lots of food, it’s prudent to prepare it for those times when you expect to have nothing. There are a slew of ways to keep foods for longer periods of time. Canning preserved fruits and vegetables is still popular in many rural cultures. You’ll also be amazed to learn how many ways there are to preserve meat, from drying it out with smoke to packing it with salt.

Build Your Own Evaporative Refrigerator

I lived with my family for over 10 years on a 20acre mountain property in Southern Utah. No electric power other than the wind generator and a few solar panels. I had to figure out how to keep our food cold during the summer months. This idea came to me and I built it out of an old cupboard that was laying around. It work so well I could not believe it. The kids made jello during Aug., letting it sit overnight and wow. It was amazing how well that worked.

If you build one of these and just let it sit in the garage until the electricity goes out this little fridge will save all your refrigerator and freezer food. So simple to make. Take an old two or one door cupboard and cut the center out of the front doors and also the back. Drill holes in the side of about one inch or so and then cover it all over with chicken wire. The wire does not do much in keeping it cool, but keeps the cat and other rodents out of your food.

You will need a large gunny sack. I bought mine at the feed store, it came as a large sack and I cut it to fit. Next to the cupboard is a pan to hold water. As you see this is an old canning pan but we have used a soft plastic animal feed/water pan as well.

Place the gunny sack over the entire cupboard and then place the pan on top of the cupboard with the gunny sack ends placed in the pan. It will need a rock, brick or something to force the gunny sack down and now you pour water into the pan. The gunny sack will absorb the water and will run down the outside of the gunny sack along the outside of the cupboard. It will then begin to drip along the bottom. The breeze of the day will blow thru the walls of the gunny sack and cool the inside cupboard by about 20 degrees or more. If you place the fridge in the shady spot all day with plenty of breeze this fridge works great.

Dehydrating Garlic For Garlic Powder & Its Benefits

One of the most important herbs a person can use is garlic. Aside from giving our dishes a fantastic flavor, it has many health benefits as well. Garlic contains a compound called Allicin.

According to one scientific review, Garlic’s main mechanism involves a molecule called alliin. When garlic is physically disturbed through chewing, slicing, or crushing, it releases an alliin metabolite: allicin. Allicin turns into a variety of fat and water soluble sulfur-containing compounds. In fact, these compounds are so volatile, they give off hydrogen sulfide, which is part of garlic’s unmistakable smell and taste. By tapping into the hydrogen sulfide signaling system, garlic relaxes the blood vessels and provides a variety of health benefits. Garlic also uses the hydrogen sulfide signaling system to exert its anti-cancer effects.

Raw or aged garlic reliably reduces total cholesterol and Low-density Lipoprotein (LDL-C), while increasing High-density Lipoprotein (HDL-C). Garlic also provides a variety of anti-cancer properties. Eating garlic daily (10g or more) is associated with a significantly reduced risk of prostate, colon, and stomach cancer. It can also induce fat loss and adrenaline secretion, though in a minor way. Garlic appears to mildly and unreliably reduce triglyceride levels.

Some other benefits Include:

• Combats sickness, even the common cold
• Lowers Blood Pressure
• Improves Cholesterol Levels
• Contains Antioxidants that may help reduce the risk of Alzheimer and dementia
• May help you live longer and improve your athletic performance
• Detoxify s heavy metals in your body
• Improves bone Health

That being said, I like to dehydrate fresh garlic and turn it into my own powder. The taste is much stronger and there is no added chemicals or salts. I will walk you threw my process below.

I prefer to use my own home grown garlic but lets face it, we do not always have that and not everyone grows their own. So for this article I am using a 3 pound bag of already peeled garlic gloves I buy at Sam’s for about $5.00.

You can chop of the ends if you want but I usually don’t unless its just an extremely large area of hardness. I put as much as comfortably fits in my Ninja blender and pulse it until it has a nice minced texture but not blended and juicy. (Note: the ninja Blender system I got was only about $70.00 Verses the extremely high version for over $200.00. I didn’t need all those extra attachments so I went simple.

Spread minced garlic out onto your Excalibur Dehydrator Tray evenly and then set to dehydrate on vegetable setting. (125° F) If you  do not have a dehydrator tray then you can set your oven to a low setting (under 200°F) and dehydrate them in the oven. You will need to check them more frequently and make sure they are not sticking or burning to your tray. I personally prefer to dehydrate with a tray so my house doesn’t get extremely hot. I also do not like to run up my electric bill using the oven for hours on end. The last time I checked it was .07¢ per hour with the dehydrator.

Allow to dehydrate for several hours checking periodically. I like to turn the trays and move the garlic around a little to check the progress. We are going for an extremely dry consistency. No moisture at all. The crunchy effect.

Once you get a dry consistency you will transfer our dried garlic into a small blender/mixer to blend it into a powder form. I prefer to use the Bella Rocket Blender. I have had it for years and it has never failed me when wanting to make powders or smoothies.

Voila!! Homemade Fresh Garlic Powder!!

Some Mormons stocking up amid fears that doomsday could come this month

Mixing a brew of biblical prophecies, the Hebrew calendar, a volatile economy, world politics, a reported near-death experience and astronomical occurrences, hordes of Utahns have become convinced that calamitous events are imminent — maybe by month's end — and are taking every precaution.

They are called "preppers" and are buying up food-storage kits, flashlights, blankets and tents. Some are even bracing to leave their homes — if need be.

At American Fork's Thrive Life, which sells mostly freeze-dried food, sales have shot up by "500 percent or more in the past couple of months," says customer- service representative Ricardo Aranda. "There is a sense of urgency, like something is up. A lot of people are mentioning things about September, like a financial collapse."

Jordan Jensen, a salesman at Emergency Essentials, said his Bountiful store has been "crazy busy, sales up by definitely a large amount."

Those 72-hour emergency kits are "almost impossible to keep on the shelves," Jensen says, "and we get a shipment every day."

A lot of customers, he says, believe "this is the month it will all happen — with a 'blood moon' and a currency collapse and everything."

Here's how the doomsday scenario plays out: History, some preppers believe, is divided into seven-year periods — like the Hebrew notion of "shemitah" or Sabbath. In 2008, seven years after 9/11, the stock market crashed, a harbinger of a devastating recession. It's been seven years since then, and Wall Street has fluctuated wildly in recent weeks in the wake of China devaluing its currency.

Thus, they believe, starting Sept. 13, the beginning of the Jewish High Holy Days, there will be another, even larger financial crisis, based on the United States' "wickedness." That would launch the "days of tribulation" — as described in the Bible.

They say Sept. 28 will see a full, red or "blood moon" and a major earthquake in or near Utah. Some anticipate an invasion by U.N. troops, technological disruptions and decline, chaos and hysteria.

Some of these speculations stem from Julie Rowe's books, "A Greater Tomorrow: My Journey Beyond the Veil" and "The Time Is Now."

Rowe, a Mormon mother of three, published the books in 2014 to detail a "near-death experience" in 2004, when the author says she visited the afterlife and was shown visions of the past and future.

Though Rowe rarely gives specific dates for predicted events, she did describe in a Fox News Radio interview "cities of light," including scores of white tents where people will live in the mountains and sometimes be fed heavenly "manna." She saw a "bomb from Libya landing in Israel, but Iran will take credit."

And "Gadianton robbers" of Book of Mormon infamy, meaning secret and corrupt leaders, are "already here."

Her purpose in speaking out, Rowe told interviewer Kate Dalley, was "to wake more of us up. ... We need each other as we unify in righteousness and continue to build a righteous army. When we need to defend the [U.S.] Constitution, we will be ready."

For the past year, the popular writer has been sharing her experience and visions at Mormon venues nationwide, drawing crowds of eager — and worried — listeners. Her two books have sold more than 20,000 copies apiece.

In a rare move, officials with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent a memo to administrators and teachers in the Church Educational System, saying, "Although Sister Rowe is an active member of the [LDS Church], her book is not endorsed by the church and should not be recommended to students or used as a resource in teaching them. The experiences ... do not necessarily reflect church doctrine, or they may distort doctrine."

The late Mormon apostle Boyd K. Packer said in the October 2011 LDS General Conference that the "end" was not near and urged young Latter-day Saints to plan to live long, productive lives.

"You can look forward to doing it right: getting married, having a family, seeing your children and grandchildren, maybe even great-grandchildren," Packer said.

Graduating Levels of Force

When SHTF happens are you prepared to deal with a variety of threats? Will you be able dissuade a hungry stranger as well as engage a hoard of looters? The ability to escalate appropriate force is a common tactic in law enforcement. Most law enforcement officers (LEOs) on the street carry a baton, taser gun, and a pistol on their belt as well as a shotgun and/or an assault rifle in their patrol car. For civil unrest or riots, they can employ tear gas, rubber bullets, as well as lethal weapons. As preppers, this tactical concept might be useful for us to consider. What I’m looking for are appropriate choices of how I can deal with a variety of threats in an escalating situation. We would like to deter the threats at the lowest level of force possible. An assault rifle or shotgun can’t always be our best reaction to every situation.

Perimeter Warning

A warning line may be a good initial engagement tool. You’ve seen LEOs string up a yellow tape at crime scenes. Some prepared signs composed of a sheet of paper with an appropriate warning not to come closer inside a document protector for weather proofing may be useful at the lowest force level. These signs should be spaced appropriately on a nylon string on my perimeter.

Low Threat Interface

Next, consideration may be given to a low threat, one-on-one, close proximity contact. As mentioned in other articles, tactical support by other team members in concealment will dictate the flexibility at this low threat level in case the situation escalates. My first choice is to deter the stranger from a position of security and concealment using a bullhorn. I don’t recommend it, but if you insist on confronting the individual closer in and the potential intruder isn’t dissuaded pepper spray may be effective. If that doesn’t thwart the challenger, then maybe a “plink” from a pellet gun  might get the intruders attention. That plink would come from a well-coordinated support team. A LEOs baton could be an alternative close in engagement.

Upping the Force Level

If the situation escalates with the single intruder or more treats show up, upping the force will be appropriate. Still, answering the threat on a timely basis short of lethal force may be beneficial. Consider a shotgun loaded with #8 bird shot. From a good distance, say 100 meters, the bird shot would certainly get the intruders attention yet probably wouldn’t be lethal. Maybe they would then consider your location not to be worth the risk and turn back. If not, then you can rely on your most convincing lethal force. At least you had escalating tactical choices up until then, and that’s my point.

Geographic Force Escalation

A well thought out security plan usually includes rings of engagement and predetermined force to be employed. For example, an outer ring of warning signs, followed closer in by nonlethal force, followed by a lethal force perimeter. The criteria for each of these intrusion rings should be tempered by the number of the threat, type of threat, their armament, and degree and manner of advancement. This concept requires preplanning, consideration, understanding by the team. The threat may be a half mile away or at your front door. Are you ready with appropriate force?

Choices and Flexibility in Force

More importantly for preppers to consider about graduating levels of force is to know that we need to have choices of force as events escalate. These conditions should be thought out and planned as much as possible. And, as with any tactical response, your support team gives you the best opportunity and flexibility to appropriately respond.

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS DATA...OUCH TOUGH ON LABOR DAY!

Tough times on Labor Day: US work force participation rate is now 62.6% (Americans 16 yrs+ who are either employed or actively looking for work). That means 37% of those who could work are unemployed or not even looking. That's the worst in 38 years. Source: US Govt http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS11300000 …

STUDY COUNTS 3 TRILLION TREES ON EARTH

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 3 trillion trees now grow on Earth, seven times more than scientists previously thought. But it’s also trillions fewer than there used to be, a new study concludes.

A United Nations-affiliated youth group had a goal of planting one billion trees and Yale forestry researcher Thomas Crowther was asked if planting that many trees would do anything to help combat human-made climate change. Trees capture and store heat-trapping carbon dioxide.

Crowther said first he had to figure out how many trees are on Earth and that number was far more than anyone expected: 3.04 trillion trees, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

The previous estimate was 400 billion trees and that rough count was based on satellite images peering down from space. Crowther and colleagues used 429,775 ground-based measurements along with satellite measurements and computer models to get a more accurate figure.

“These things really dominate our planet,” Crowther said. “They are the most prominent organisms on our planet and there are 3 trillion of them.”

But Earth used to be covered with far more trees. Using computer models, Crowther and colleagues estimated that before human civilization Earth had about 5.6 trillion trees. So the number of trees on Earth has been chopped nearly in half.

Crowther mostly blames people. His study found that 15 billion trees are cut down each year by people, with another 5 billion trees replanted. That’s a net loss of 10 billion trees a year. At that rate, all of Earth’s trees will be gone in about 300 years.

“Humans are diminishing that huge population on such a global scale,” Crowther said.

Nearly 1.4 trillion of Earth’s trees are in tropical and subtropical forests, but that’s also where the rate of forest loss is the highest, the study found.

So if there are so many trees on the planet, the planting of a billion trees wouldn’t do too much to fight climate change on its own, Crowther conceded. But he said that didn’t stop the tree planters group; they just upped their goal. On its website, Plant for the Planet says the objective is now 18 billion

Now that’s over many decades, and it might be hard to find space, but it can be done, Crowther said.

Outside scientists such as Norm Christensen of Duke University said the way the study was conducted made sense and is well executed. But he wonders how useful it is to know the number of trees. Former U.S. Forest Service chief Mike Dombeck said the same thing, adding the issue is more than a number but the big picture of what trees do to help Earth and local ecosystems.

Crowther said he and his colleagues all wondered the same thing, but the detailed maps of forest density can help conservation efforts. For example, if a jaguar needs a certain number of trees to survive, this can help in rebuilding the right habitat for the large cat, Crowther said.

Also, it spurs people to realize how important it is to take care of and replant forests, Crowther said.

Build Your Own Evaporative Refrigerator

I lived with my family for over 10 years on a 20acre mountain property in Southern Utah. No electric power other than the wind generator and a few solar panels. I had to figure out how to keep our food cold during the summer months. This idea came to me and I built it out of an old cupboard that was laying around. It work so well I could not believe it. The kids made jello during Aug., letting it sit overnight and wow. It was amazing how well that worked.

If you build one of these and just let it sit in the garage until the electricity goes out this little fridge will save all your refrigerator and freezer food. So simple to make. Take an old two or one door cupboard and cut the center out of the front doors and also the back. Drill holes in the side of about one inch or so and then cover it all over with chicken wire. The wire does not do much in keeping it cool, but keeps the cat and other rodents out of your food.

You will need a large gunny sack. I bought mine at the feed store, it came as a large sack and I cut it to fit. Next to the cupboard is a pan to hold water. As you see this is an old canning pan but we have used a soft plastic animal feed/water pan as well.

Place the gunny sack over the entire cupboard and then place the pan on top of the cupboard with the gunny sack ends placed in the pan. It will need a rock, brick or something to force the gunny sack down and now you pour water into the pan. The gunny sack will absorb the water and will run down the outside of the gunny sack along the outside of the cupboard. It will then begin to drip along the bottom. The breeze of the day will blow thru the walls of the gunny sack and cool the inside cupboard by about 20 degrees or more. If you place the fridge in the shady spot all day with plenty of breeze this fridge works great.

Disaster Kit. Do you have one?

“Disaster Preparedness: Could the U.S. Hold Water?” by Lara Salahi, is an article reported by ABC News concerning the lack of Americans who are not prepared for a disaster if it strikes. Over the last decade the United States has had on average about 50 natural disasters which adds up to be 560 in this last decade alone. Jonathon Links, director of the Johns Hopkins Center of Public Health claims that here in the United States, most cities and towns have had some types of disaster. Yet, he proclaims only 10 percent of households are ready for an emergency. Both Links and the ABC News’ chief health and medical editor, Dr Richard Besser believes in encouraging as many people as possible to get an emergency kit ready now before something does happen. Relying on help through emergency agencies could cost you your life. It only takes three days for a person to die of thirst. Having an emergency kit with the essentials is important for the reason that help could take too long. Is it really that important for Americans to be prepared or should we just sit around and wait on the governments’ help? I am prepared and will not want or need government help if a disaster hits.

Sitting around and waiting for the government to help you out after a disaster is going to be a big mistake. I personally am not going to die of thirst or diseases that come from dirty water because it might take two weeks or more for the government to help the victims of a disaster. Evonne Richards and her family of Tennessee are tornado survivors.   In her testimonial, she states nothing had happened in 27 years, but because she was prepared when a tornado did hit her home she was able to have food and water. Since she did have food and water they were able to send rescue assistance away so they may help other people in need. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, after Hurricane Katrina hit on September 17, 2005, 186 public water treatment systems in Louisiana and 229 in Mississippi were severely damaged and not operational. At least 2.4 million people had no way of getting safe drinking water for at least two or more weeks after the disaster (Natural Resources Defense Council). That information supports Richards testimonial on how her family had to go five days without running water. Nonetheless Richards was thankful she took the time to have stored water that her family was able to use (Richards).

With natural disasters, like the one in Tennessee, happening all the time in the United States and with only ten percent of the American people being prepared; that leaves 90 percent of Americans dependent on government agencies like Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA), to provide for them in their direr need. Americans like me should not depend on these government agencies that may not be able to come to our direr need. There could be several reasons why they do not come to your rescue. One reason is lack of funding. Sens. Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn, both Republicans, are repeatedly voting against funding disaster aid for many parts of the country (Wilkie). Jonathon Links, director of the Johns Hopkins Center of Public Health, judgment about personal preparedness is; each person needs to pay more attention to their preparedness, than worrying about response time (Salahi). If more Americans would be prepared, then the less dependency we will have on emergency agencies like FEMA and Red Cross. The less dependency we have, the more these agencies can help the injured, elderly and the weak. All it takes is getting prepared so we may keep our families safe.

Convincing the American people is hard.   They have the attitude that nothing is going to happen. They watch a disaster on the news but deny the possibility and lie to themselves about it not being able to happen to them. According to Links, it is hard to get people to understand the importance of being prepared for an emergency. For many years now, health officials have tried to encourage the public to develop a personal emergency plan in case a disaster should hit, but the public does not want to listen. Most people wait until the disaster actually happens (Salahi). On the other hand, there are the people who are afraid to be prepared for a disaster do to the fact that they do not want to be considered a “Prepper”.   The media and reality shows have portrayed “Prepper” as the Alabama kidnapper Jimmy Lee Dykes; Nancy Lanza, whose son raided her gun collection before he carried out the Sandy Hook massacre; and the people who appear on the National Geographic TV show Doomsday Preppers (Walker). Do not let the media or even your friends and family convince you that it is ridiculous and nothing is going to happen. It is better to be prepared then not have any food and water for several days when the worst happens. It takes a disaster to happen for someone to think to themselves “I should have been prepared.”

The Red Cross tells Americans that it is unlikely an emergency will happen, but be prepared anyway for at least five days (Red Cross). FEMA’s perspective compared to Red Cross’s, would be 72 hours of emergency supplies (FEMA). The CDC has the same views as Red Cross. On the CDC’s website they have declared that Red Cross had teamed up with them to bring awareness for disaster preparation (CDC). The way I see it, if there is over 70,000 natural and man-made disasters in the U.S., there should be no reason at all not to be prepared for a disaster in your hometown (Red Cross). Let us as individuals, be strong and fight for our safety, our families, our home, and especially our way of life. It only takes one person to prepare, spread the word and get the rest of us ready as well. Besser and Links both believe that before a community preparedness can begin, it has to start with the individual (Salahi). ABC News indicates most Americans are not prepared to help themselves. I am a firm believer in the opinions of Besser and Links that every American should be able to take care of their family and themselves if a disaster was to happen. Once you have begun your quest to disaster preparedness, and getting your family on board, then you can think about spreading the word to the rest of the community. I cannot stress how important it is to be prepared and how it has and will saves lives. One important reason alone, is for the emergency agencies can concentrate on saving the lives of those who need it instead of bringing you water.

This is not the first time that someone has told you to be prepared for an emergency of some sort. Then why is there a lack of prepared Americans? Because it is easier to believe that everything is going to be ok. Links also brings up these points, people will only hear what they want to, even if they hear something bad is about to happen.   In order to convince the public they need to be prepared, we have to convince them that there is a good possibility a disaster is eminent. (Salhi). Once mother nature comes knocking at your door and there is no help insight for days or weeks, like the people in Hurricane Katrina, or no water for days like Richards in Tennessee, you are going to look into your children’s eyes and be sorry you did not provide for their needs when they look up at you for help.