This forecasting station, modeled after our current weather forecasting system, has been designed to flag potential infectious diseases that could overwhelm the country and possibly collapse the fragile medical infrastructure the population is so dependent on.

This bio-surveillance project is operated by Praecipio International, a non-profit international intercept team who is presently working in conjunction with The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System to anticipate infectious disease outbreaks that arise from natural disasters on a global spectrum. Praecipio International is responsible for using the Haiti Epidemic Advisory System (HEAS) to track the cholera epidemic in Haiti where the epidemic is still a daily battle.

The scientists at Praecipio International are “more akin to disaster sociology than public health, and monitor social indicators of infectious disease crises and disasters.”  Shortly after the earthquake hit Haiti on January 12, 2011:

Praecipio was able to rapidly conduct a “radar sweep” using the Internet and by monitoring Twitter feeds across 6 languages for the island of Hispaniola, which includes the countries of Haiti and Dominican Republic. We knew instantly from media, blogs, and SMS traffic what was being documented in terms of infectious disease. Consultation with peer-reviewed academic literature enabled us to construct a baseline for several diseases of concern and issue the first infectious disease forecast report in the world, for Haiti, on January 17, 2010.

Source

As previously noted, cholera and other disaster related diseases are still a daily issue in Haiti even one year after the devastating earthquake leveled most of  the small island. With Haiti being the first country in the world to monitor epidemic activity, they have an upper hand to proactively intervene in order to control the outbreaks and epidemics from exacerbating. This forecasting model is serving as a guideline for the rest of the world.  Hospitals and treatment facilities are already beginning to adopt this forecasting system in order to assist with patients who are more susceptible to outbreaks. The Delta County Memorial Hospital “Kids Wellcast”, is one of the first to understand the importance of this biosurveillance system.

HEAS has quickly become the first of it’s kind to empower patients with information to help them stay better prepared. Further, having a forecasting system that monitors infectious disease outbreaks will propel us out of ”dark ages” in terms of epidemics and pandemics. Rather than reacting to the outbreak and potentially subjecting ourselves to others who may be infected, we will be able to anticipate the infectious disease ahead of time in order to better prepare for it.

There has been a lot of derogatory talk lately about “preppers” and “survivalists.” Here are 10 reasons why preppers and survivalists have always been vital to the United States and why it is essential that we have as many as possible to survive future disasters.

To start with, the titles “survivalist” and “prepper” would have seemed redundant a couple of generations ago. When the Greatest Generation was growing up, preparedness was simply a way of life. Before the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other Federal aid programs were around, people knew that they had to be able to take care of themselves in the event of natural and man made disasters.

At the core, that’s what survivalists and preppers are. They are people who are aware that life is full of uncertainty and who have decided to put things into place for when bad times happen.

With that, here is the top 10 list of why America depends on survivalists and preppers:

1. FEMA: The cost for local, state and Federal agencies to plan, equip and staff for every disaster that might happen is cost-prohibitive. When disasters strike, government is quick to talk and quick to “ramp up,” but government help is slow to come and inefficient when it arrives. The irony is how often highly qualified and motivated front-line first responders are prevented from doing as much as they could by top-heavy bureaucracies.

Survivalists and preppers, on the other hand, are able to act quickly and efficiently to take care of their own houses and provide stability, structure and assistance for their streets, neighborhoods and beyond. Because they know the terrain and the players in the areas where they live and operate, they can quickly establish stable micro-environments for recovery to grow from.

2. Stable base: An organization (or nation) of people with narrowly focused, specialized skills may accomplish great things when everything is going smoothly, but it quickly falls apart when trouble comes and key people are knocked out.

The survivalist and prepper mind-set of jack-of-all-trades makes for a stable organization (or nation). If the specialist falls or needs help, others can help pick up the slack — even if it means they’re doing it at a slower speed or lower level of proficiency.

3. Joseph in the Bible: Preppers and survivalists have been around saving the day since the beginning of time. In Genesis 37-50, Joseph sees trouble coming and prepares for seven years. At the end of seven years, a severe drought and famine hit that last for the next seven years. Because of Joseph’s preparations, Egypt survived the drought and famine and was able to help the surrounding nations.

4. Founding Fathers: With the Constitution and Bill of Rights, our Founding Fathers pushed responsibility from the Federal government down to the individual citizen and promoted a survivalist/prepper mentality. They did it with the 2nd and 4th Amendments, they did it by example (Washington leading a mostly barefoot army across the Delaware), and they did it throughout their writing.

5. Siege warfare: Many of the things that happened after Hurricane Katrina are textbook examples of why siege warfare is so effective. The normal city has a three-day supply of food. The normal prepper has a six- to 24-month supply of food.

Which do you think is more stable in the event of a siege that is due to disasters or war?

If you focus only on food and water supplies, a city, county, region or country with many preppers will be much more resilient to being cut off from outside help than one with few preppers.

6. Independent from the government: How much leverage does an energy tax (or most other taxes) have on a family that’s living partially or completely off the grid? The more self-reliant you are, the less control the government can exert over your life through taxes.

7. Criminals fear the aware and prepared: This is fairly straightforward. Preppers and survivalists gradually become more aware and prepared than the average person. This will show itself in your walk, in your eyes and how you carry yourself. In short, you stop looking like a wounded gazelle and more like a badger… cute and cuddly, but ready to do anything necessary to stop a threat to himself or his loved ones.

8. Tyrants fear survivalists and preppers: In addition to living a lifestyle that insulates them from siege, some taxes and being nannied, survivalists and preppers are usually well-armed and seek advanced training. Good men have nothing to fear from an armed populace, but tyrants who seek to control the lives of others will always try to disarm them first through confiscation, taxation or pressure through media and the education system.

It worked for Adolf Hitler, Mao Zedong and many more narcissistic, mass murders throughout the ages. It worked so far back, in fact, that Aristotle spoke extensively about how, in any society, those who control the arms control the state.

9. More preppers means fewer refugees and faster recovery from disasters: After a local, regional or national disaster, the number of refugees will be inversely proportional to the number of preppers and survivalists in the area. In other words, the more preppers you have in an area, the less strain the hospitals, volunteer organizations and government-run refugee centers will have.

10. More able to help their fellow man: After a disaster, you’re not going to see very many refugees donating their food, supplies or time. It’s not that they don’t want to, but rather it’s because they are in a fight for their lives and may be dehydrated, hungry and tired.

Preppers and survivalists who have food storage, water or water-treatment tools and who have prepared themselves psychologically for disasters will be able to help in several ways. First, they are less likely to become refugees or use the time and resources of first responders. Second, since they are prepared for disasters, they can help the people in their immediate area, which will lessen the load on first responders and reduce the number of refugees. Third, by helping themselves and their neighbors, preppers will increase the quality of care for people who do need first responder care or who need to relocate to a refugee center.

In short, the more survivalists and preppers we have, the more stable our families, cities and the country as a whole are.
 

This article was previously posted at Personal Liberty Digest

“A spider bit the goat, so we didn’t have dairy for a month,” says Rachel Hoff describing one of the misadventures that occurred during her family’s year without groceries. As for bread, she, her husband Tom Ferguson, and teenage son, Tom, Jr., had to do without when the both the oven and the bread machine went kaput in the same week. Despite occasional mishaps and deprivations, Hoff describes the experience, which she documented in her blog  ”Another Year Without Groceries, as “surprisingly easy.” And, as of October 1 st , the family is sticking with the challenge for another year.

Although they already grew some fruits and vegetables and raised chickens, rabbits, three turkeys, and four goats on their quarter-acre lot in the city of Vallejo, California, their initial goal was not to try to be self-sufficient. In fact, they barely had any of their own crops ready to harvest for the first six and a half months of the project. Concerned about pesticides on conventional produce and chemicals in processed and packaged foods, they mainly wanted to eat healthy and know where their food was coming from. Hoff points out that even “mom and pop sounding companies” such as Ben and Jerry’s, Stonyfield Farms, and Walnut Acres are now owned by huge corporations.

Over the course of the year, the family reaped more benefits than they had expected. They saved at least $2,000 dollars on groceries despite the fact that everything they were eating was either locally grown or organic. They saved even more money by avoiding restaurants. Purchasing and freezing an eighth of a steer from a local farm lowered the price of grass-fed, organic beef to $2/per pound and a loaf of fresh bread cost them 50 cents to bake. Eating higher quality food paid off health-wise. Both Hoff and Ferguson avoided colds all year and felt more energized. Hoff lost 20 pounds “without counting calories.”

Hoff describes the economically depressed downtown area of Vallejo as a “food desert” — lacking a supermarket and with little access to organic or local goods. The foodie mecca of San Francisco lies 30 miles south, but both Hoff and Ferguson work full-time and neither had the inclination to spend all of their free time grocery shopping.  After reading the book No Impact Man, which chronicles a New York City family’s effort to live sustainably, including giving up processed foods, for a year, they thought, “If they can do it in an apartment in New York City, we can certainly do it here.”

In August 2010, Hoff and Ferguson started preparing for their year without groceries, which would begin in October. Aside from planning all the family’s meals around seasonal produce, the most challenging aspect of the project was the research phase and figuring out where they could obtain certain items such as milk, says Hoff. They were allowed to purchase produce, meat, and dairy from the weekly farmer’s market and directly from farms. For staples such as sugar, rice and flour, Hoff located a local woman who had set up a buying club in her garage where members pooled resources to buy organic food in bulk directly from the source. They were also allowed to barter and trade.

They were not allowed to buy food at regular grocery stores, supermarkets, or convenience stores or eat at restaurants. The first weekend without groceries, with the help of a 30-minute mozzarella kit purchased online, Hoff was able to deliver on her promise of serving lasagna for her son’s thirteenth birthday. Hoff says he still likes eating junk food and soft drinks (at friend’s houses), but the he thinks the project is “pretty cool” and talks about it in class. To make it easier to adjust, they designated Fridays as pizza night.

The first six months were so easy, that the family decided to up the ante, and for the last three months they could eat only what they already had on hand, could produce on their urban farm, or barter.

Hoff doesn’t recommend trying go without buying food at all and admits that after a couple of months, “I was close being fed up.” Their fruit trees didn’t produce and they were stuck with eating zucchini, green beans, and cucumbers for weeks on end. Ferguson became sick of the limited choices but tried to focus on “the bigger picture of what they had accomplished over the year.” Hoff, on the other hand, posted on the blog, “I’m so over not buying food.” When I spoke with them the day after their project ended, they had just returned from their first trip to the farmer’s market and were happily cooking up a feast of pork with potatoes and corn.

For Hoff, the best thing about the project was that it “brought us closer together. We’ve become a team and work together really well.” She also loves grabbing food for dinner right out of the garden and says, “Shopping doesn’t feel like a chore any more.” Their friends and family claim they could never do it, but she insists that, “you don’t have to have an urban farm to eliminate the grocery store from your vocabulary.”

Hoff advises people to make the transition gradually and to try to replace one item at a time, such as pickles or bread, with something homemade.  The blog offers tips on how to get started.

Photo courtesy of Lori Eanes

Many may not be aware of a food revolution slowly growing in popularity around the nation.  This revolution is advocating people to take back control over their food sources.  They suggest we even go as far as growing it ourselves to understand not only the process and learning as essential skill, but feel the pride of growing your own food.  Those who are trying to become more sustainable in their lives have created micro farms to begin growing their own food.  

Similar to the micro farm movement,  the food revolution, stresses teaching individuals self reliant practices.  In addition, they suggest getting the children involved in the process so they can understand that food is in fact, not from a can or from the grocery store itself.  Growing produce is a complex system that requires lots of time and effort to develop a product.  Getting children involved in this process, gets them away from the television, gets their hands dirty and gets their minds working.

According to those at the Food Freedom Revolution, they believe, “our children AND our food system determine our future.  This statement is very serious and is KEY to the survival of our freedoms.  Let’s give our children real purpose in life and teach them things that will provide them with the skills of self reliance.  Our current school system is training the children (workforce) to be dependent on a system that wants to control them.  Let’s demand and develop more educational programs for children, which teach respect for nature but that also teaches self reliance.  We are all too compartmentalized and dependent on the system.  We need a broader range of skills…

Over the years, this author has heard multiple teachers express concern over the fact that many parents expect the teachers to parent the child.  What a scary concept allowing a stranger whose entire motivation is to get the child to think as a group and not as an individual.  We, as parents share a similar dream of our children growing up to think for themselves, to stand up for those who are being oppressed, to be able to take care of themselves and their future families.  The schools are not going to teach this – that rests in the parents hands.  Knowing that there are people out there willing to spend the extra time to get the word out to make a difference is refreshing.

Gardening was a highlighted topic of discussion last night, where the group admitted their successes (and failures) with gardening.  Tips were provided on how to improve gardens in the future.

Some of the highlighted book suggestions were geared towards how to gently prepare kids for emergency situations without scaring them.  This can be acheived by using books as a medium.  She also discussed how to integrate ”preparedness geared”  physical activities for them to help develop their  necessary survival skills.  This topic is seldom discussed in prepping circles, but an important one nonetheless.  If an unforeseen disaster were to occur, children who are  prepared for survival (mentally and physically) will adapt more quickly  than a child who has not been prepared.

And because emergencies can occur at any time,  Lisa also discussed the importance of having a well prepared emergency vehicle bag with emergency items, as well as clothes and shoes for all the family members.  You never know when you will have to walk back home, and having the proper walking attire is a must!

The hour went fast, but it was a great experience and I had a great time.  I hope that she does it again soon.  Thanks again Lisa for all that you do.  For more information on Lisa’s monthly free webinars, go to the Survival Mom’s website to check out the schedule.

Bedford, who has been prepping for a few years now knows how to keep her family safe and is ready for almost anything that comes her way.  Her goal is to get the as many people prepared as she can, and is seems her hard work is paying off. 

In the Arizona Rebublic interview, Bedford believes being prepared isn’t just about stocking up on food and supplies, but a change in lifestyle.  They’ve paid down their debt and cut back on travel… Bedford worries more about the fallout of a shaky economy than about a terrorist attack, civil unrest or a natural disaster… ‘I just feel a general uneasiness about what is happening in the world today.’

The Survival Mom is not just using her blog as a sounding board, but she is also teaching preparedness classes locally.  If anyone is interested, click here.

Tom Martin emphasises what the Survival Mom is saying and points out that “some people are preparing for economic disaster – the loss of a job, rising food prices, possible shortages – and some are readying for a natural disaster, such as earthquakes and hurricanes.  Others simply stock up on  extra food and flashlights in the event of a severe power outage or storm. ‘Whatever your motivation, it’s just good sense to have plans and preparations in place for the unknown,’ Martin says during a phone interview… ‘People have been thinking that someone else will take care of them and then a disaster comes and they find themselves on a rooftop without any food.’

 The message of preparedness is nothing new.  People around the world have prepared themselves for possible disasters for centuries.  The only difference between our past and present is that our ancestors knew that in a disaster situation, they are on their own.  They knew it was up to them to care for themselves.  Disasters do not happen to other people - they can happen to you, and they can happen to me.  As long as you are prepared for a given scenario, then you have tools in place when you need it the most.  And having those tools ready will alleviate the intensity of the situation.

Weather experts are advising that due to the combination of wind, heavy rain, and heavy snow will lead to extensive power outages and property damage.  Where numerous trees and lines are blown down, the power could be out for a week in some areas… Impact on travel in the region may be severe.  The effects of the storm will lead to flight delays and cancellation.  Some major roads may be blocked by snow, downed trees or flooding.

Source – www.accuweather.com

This is Why We Prepare

Storms come on suddenly and have the possibility of turning into monsters.  If a person is not adequately prepared, they are gambling with their lives.  Prior to any type of disaster, a person should have at least two weeks of food, water and short term disaster supplies in their home for a unforeseen disaster.  The aftermath of this storm has the possibility of road blocks due to the snow and flooding coastal water.  If the roads are blocked, food and supplies will not be able to make it’s way into the disaster prone area until the snow and ice melt away as well as the downed power lines and debris are removed from the road.

On Februrary 9, 2010 (not too long ago) the Northeast was hit with another major snow storm. This is what the store shelves looked like then.

Source

Let’s hope that many will be more prepared with this round of storms.  Although, this author has not endured a snow hurricane, per se, she has gone through multiple tropical hurricanes.  The need to be prepared for disasters is vital.  A person who waits until the last minute to gather supplies will be one who walks away unprepared and may be lucky enough to leave with a few picked over items.

Those that are not prepared should equip themselves with supplies and as much knowledge about the storm they will be experiencing as possible, prior to it occurring.  Although a snow hurricane is rare in some cases, it does happen.  Those living in the Northeast are typically used to winter storms, but not the severity of this type.

Suggestions for Preparing for a Severe Winter Storm

• Have an emergency plan in place with emergency contacts on alert in the case that a person needs to evacuate their home.  If damage to the home makes in uninhabitable, evacuate to a pre-planned friend or neighbor who may be near by.
• Have some winter disaster supplies in the home such as: candles, matches/lighters, a battery operated radio, emergency food supplies, water, extra blankets, toilet paper, prescription medicines, over the counter medicines, a non electric can opener, infant/baby needs if a child is in the home.
• Be prepared for the power to go out.  Be prepared for this set back by having alternative power and heating sources to go along with the extra blankets.  Having an emergency generator with extra gasoline could be a life saver in this situation.
• Avoid traveling in a blizzard.  If a person is on the road when a blizzard hits, look for a hotel nearby and stay off the road until there are better road conditions.
• Have a 72 hour bag in the vehicle with lots of warm insulated clothing in the case that a person is stranded in their car during a blizzard. Additionally, having an extra supply of gasoline in the car would also be a good idea.
• If a person is stranded in the car, do not leave the engine running to keep warm.  Snow can block the exhaust pipe and fill with the car with fumes, thus causing carbon monoxide poisoning.  Keep one window open just a bit to avoid this.  Run the car in short bursts to avoid running out of gas.  Turn the engine on long enough to keep the car warm and then turn it off.
• Stock up on shovels and snow removal equipment prior to the storm.
• Additionally, those who were not hit with the blinding snow flurries, but were effected by coastal water flooding, should read over guidelines for emergency flooding and know what to avoid.
• Stay inside and stay warm!  The winds from this type of storm are going to be extremely dangerous.  Snow drift can be a problem after a storm of this magnitude.  Additionally, frostbite will be a major concern so a good rule of thumb is to keep everyone inside and warm until the threat is over.
• If a person must go outside, they should use the layered principle when dressing for the outdoors.

Some additional winter storm resources are:

• Before a Winter Storm
• During a Winter Storm
• After a Winter Storm

Best of luck to those that are going through these torrential storm systems.  Stay warm and stay prepared!

The Pionner Living Magazine, has a “Back to Basic Series” available to help  preppers from all walks of life become the “new pioneers” of this country.  This series encompasses different aspects of surviving such as: soap making, using a fire pit for cooking, rendering lard and tanning hides.  The skills this magazine is sharing, are also skills that can be used in a bartering environment.  This website also has valuable information on food storage, food preservation, building root cellars, gardening and homesteading skills.  Pioneer Living podcasts series called, “Pioneering Your Way to Freedom,” has a plethora of information that everyone should check out. 

Pioneer Living Magazine believes that “Our ancestors were in reality survivalists … This was because they were self sufficient, were responsible for one’s own self and family, protection, health, and sustenance as well as shelter.  This is what our ancestors knew and lived every day.  They were prepared for what life brings through planning, learning, and preparing for any possible future… Through education we can teach people how to survive more than one day at a time.  We can teach them how to feed themselves and their families for life, be prepared for future unknown and the basic art of human survival to be pasted on for generations to come.  Solutions to live healthy, happy and free.  The knowledge no one should be without.”

The concept of survival is a complex system of parts (food, water, shelter, clothing) that keep a person thriving in their environment.  Having first hand knowledge on how to keep this system running will keep a person alive.  Thanks to the Pioneer Living Magazine for generously providing their knowledge for all of us.

Look Locally

If a person does have a few extra hours to spare, taking a preparedness class locally can give a person a good idea of how their city will respond if a disaster occurs.  Having some insight on their protocols and getting to know some of the members who work in the disaster related field would be equally beneficial in that one can learn from them.  Typically, local fire departments and city websites offer free courses such as EMT training, disaster preparedness courses, earthquake and flood preparedness and emergency preparedness training.  Additionally, many local fire departments offer First Aid/CPR online.   Doing a little research can go a long way. 

Online Disaster Preparedness Courses

Federal Emergency Management Institute has courses designed specifically to prepare the public for disasters.  This agency has online courses for independent and self paced studies that focus on the 9 mission statements of the agency: Incident management, Operational planning, Disaster logistics, Emergency communications, Service to disaster victims, Continuity programs, Public disaster communications, Integrated Preparedness and Hazard Mitigation.

Courses are all free and enrollment in EMI is generally limited to the U.S. residents; however, there are a limited number of International participants who are accommodated in these courses.  There are certain criteria and prerequisites that are specified for each course.

The University of Michigan School of Public Health has multiple university courses available and offers a wide range of topics including:

Bio-terrorism & Emergency Preparedness for Public Health/Dental Health Care Professionals, Coping with Disasters, Effects of Radiological Agents, Global Food-Local Outbreaks, Katrina, Catastrophes, and Communicable Disease Calamities: Are We Prepared?, Psychosocial Issues Related to Bio-terrorism. 

All of these courses can be done from home (distance learning) and as a person is learning, they will accumulate college hours as well.  This program is not free.

Online Survival Training Courses

There are many websites that offer survival courses, but require a fee.  The Survival Trading Preparedness course is the only site found that offers it for free.  The course will last roughly about one hour.  This basic survival course will help a person identify and prepared for being in natural setting where an emergency situation may occur and knowing how to handle oneself.

Start Gaining Knowledge

Preparing to the highest magnitude in the case of a disaster has just gotten even easier.  Having a well diversified knowledge base on how to prepare for disaster is key to knowing when and how to react in a disaster situation.  Thanks to the Information Age, information is at the click of a button. 

The preparedness path really is insurance… If we had to rely on ourselves, we would have the food, the supplies and that would free up the money we did have for a house payment or free up the money for an emergency medical bill.

Source – Lisa Bedford – aka The Survival Mom

Many preppers are proud of being prudent and proud of the being proactive in a world filled with uncertainties.  This article only encourages us to keep doing what we are doing and hopefully, encourages more to prepare.  Thanks Survival Mom for shedding some good light on us.