For example, we’ve all read how airlines have been affected by the no-fly rules, and it’s easy from there to understand that the airlines are losing money. But consider the millions of passengers who would have flown home or to business destinations who have not been able to complete their journeys. Reports of passengers who have been stranded and are completely broke are growing, and it’s painful to contemplate how desperate they must be, stuck in an airport in a foreign country with no money and no way to get home to family and work.

I’m sure there are also many more stories of regular delivery of medication and other important supplies that are often transported by air that have been affected. If the eruption was much worse, I’ve been told it would begin to affect technology far beyond commercial airline flights.

And let’s not forget that volcanic eruptions can bring about substantial climate change-the authentic kind, mind you-and that climate change can lead to societal unrest, like the French Revolution, which historians now believe was in part the result of a famine which was brought about by volcanic eruptions in Iceland.

In just a few short years we’ve seen natural disasters altering the lives of individuals, communities and now entire continents. There was Katrina, then the Indian Ocean tsunami, the earthquakes in Chile, Haiti and China, and most recently the volcanic eruptions disrupting travel and commerce in Europe.

Few places in the world are safe from any kind of natural disaster, so use each of these events as a reminder to evaluate your own personal plans and the natural disasters that may pose a risk to you and your loved ones. Consider how you might be affected, and what your plans should be, to deal with catastrophic natural disasters in your community.

Questions to ask yourself:

What if the power is out?

What if the banking system isn’t working?

What if the roads are closed?

What if the grocery stores have no food?

What if communications are disrupted?

What if there is a deadly, contagious disease spreading?

What if there are no emergency services (fire, ambulance, police) functioning?

What if there are gangs roaming the community?

What if any of the above persists for more than a few hours or days?

SurviveInPlace course, check it out here.

Gas furnaces require electricity to run the blower and
thermostat, and even most pellet stoves require electricity
to run the auger.    It’s not uncommon to find whole
neighborhoods of houses with gas furnaces, gas fire
places, lots of windows, and no backup if the electricity
goes out.

As many people find out every winter, this means is that in a
power outage, you might have all the fuel you could want to heat
your home, but still not be able to.  As I’ve talked about in
other articles, you can keep yourself warm enough by dressing
warmly, creating a shelter within your house, and using the fuel
you have to heat liquids to drink.  That being said, you may
still need to keep your house above freezing to protect your
plumbing.

Keep in mind that the strategy that I use may not work for you.
In many cases, electrical work must be done to code by a licensed
electrician for your homeowners’ insurance to remain valid.  This
is serious stuff.  It could kill you or loved ones, or cause your
house to burn to the ground with no possibility of a check from
your insurance company.  Don’t screw around with this stuff…get a
licensed electrician to help you.  Even then, this method may not
be up to code for your area and it might require serious
modification to be legal and safe.

In short, what you do is add an outlet and a plug to your furnace
(instead of running power straight from your circuit panel), get a long
heavy extension cord, that will run from your furnace to your
car, a properly sized inverter for your car, and extra gas.

If you’re fuzzy on what an inverter does, it takes the 12V DC power
from your cigarette lighter and turns it into 120V AC power that will
power your furnace blower.

This is obviously an ugly solution, and won’t work in many
apartments or condos, but it IS a field expedient way to heat
your house when you’ve got fuel but no electricity.

Since it’s very modular, there are several benefits to
implementing this strategy, namely:

1.   It’s fast and inexpensive to implement.  $100-$400 for the
inverter, and very little else if you have a friend who’s an
electrician.

2.   You can easily upgrade from using your car’s alternator to
using a generator.

3.   It might actually get you to start keeping enough extra fuel
on hand.

4.   An inverter has all sorts of benefits in a survival
situation, from converting solar power to 120V, powering
computers, running other appliances from your automobile, and
charging batteries that you only have wall chargers for.  In the
meantime, you can use it on road trips, for camping, and more.

Here are some “gotchas” that you’re going to want to look out
for:

1.   You’ll notice that there is no connection between the
inverter and the electrical panel or double-male plugs in this
setup.  It is designed to power one appliance at a time.  If you
want to get tricky and do more, have an electrician set it up for
you.

2.   Your alternator may not put out enough amperage at warm idle
to power your inverter.  Check the specs on your alternator (It’s
very unlikely that they’ll be easy to find), have a mechanic test
the output of your alternator at warm idle, or test it yourself.

A simple way to test it yourself is to shine your
headlights at a wall with the engine idling, plug in your
inverter, and plug in your furnace or some other appliance to the
inverter.  If your headlights get dimmer and stay dimmer, then the
alternator on your car isn’t big enough to power your inverter and
you need to try a different vehicle, increase the idle speed of your car
(which will run through gas quicker), or upgrade the alternator
in your car.  A beefed up alternator will put out more amperage
at lower RPMs, but will also cost you $100-$300 more.

3.   You need to make sure that your inverter is sized correctly
to handle both the run load of your furnace blower and the peak
load when it starts up.  As an example, if the run load of your
furnace is 2.3 amps, the peak load might be 6.5 amps.

4.   You need to make sure that you have a HEAVY, rated extension
cord that’s rated for the length and current load that you’ll be
using.

5.   Make sure that you have a licensed electrician set up the
plug/outlet to local code.

One of the beautiful things about this mini-project is that you
can go out and buy your inverter, extra gas, and extension cord
TODAY.  Even if you never get the interface with your furnace set
up, you’ll still be able to benefit from the extra gas and the
inverter.  Still, I’d get on the phone and call an electrician to
schedule a time to have them come over and get your furnace(s)
set up right away.

In To Start a Fire, Jack London exemplified the difficulties one faces when starting a fire in a seriously adverse survival situation. Since we always plan for the worst, our fire starting tools must be up to the task. All survival tools, including fire starters, should have the following characteristics.

- They should be capable of functioning in as many situations and conditions as possible. I refer to this as versatility.

- They should make minimum use of breakable mechanical parts. You need something reliable.

- They should be of a practical size for their given purpose. Portability is extremely important in a survival situation.

- They should be durable-something that can be used over and over again.

- Your tools should all have a long shelf life; they might have to endure harsh conditions in long-term storage.

Now let’s discuss the three most common types of modern fire making tools and see how each fares under the above criteria.

- Matches – Matches are the simplest modern fire starters. They are simple and contain no moving parts. They are small and extremely portable.They function well under most conditions, but not all. In wet and humid conditions, one must be extremely careful with matches, or you can quickly waste an entire box. As far as durability goes, you are limited by the number of matches you carry. Hope for one match per fire, but don’t plan on it. Also, matches leave something to be desired when it comes to long term storage. If not properly stored and cared for, matches can become damp and useless.

- Lighters – There are a variety of powerful butane survival lighters on the market. They function better than matches under most conditions. They are relatively small and portable. If properly cared for, they can be stored for long periods of time, and are basically impervious to water. Their durability is lacking since they are limited by the amount of fuel they contain.

- Flint and Steel (firesteel) – The modern method uses a piece of steel to ignite a shower of intense sparks (5000 degrees F) from a solid block of material, usually magnesium. Firesteel functions in all situations. If it becomes wet, it can easily be dried with material or in the open air. It uses no moving parts so it is reliable. It is small and can easily be carried in a pocket or pouch. One small block of the ignitable material will start somewhere around 5,000 fires. Plan on at least 10,000 matches and several butane lighters to do the same. Firesteel can be stored indefinitely and is immune to the effects of water and time.

Given the comparrison of the three methods, it is clear that firesteel is the most reliable, durable, versatile, and portable. Though extremely simple to use, as with all your survival tools, you should practice using firesteel before your life is on the line. A great firesteel can be found at Firesteel.com. Short of that, a combination of lighters and matches should prepare you for almost any situation.

For A Great Fire Starter, check out Antler Fire Starter

We should be watching this disaster and learning from it, because while Haiti is an impoverished, third world country, people are people and the urbanization of Haiti mirrors that of the United States and other nations.Consider for a moment that a huge percentage of Haiti’s population live in urban areas, particularly Port-au-Prince, just as we do here in America, where only 2% of our population live on farms and provide the food for the rest of us.

This urbanization means most of us are dependent on others for our daily bread. That arrangement means we are vulnerable to disruptions in society, even if we are not directly affected.

Over the last century (and particularly the last half century), much of the world has moved away from a traditional Christian society. We’ve largely pushed our traditional values out of the mainstream. When times get tough, people think nothing of resorting to violence to take from others what they want or need. We see it in Haiti right now, with the riots and looting, we see it daily in the news where people around the world resort to vigilante justice, where the governments act as they wish, and we have seen it right here at home in Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict and in New Orleans after Katrina.

We have to face the fact that we have a very thin veneer of civilization. We’re awfully comfortable here, and people act-for the most part-like they are civilized, but when that lifestyle is disrupted, all hell breaks loose.Your neighbor who might gladly lend a cup of sugar or flour when you’ve made a mistake baking a pie might be at your front door with a gun in an emergency, driven by his fear, hunger, anger, pain or just envy.

Elementary school teachers often use the phrase, ‘teach in the moment’ as a way of using current events as teaching opportunities. While we are praying for the Haitians and sending food, supplies or money to aid them, we should also learn lessons and incorporate this into our own preparations.

Consider for a moment that one of the greatest earthquakes in the history of the US occurred not in California, but along the New Madrid fault that runs along the Mississippi River.The quakes that occurred in 1811 and 1812 are considered the most intense intraplate earthquakes to hit the US in modern times. The quake was felt for over 1 million square miles, causing church bells to ring in New York and Boston.

The quake was so strong it caused the Mississippi River to run backwards, forming the Reelfoot Lake and forever altering the course of the Mississippi. In fact, the part of the river known as the ‘Kentucky Bend’ was formed by this earthquake.

Imagine how cities in this region, as far north as Chicago, to St. Louis, Memphis and dozens of other major cities within a few hundred miles might be affected today if a massive earthquake shook the ground under buildings that have not been built to earthquake standards. Even if cities were not razed to the ground, imagine the destruction across hundreds of miles of power lines, gas lines, bridges and interstates. Think of how your life would be changed if there were no power, no gasoline, and no trucks resupplying your grocery store for a few weeks.

The reality might be that our lifestyle is even more fragile than that of the Haitians. A people who are accustomed to suffering and deprivation are likely to respond better to hardship than a people who are used to having their every need (and most of their wants) met. Whatever the catastrophe might be, whether it is natural, economic, cultural or terrorist, we are one event away from a life changing event.

Peaceful civilization involves delayed gratification, saving and building. If you think how the United States was built, these elements were critical. When we undo them, people are making choices more similar to the barbarians who sacked Rome than to a peaceful, civilized, educated population.

When a natural disaster strikes or a criminal robs you on the street, it has a terrible effect on you as an individual, but society at large doesn’t really feel the act. However, when a government is systematically confiscating wealth, property and freedoms, you can actually begin to measure the changes.

The US dollar is now being questioned around the world as people are losing faith in the value of the currency, which is itself a reflection of the government to tax the people. The oil producing nations have already left the dollar for the Euro, while China, Russia and the UN are calling for a new world currency, and our ability to print money to pay our bills is in doubt as even our closest allies and trading partners are hesitating to continue financing our spending spree.The rest of the world watches as the US acts like a drug addict who simply can’t admit the problem and can’t bring himself to make any changes.

Gold prices are near all-time highs and gold coins are now hard to find. In fact, in November of last year the US Mint suspended sales of American Eagles, after coin prices went up by 88% last year. Gold bullion is of course also appreciating, but the value of the coins as a means of trade and with a fraction of the value of a full bar of gold means the coins are particularly valuable.

At the same time, you can’t find ammunition for your .380 pistol. It’s just not available. I’ve walked into gun shops, pawn shops and big box stores and everyone is out. Ever since the election of Barack Obama gun and ammo sales have been at all time highs. The liberals and their co-conspirators in the media like to paint it as a bunch of crazies who hate the President because of his skin color, but the evidence is that people are worried about an infringement of the 2nd Amendment as well as a societal breakdown that might require more vigilant self defense.

The price and scarcity of commodities such as gold and ammunition is easily observed. Millions of Americans are not buying precious metals and ammunition because they think the party is just getting started; they’re worried that the party is coming to a predictable and yet horrific, dangerous end and could become violent.

If you can’t find a gold coin, maybe you can find a silver one, and you’ll be okay. If you are looking for ammo for your .38 special and can’t get it, maybe you’ll trade in your .38 and get a .45 or a 9mm or a .357 and buy that ammo instead. You might prefer one over the other, but both can get the job done. But what happens when you go to the pharmacy and you can’t get the antibiotics you need, or you visit the grocery store and they’re out of bread and milk? What do you do then?

What we are witnessing may very well be the beginning of a widespread commodities shortage brought on by overconsumption, government regulation and interference, and panic buying by a population that has been asleep at the wheel for far too long.

In The Movie 2012, state December 21, 2012 is the day.  I am not going to give my opinion on the movie, but I do like that it does stimulate us to evaluate if we are ready to meet our Creator, but how do we know for sure when that day is?

Simple answer, we don’t, but we are given clues that possibility that day is approaching fast.

In the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 24 the Disciples ask Jesus how they will know when the end is near:

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? And Jesus answered and said to them- “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.-the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Matthew 24:3b-4a; 36; 44b.

So safe to say from a Christian perspective is that whenever a ‘prophet’ or anyone else claims to know the exact date or time that the world is going to end, you can rest assured that that will not be the day or time. There might be incidents of trouble, disaster or tribulation. But such is life on the planet Earth. Looking at the dilemmas brewing worldwide, we may face unprecedented challenges for freedom, liberty and survival on a global scale in the years preceding and following 2012.

The Fact is, this current age will end, at a time and in a manner that will catch most people by surprise. After a short period of great distress on Earth, marked by wars, tyranny, apostasy in the churches, persecution of the faithful, and natural disasters, Christ will return in glory to judge the living and the dead, and to establish his Kingdom. Warnings from Christ and the Apostles, recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, Revelations 6 and elsewhere in the New Testament, give believers sufficient notice of what is to come.

Although mankind must pass through great tribulation before the Return of Christ, the Scriptures provide abundant evidence that there will be people alive on Earth when Christ returns. The relevant verses are: Matthew 24:13; Matthew 24:39-41; Matthew 28:20; Mark 13:13; Luke 18:8; Luke 21:17-19; Luke 21:36; 1 Corinthians 15:51; and 1 Thessalonians 4:15; 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

If mankind were destined to become extinct before the Return of Christ, none of these verses would make sense. In other words, there will not be an “extinction-level event” before the Return of Christ, even though few people will have kept the Faith. What the Scriptures state, the Nicene Creed confirms: Christ “shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead.”

It is not for us to publicize a date for the Return of Christ, or to attempt to force His hand by setting up our own Armageddon. All that we are to do ­ and it is quite sufficient ­ is to pray the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy Kingdom come; thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven,” be faithful and to live in accordance to God’s will. Christ told us how to live in this way, and His teachings do not change, however near or far we are from the end of the age. As He said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35)

To learn more on how to prepare spiritually for the coming Apocalypse or the end of the world, go to Spiritual Preparation.

If interested in learning how to physically prepare, and prepare yourself to live independently from the government or worldly means, go to Survival Blog

One.  The first survival food storage secret is to learn to garden and use whatever space you have available.  From a back yard area, raised beds, container gardens on a deck or small herb pots in the kitchen window, folk can grow more than they suspect with a little creativity and effort.  Use edible landscaping for plants that are ornamental as well as that provide food.  Need a few shade trees?  Why not use fruit or nut trees – they will supply shade as well as food.

Two.  Learn to ‘put up’ food – canning, food dehydrating and other methods are easier than ever with modern gadgetry designed to save food.  It requires a minimal effort – but on a kitchen counter you can dry enough herbs for a year ; you can make real powdered and flaked pepper, garlic and onion.

Three.  Next survival food storage  secret is if you freeze food, be sure you’ve a means to keep it going in a crisis.  If the electricity goes off you don’t want to lose a year’s supply of food!  Have a generator and fuel, get a propane refrigerator, have some way of keeping that food cold.  Putting food aside is only one part of increasing your food supply – storing it safely is the other issue.

Four.  Always be discreet.  Don’t brag about your food supply and don’t spread the gospel you have half a year of food in your basement.  If you do, and there is a crisis, you may be overrun with folks who know you have lots stocked away.  Are you then prepared to protect your food supply?

Five.  Storage a problem? Use areas most do not think about.  The pantry is good for many things but if you’re putting up lots of jars of spaghetti sauce, preserves, soups and other sauces you’re going to need room.  Have a protected corner of the basement up off the ground ( enough that a wet floor won’t damage the food ).

Six.  Here is another survival food storage tip.  Together with your food supply have a way to prepare food including water, grill and gas/wood/charcoal, for example.  If a tempest knocks an area down for 2-3 weeks be in a position to rely on your own resources for those 2-3 weeks.  Have available not only prerequisite items but a few luxury items too.  These could include a little candy, or cookies or something that just makes things a touch more like home.

Seven.  Do not forget storing personal cleanliness items – you can make a ‘composting toilet’ from free plans online having this available with sawdust or shavings, toilet paper and other survival gear can greatly increase the comfort in an emergency.

Eight.  Don’t rely on the government helping – or on folks being friendly.  A disastrous situation such as New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina showed the government can’t handle it – people have got to be in a position to rely on themselves.  Prepare and have plans in place for tornado, fire, emergency evacuation and sheltering in place ( being limited to home ).  Remember a train derailment or other issues can change things in a hurry! Practice that escape.  You have 10 minutes- what do you grab?  Hesitating can be deadly having a plan can suggest survival.

Nine.  Be ready to cook from nothing, make bread and do other abilities to get through if you had to.  If you’ve got the food stocked up it doesn’t do any good if you can not use it.  If you depend on mixes make your own mixes in Ziploc bags that seal firmly – label with a marker right on the bag with how much liquid, egg and oil to add.  In a pinch, that bag can be the bowl – simply put wet ingredients in and mix, then tip into a baking pan.  Experiment with your griddle to make things before you have to.

Ten.  Having the ability to hunt and fish can mean having a continual food supply.  Having fishing gear and hunting supplies can imply the difference between eating or not.  In the depression some spoke of having a tiny dog that would go through culverts and flush out rabbits while the enormous dog at the other end dispatched the rabbit as it ran out.  Sporting?  Maybe notbut if it comes to eating or not, how ethical will you be after not eating for four days?

Get prepared now.  Work on getting things growing, on learning the abilities you have to in order to survive.  When the public food supply is interrupted it’ll be too late.

You can have plenty of seeds for years to come with heirloom seeds, and learn about other essential survival gear.

LEARN MORE ON COMING FOOD CRISIS AND TIPS TO PREPARE

Americans are spoiled.  We have so many choices at the grocer that it is outside the imagination that food won’t be there.  Although there are plenty of right here in the united states who retire to bed hungry on a constant basis, the true food deficits which have sparked riots in other countries have so far escaped the States.  It is foolish to think we are never going to face trouble forever.

Wendell Berry discussed in his book ‘The Unsettling of America’ 31 years ago that food was too necessary to be used as a weapon.  People have ignored that concept for three decades because – WE have food on the grocery shelves and it can’t be that bad.

Society looked the other way as dairy farmers fought to hang on to herds of a couple hundred cows and maintain their way of life.  It looked the other way again when small hog farmers were buried under 9 cent hogs, a price that meant ham alone brought twice what the whole pig cost.  Some farmers gave hogs away as it would cost them to sell or keep them.

This eliminated many alternatives for our food.  While we see now that with oil those who have it can, will, and do dictate the price folk don’t see the flashing neon sign that our food supply is in the same situation.  Indeed, customers are for the most part so ignorant of it that they continue to buy on cost, generating cash for the few of company entities that hold the bulk of our survival food storage.

Archer Daniels Midland – ADM – bills itself as’ supermarket to the world’ and had a 67% increase in profits while Cargill – resented by little farmers around the world – had an 86% profit increase.

Most purchasers haven’t any idea what some ingredients in their products truly are.
for example, sorbitol is a hydrogenated sugar alcohol derived from corn, which is utilized in sugarless gums and candy, as well as being an ingredient in polyurethane.

As one of the largest processors of oil seed, ADM produces soybean powder and meal for human and animal use.  Extracted from that is a crude oil used not only for edible oils, vegetable oils and lecithin, but also for commercial oil, biodiesel, and polymers.

Cargill – enjoying record profits – has its hands in baked products, cereals, drinks from alcohol to soft drinks to fruit drinks, candy and chocolate, dairy, health and organic ( think sports drinks, vitamins ), meat and chickens, pharmaceuticals, prepared foods ( seasonings, jams/jellies, side and main dish mixes, puddings, sauces and plenty more ) and snack foods.  You won’t see ‘Cargill’ on grocery store shelves overtly labeled just like you won’t see the other majority players, but it’s there and much of what you eat comes from them.

Rest guaranteed when it comes to maintaining those record profits that they’ll have that in mind before those too poor to buy their foods.  Cotton farmers in India, pushed out by Monsanto cotton, have committed suicide at the possibility of losing their livelihood, and farmers in numerous other {nation~countrie~state}s do not even desire them as neighbors.  If it comes to their finances or yours – theirs will take precedence.  Monsanto and Cargill each own half of a company that markets genetically modified foods globally.

Monsanto eagerly pushes farmers into courtrooms where a little farmer has no possibility of winning, whether or not they’ve ever planted their seed.  One farmer was held accountable for planting their genetic altered seed on land he didn’t even own – which made no difference in the courtroom.  Absolute power corrupts fully is an acceptable adage to describe what’s happening.

With these companies holding the overwhelming majority of our food supply what occurs when they raise prices and demand more profits?  We will do without fuel – but we will not do without food.  Unfortunately, the headlights are approaching and American purchasers don’t have any idea to move off the road.

Corporate America exists for one thing – Cash.  They’d give a token amount for charities but profit comes before anything.  Lower costs drive the ‘reasons’ for GMO products, which the general public don’t need to eat and farmers don’t want near their fields.

If your checkbook is drained and they are showing record profits do you suspect they’ll barter with you as little farmers will?  Do you think they’ll feel sorry and say ‘here’s groceries until you get on your feet?  Not going to occur – it cuts into their profit.  Farmers have seen it – patrons don’t and are not aware of it.

LEARN MORE ON COMING FOOD CRISIS AND TIPS TO PREPARE