What’s Really Going On With The Power Grid?
I’ve been concerned about the state of our power grid for years, but the recent solar flare scare (and this discussion on EMP effects) got me to thinking about it even more. The sad truth is that our power grid is quite vulnerable to many problems, including severe weather, domestic terrorism, and cyberattacks. The following…
Why You Won’t Die In The Winter Without Central Heat. Probably.
The other day I was checking on some gear stored in my detached garage and noticed something I’d seen in previous winters: It was about 25 degrees outside, but my thermometer inside the garage read 45 degrees. That’s a 20 degree difference, and my garage isn’t even insulated. Just four walls, a concrete slab, and…
Vegan Survival Food Kits
I get daily Google Alerts about stuff related to preparedness, like articles on survival food and natural disasters, or even home security. I usually quickly glance through the alerts and move on, since most links are re-hashed and boring survival posts or probably trying to sell you something. Honestly, this post on vegan emergency kits…
Top 10 Favorite Off-Grid Gadgets
Tired of buying useless Black Friday or Cyber Monday gifts? How about something useful for your preparedness, like these 10 off-grid gadgets in the video below. He discusses an awesome kettle pot that I really want now, the Ecotemp propane water heater, composting toilet, a manual coffee grinder, the EcoFlow Delta Max 2 power station,…
A 400-Watt Solar Setup Is All You Need?
Most people wrongly believe that they need a massive solar system to live off-grid or for “just in case” the world ends. But that’s not true if you’re careful about what you run and when. If, however, you intend on powering everything you currently use, like the HVAC, clothes dryer, dishwasher, and multiple televisions, then…
Eye-Opening EMP and Solar Flare Presentation
Not that I’m trying to ruin your Thanksgiving week, but I watched this eye-opening presentation below late last week and, although I knew some of the details, I was shocked at the full scope of the problem should a solar flare or EMP occur. In fact, while I mentioned how problematic a solar flare could…
9 Grid-Down Comms Options
Although I’m a huge fan of using your smartphone for preparedness, I realize there’s a lot more you can do to communicate when SHTF. But as he talks about in the video below, start with the basics. That means you should know how to use your phone to communicate. Understand that text messages are more…
What If You Instantly Had No Water?
As if the solar storm troubles of last week weren’t enough, we also discovered that we had no water Friday afternoon. Everything was working fine that morning, but then family members started complaining that we had no water pressure at all. Seeing as though most people overexaggerate problems around here, I investigated the problem myself.…
Apparently, Modern Society Almost Ended Last Week
I’d imagine you’ve heard or seen the Northern Lights last week. I wasn’t aware of them until day two when my mother showed me some beautiful photos of the lights from the night before, which were taken from very nearby by my in-laws the first night. But even that anomaly didn’t register as a problem…
