Posted: September 11, 2009 | Author: Scott James | Filed under: 1. Philosophy | Tags: emergency preparedness, prepper |
On this solemn day, I’m reminded of a quote from Paul Hawken (of the Smith & Hawken garden supply company, among other things).
“Doom and optimism are twins. One does not exist without the other. The only way you can be truly hopeful about the future is to have a very accurate read on the problems of the present.”
Many people think about the War Against Terror and related efforts with a sense of doom because the task seems insurmountable. I disagree. While our US Empire is crumbling – no argument there – I believe this gives us an opportunity to reposition the international US reputation from a very negative one to a positive one. But it is clearly going to
be a multi-generation effort. And it’s going to be led by folks who are thinking clearly about the condition of country is in today.
According to homeopathic doctors, a human body that has suffered from an illness for X months will require *at least* the same number of months for healing. There is no quick, pharmaceutical-induced pill in homeopathy to fix the body in three days or less.
I believe the same is true of the US reputation among other countries. We’ve spent decades casting ourselves in a certain light through our actions and words. We’ll likely have to spend at least the same number of decades recasting a more positive and sustainable attitude.
Hawken’s commencement speech from this past May is a quick and worthwhile read related to challenging the upcoming generation to continue this positive work. The interesting backstory is that he tossed the speech he had written for the occasion and finished this one minutes before the ceremony itself.
Posted: August 6, 2009 | Author: Scott James | Filed under: 1. Philosophy, 2. Water Security | Tags: emergency preparedness, prepper |
“Awareness arrives in stages.” A fellow named James Kunstler said that. Wise words.
In my own life, awareness of sustainability issues came in waves. First it was organic food, then Fair Trade products, then green cleaning/building products for the home.
Then the combination of studying Peak Oil, global warming, and the recent US economic financial services meltdown led me to where I am today. Although attempting to foresee the future is tricky at best, preparing for future scenarios is prudent. While I am optimistic about future possibilities (e.g. near limitless energy from geothermal, wind, and solar), I am realistic in planning for more negative eventualities (e.g. a pandemic flu correcting our over-populated areas).
But where to begin? Every once in awhile I feel overwhelmed by the negativeness of it all, or the absurd, massive, endless lists of things that I *could* be preparing for. Then I look at my relatively short prioritized task list, take a deep breath, and move towards getting the next item checked off.
If any of you are thinking that way, here’s your *one* task to do this week: buy a bunch of bottled water (2 gallons per person per day for 30 days) and stick it in a closet (but not on concrete; a chemical reaction fouls the water over time). It seems like alot of water when you are buying it and getting weird looks, but not so much once it is stashed in the closet.
Then smile, relax, and tell yourself you are a great person because you’ve got one month of water stored for your family in case of massive tornados, fires, floods, earthquakes, excessive house guests, whatever.
Now that you have your immediate water needs taken care of, you can start reading through the blog posts on food security.
Posted: August 5, 2009 | Author: Scott James | Filed under: 1. Philosophy | Tags: emergency preparedness, prepper |
But why a blog on this topic? Well, in the wise words of Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, “silence is the enemy“. We need to be discussing and sharing best practices for moving ourselves as North American citizens (note I did not say “consumers”) towards sustainability.
One group doing an outstanding group of presenting calm, fact-based discussion on these topics is Future Scenarios. It’s a website/book created by David Holmgren, the co-originator of the permaculture concept. Worthwhile.
Posted: July 24, 2009 | Author: Scott James | Filed under: 1. Philosophy | Tags: emergency preparedness, prepper |
In a very real sense, yes.
Every hour I devote to personal self-sufficiency is an hour I take away from my Fair Trade business, which by its very definition is focused on helping others (usually on the other side of the globe). It is an hour I take away from the students I teach each Fall. It is an hour I take away from visiting with friends. It is an hour I take away from sleeping.
So why do I do this?
Partially because I believe a time is coming (likely in my lifetime, definitely in my children’s lifetime) when life will get very local, very quickly. The time I spend in preparations for myself and my family is a selfish investment. But I believe it to be a wise one that will enable us to help others (neighbors, friends, family) later, when they are in dire need due to lack of preparations.
Becoming self-sufficient myself – and teaching my children how to become so, as well – is one of my primary duties as a parent.
Posted: July 3, 2009 | Author: Scott James | Filed under: 1. Philosophy, 6. Personal Training, 7. Physical Security | Tags: emergency preparedness, prepper |
Specifically, I am preparing my family and home for the following scenarios. Some are much more likely to happen than others.
1. Earthquake, volcanic eruption, severe winter storm, environmental meltdown
We live on a (currently inactive) fault line. We live near an overdue volcano. We lose electricity 1/2 dozen times each winter. The longest outage recently was 11 days in late December / early January. It was darn cold. But “environmental meltdown”? Isn’t that a bit dramatic? Watch this recent series from ABC and decide for yourself: Earth 2100: Civilization at Crossroads. Additional videos and more thoughtful commentary are here.
2. Terrorist attack (nuclear, biological, chemical)
Before 9/11 happened I would have given this a 1% chance of happening. But given that my day job revolves around importing Fair Trade products from Pakistan, a known terrorist-harboring country that is not remotely stable, my gut tells me the percentage likelihood of something else bad (bad like on the 9/11 scale of bad) happening during my lifetime is quite high. Especially since I live near a heavily trafficked West Coast port in the US.
3. Economic meltdown
Whether it is the Peak Oil theory (yes, I know there are lots of folks who think this is nonsense) or a US financial system meltdown (hey, that just happened!), this could lead to limited transportation + limited cash + looting. Lots of other folks go into the details of who, how, and why. It’s worth researching for yourself.
4. Home invasion (short-term burglary)
This is more than just a casual concern. While we live in a very safe town and neighborhood, once I had children my protective instincts and radar for this went *way* up. If you walk down the fairly logical path of any of the above scenarios, whoever *is* prepared (e.g. you have water and food for your family and neighbors) is likely going to become a target, particularly from those outside your neighbors and community.
Posted: July 3, 2009 | Author: Scott James | Filed under: 1. Philosophy | Tags: emergency preparedness, prepper |
I’ve been going down this path for the past three months. Here’s my thought process to date on the frequent question of “Why did you start thinking about this?” that I get from close friends when they ask me about my current project load…
All of this falls into a broad category of what you might call “emergency preparedness”. I actually had a family member involved in an EP company for a decade, so you would think this might have occurred to me earlier, but no.
What is motivating me? Positive, solution-seeking thinking/planning in these areas:
1. My kids
As soon as we began having children, my instincts went way up in terms of protection, provision, and training. I want to raise well-rounded, positive-outlook children that are equipped to help others and change the world for the better. IMO, that takes *alot* of work.
2. The movements of Green + Peak Oil + Go Local + Beyond Organic
Although everything “green” is sexy these days – usually leading to shallow change, unfortunately – there is actually quite a bit of authentic change happening. I’m a big believer in “technology as savior”, although I’m skeptical we can catch up with our environment before a major correction happens (read: worldwide plague, ocean level rising). History tells us these corrections do happen.
However, we are seeing some exciting technologically-based solutions coming to market. Rapid, significant improvements annually in alternative energy such as solar, wind, and geothermal are happening right now. Witness the re-birth of the oil wildcatter T. Boone Pickens as a wind farm proponent and investor.
One of my organizations is heavily involved in these movements, so I get to see a fair number of inside peaks at these positive innovations.
3. Fair Trade movement
I’ve been involved in this “Fair Trade” experiment to correct our unsustainable economic model for the past six years (I’m currently on the winning end of that unsustainable model, thankfully). Witness China + Russia + India all vying for our spot as Last Standing Superpower. Research movements like Fair Trade Towns and Transition Towns that are trying to get our US cities off their oil dependency and unjust (and thus unsustainable) economic systems that we’ve built over the past couple hundred years.
4. My personal health
I am nearing 40 years old. I catch the flu/allergies 2-3X per season despite eating and drinking quite healthily. So I am reminded daily of my desire to get away from toxic, unnatural products and the system that creates them.
5. My personality as a Planner and Networker
I’ve been described as a “geek with people skills”. I enjoy and thrive on meeting other people and networking via high quality conversations. My desire is to see true lasting positive change on a local, regional, national, and international level. Both my day jobs focus on the international aspect. These personal efforts documented here will focus on the local and regional aspects.
In short, I’m a dork for preparedness, I’ve just never applied it to potential emergencies before. What kind of emergencies? Next post…
Posted: June 29, 2009 | Author: Scott James | Filed under: 1. Philosophy | Tags: emergency preparedness, prepper |
By opting out, I’m proposing an en masse exodus of thoughtful, positive, grounded people from the US-centric world view that consuming more and more is our God-given right.
Specifically, I’m pursuing a significantly different priority list than most (95%) of my colleagues. Going beyond just opting out of fast food with toxic, addictive hits of fat and sugar. Beyond just opting out of mindless hours in front of reality tv shows.
This blog will document our failures and successes as we move through this radically (to me) different task list. The top-level to-do list in my family’s journey towards greater resilience includes these topics:
Do we have all the answers? Certainly not. I don’t think I even have handful of them. But I’ll let you know what we find in my research, what we actually enact, and whether it works or not.
Posted: June 29, 2009 | Author: Scott James | Filed under: 1. Philosophy | Tags: emergency preparedness, prepper |
Welcome to one family’s (awkward, groping, often mis-stepped) path towards self-reliance. In an age of Peak Oil, in the decline of the American Empire, in the rise of the Eco + Organic + Fair Trade + Local movements, this is one North American journey towards true sustainability. To re-purpose grass farmer Joel Salatin‘s words:
“We ask for too much salvation by legislation. All we need to do is empower individuals with the right philosophy and the right information to opt out en masse.”
Your thoughts, observations, and questions are most welcome here. But be cool in the comments; I’m fast on the delete button for trolls.
“Awareness arrives in stages.” A fellow named James Kunstler said that. Wise words. 
In a very real sense, yes.
I’ve been going down this path for the past three months. Here’s my thought process to date on the frequent question of “Why did you start thinking about this?” that I get from close friends when they ask me about my current project load…
Opt Out En Masse 