June 2015 Newsletter

What Happens When The Lights Go Out?

Now that I am settled in my new home I have been thinking about being prepared for life. Some things in life are simple and routine, like bills, birthdays and bosses. Other things in life are complex and unpredictable. These are the things that can break us when they happen and we are not prepared.

Last year I watched a series on Netflix called “Revolution”. In this series the power grid was taken out and the show started when over a year had already passed. As the episodes progressed they flashed back at times to the weeks and months after the grid first went down. I wouldn’t have wanted to deal with what happened during that time.

I was intrigued with the series because I have heard of Electronic Magnetic Pulses (EMP’s) via terrorism and Solar Flares that could take out the power grid. The people in this series formed communities and found creative ways to survive.

We as a people are not ready for anything like this, yet neither terror related EMP’s nor solar flares are all that far-fetched.

I just watched a movie called “Offline” – https://vimeo.com/128926661 Enter password offline to watch.

I learned the following things while watching this movie:

• You won’t be able to pump gas if the grid goes down.
• The water system will not pump clean water if the grid goes down.
• The electric companies don’t want to shut down the system (to stop the transformers from exploding) in advance because they won’t be covered by insurance if they do.
• The electric companies don’t want to put any money into finding ways to mitigate the damage of EMP’s or solar flares because it takes away from their profit. (Sound familiar?)
• Other countries are working on making sure their systems are ready for trouble but not the U.S. power companies.
• Billions of dollars are currently being paid out NOW due to current solar flare issues that are very small. Imagine what will happen when something big occurs.
• Ninety percent of the people living in the U.S. would be dead if the power went out for 12 months.

Please watch this movie http://bit.ly/1KNaP1l and give towards its distribution.

Some of the things that I plan to do to protect myself from a power outage that lasts more than a week:

• Keep my truck’s gas tank over half full at all times.
• Put at least one (1) five-gallon barrel in the back yard to collect rain water.
• Store some food and water in the house.
• Have my fireplace fixed and have firewood on hand.
• Have plenty of batteries and flashlights, and rotate the batteries.
• Other things that I don’t care to mention in the public arena.

So… what do you plan to do to prepare for a hiccup in your life?

I am pretty sure that readers of this blog are already somewhat on top of some type of preparedness plans. Some people that I have talked to have gone as far as purchase homes in other countries that are not as crowded and dependent on electricity.

We can think of hundreds of ways to protect ourselves and survive during natural and unnatural disasters. However, are we just dancing around the possibility of something big happening or are we really preparing?

On May 25, 2015 Natural News posted a Preparedness Pop Quiz that I failed miserably. I thought it was a little extreme but after watching “Offline” I am not sure the quiz was all that excessive.

See the Preparedness Pop Quiz here: http://bit.ly/1SWdxEg

I am not about being paranoid. In fact, I am a very logical person. However, logic dictates that I do some planning for hard times or I may become a statistic. I choose to do some preparation, even if some people make fun of me.

When the “wheels come off” they will be the first ones at my door seeking help. For proof, go back to the 1960’s “Twilight Zone” series and watch the episode called “The Shelter”. You will see what I mean.

Until next time, be safe.

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