May 13th, 2006
Emergency Preparedness – Sizable Seismic Events
Worldwide 284,010 people died in 2004, and 89,354 in 2005, in earthquakes, Utah’s biggest threat.
An earthquake is Mother Nature exercising her option to reshuffle resources. She is quite regular about it, too. During the week ending 2/3/2006, there were 146 quakes in the world of 2.5+, 62 quakes were greater than 4.0, and one was 6.7 on the Richter scale. Of the total, 85 quakes were in the US with all but 22 being in Alaska (state motto: we’ll make the earth move under your feet). The 6.7 in Fiji was a SEW (somebody else’s worry). But 13 in California and 2 in Nebraska put us in the realm of possibility. Utah actually had 7 quakes in the last week, but each was under 2.5.
Seismologists tell us we have a 1 in 4 chance of a 7+ quake within 50 years. Utah just spent $200 million for seismic renovation on the capitol building and the LDS Church is doing the same kind of renovation on the tabernacle on Temple Square. Consider your preparedness following these examples.
Have a place for everything and everything in its place. You won’t leave your resources after a rumble. The most important thing is to know where to start digging to recover water, food, clothing and shelter.
For information check out www.earthquake.usgs.gov and see what Mother Nature is doing this week.
SEE THE NEED AND THEN PROCEED, TO BE PREPARED.
Posted in Clothing, Food, Safety, Shelter | No Comments »
May 13th, 2006
Emergency Preparedness – Imagine Life Without a Toothbrush
At the beginning of the 20th Century two things were certain: the average American family of four had one toothbrush per household, and that family was lucky to have two full sets of teeth between them.
The greatest advances in oral hygiene have been made in just the last 70 years. Exported Chinese hog bristles made it possible for toothbrushes to be cheap. Tooth powder (a big step up from baking soda) was replaced by toothpaste when someone realized paste could be dispensed from a squeeze tube used for artist paints. Now we have arrived at $80-120 rechargeable oral hygiene systems that include spinning brushes, gum stimulators, water flushers and sprayers. Wow, your mouth can now feel as good as your feet after a run in Dr. Scholl’s gel inserts or Michael Jordan $120 signature model athletic shoes.
You can imagine what life would be like without a toothbrush. Halitosis is better than no breathe at all, but not much. Good toothbrushes cost about $1. Pick up some extras this week for your inventory, along with some extra toothpaste. Remember, if you are true to your teeth, they will never be false to you.
For more information contact (your emergency preparedness specialist).
SEE THE NEED AND THEN PROCEED, TO BE PREPARED.
Posted in Perspective, Sanitation | No Comments »
May 13th, 2006
Emergency Preparedness – Toiletology 101
There is disagreement over who was the inventor of the modern flush toilet – Thomas Crapper (1837-1910), an English sanitary engineer, or Sir John Harrington, another Englishman of the 16th Century.
At the end of World War I fewer than 30% of U.S. homes had bathrooms and returning G.I.s began to bring plumbing indoors, privy to the influences of Mr. Crapper and Mr. John encountered in Europe.
This invention, largely ignored, has done more to revolutionize the world’s health than has any vaccine.
QUESTION: What back up sanitation system do you have in your preparedness program if your current porcelain appliance fails? Earthquakes reshuffle resources, and if water systems are compromised, sewer systems generally are too. Would an earthquake send you outside again, or have you already flushed out an alternative solution. Waterless, sanitized, containerized systems are available. You can find help with this head teaser from (your emergency preparedness specialist).
SEE THE NEED AND THEN PROCEED, TO BE PREPARED.
Posted in Sanitation | No Comments »
May 13th, 2006
Emergency Preparedness – Of Power Outages and Pipes
Power outages in winter months not only make you uncomfortable when furnace controls are knocked out, but the important “liquid functions” of your life can get really messed up, too.
The fuel company shuns the suggestion of turning on stovetop or oven burners as a heat source, or using kerosene heaters. Open flame units consume oxygen for respiration and can dangerously foul unventilated interior environments. However, fireplace or wood stove units are okay because they vent to the outside.
Water supply and sewer pipes can freeze in prolonged outages unless heat can circulate under sinks and around pipes. Close off rooms that don’t contain pipes, open bathroom and kitchen cabinets that do, and slightly open all faucets to permit a stream of warm water. Gas water heaters still work without electricity. Keep toilets thawed. (Don’t need to say more about that).
Fill clean containers with water for drinking if prolonged freezing temperatures are expected. Stored water in drums if in the basement will generally not freeze below ground, but you’ll worry over what’s in the garage. That’s a reminder that things put away right will be usable when emergencies arises.
For more information contact (your emergency preparedness specialist).
SEE THE NEED AND THEN PROCEED, TO BE PREPARED.
Posted in Water | No Comments »
May 13th, 2006
Emergency Preparedness – WHEAT MAY NOT BE GOOD FOR YOU, MAN ! ! !
Thomas Brunoski, MD and specialist in food allergies and nutritional medicine in Westport, Connecticut, says of gluten intolerance (also known as Celiac disease), “. . .more than two million Americans may be gluten-intolerant, and most don’t know it. When such a person eats gluten – found in wheat, rye, and barley – the small intestine becomes inflamed and nutrients are not absorbed properly. Classic symptoms include itchy skin rash, diarrhea, abdominal cramping and other intestinal problems. But: some sufferers have anemia, headaches, hair loss, joint pain, liver inflammation and/or seizures. Gluten is known to cause hearing loss in adolescents, also. People with these symptoms should be tested for gluten intolerance.”
Every day is practice day for emergency preparedness. If the foundation of your stored foods program is wheat, see if all members of your family can tolerate it in their daily diet. Otherwise, milder grains, dehydrated foods and case goods may have to be the core of daily bulk, requiring more frequent rotation of these lesser shelf life foods. Hey, everyone can eat Twinkies and Jell-O, and kept dry, they’ll store forever.
For more information contact (your emergency preparedness specialist).
SEE THE NEED AND THEN PROCEED, TO BE PREPARED.
Posted in Food | No Comments »
May 13th, 2006
Emergency Preparedness – Understanding the Evils of Weevils
“They are all over. They must have come in somehow from outside,” said my mother to the installer.
“We’ll underlay your new cabinets with DDT and your kitchen will be weevil free forever,” he replied.
DDT was not the answer. Why? Because microscopic insect eggs are in all grain products from the field and no amount of processing or refining can get them out. With heat for incubation they hatch – in flour, mixes, pasta, even powdered milk products – and come from the inside of boxes out, not the outside in.
Without life essentials of heat, moisture, or air kitchen critters can’t live. A simple trick is to freeze any product susceptible to weevil for 3-4 consecutive days before putting it in inventory. Either stock up in winter when you can leave products outside (the added weight in the car trunk will improve traction) or put them in your freezer to kill the insect eggs. Otherwise, temperatures must be cool enough in storage rooms to stop incubation. Dehydrated (very dry) foods and airless packaging will also stop weevil growth.
Remember, insects are nine times more protein rich than beef. If you get them, think of what you are eating as a bonus meal with grain fed additives. Insure that everything is seasoned well – lots of pepper.
For more information contact (your emergency preparedness specialist).
SEE THE NEED AND THEN PROCEED, TO BE PREPARED.
Posted in Food | No Comments »
May 13th, 2006
Emergency Preparedness – Think a Gallon of Gas is Expensive?
A 16 oz. Diet Snapple costs $1.29, or $10.32 per gallon. A 20 oz. Gatorade is $1.59, or $10.17 a gallon. With the most “real fruit juice”, a 16 oz. Ocean Spray is only $1.25, or $10.00 a gallon.
Get sick and you’re in real trouble. A 1.5 oz. bottle of Scope is $.99, or $84.48 a gallon, Pepto Bismol (4 oz. at $3.85) is $123.20 per gallon, and Vick’s Nyquil (6 oz. for $8.35) is a whopping $178.13 a gallon.
Doctors say most people become susceptible to sickness because they don’t drink enough water.
Evian Spring* Water at $1.49 for 9 ounces, costs only $21.19 per gallon, and no one knows its’ source. (Did you know that EVIAN spelled backwards is NAÏVE?) Is the drinking fountain that bad?
Eat good food, stay healthy and drink lots of water – find your own tap, and you can afford gasoline.
*Do you think they call it spring water because it’s bottled only in March, April and May?
For more information contact (your emergency preparedness specialist).
SEE THE NEED AND THEN PROCEED, TO BE PREPARED.
Posted in Perspective, Water | No Comments »
May 13th, 2006
Emergency Preparedness – Anyone Need an Abacus?
Time was then memory was something you lost with age, an application was filled out for employment, a program was a TV show, a cursor used very bad language, a keyboard was on a piano, a web was a spider’s home, a virus caused the flu, a CD was a bank savings account, a hard drive was a grueling road trip, a mouse pad was where a mouse lived, and bits and bites had to do with horses and horseflies.
Do you ever suffer from techno-overload? With more information comes higher performance expectations. Oh yes, a crash usually involved vehicles of some kind, not life in general when any of the previously mentioned computer components fail. Is it any wonder people don’t like to cook during a techno-crisis when take-out, drive-up, or heat and serve (expensive) fast foods are so available?
Take the time to gather just one recipe each week for a simple food that is easy to fix. Learn to use raw foods in your recipes. This simple preparation practice can cut your food budget markedly, and everyone knows raw foods have the most nutrition, cost the least, and keep you from eating expensive meals out. Have you ever noticed that “fresh garden vegetables in season” in fancy restaurant meals are ALWAYS green zucchini and/or yellow squash? Know why? Because they are cheapest and easiest to fix.
For more information, contact (your emergency preparedness specialist).
SEE THE NEED AND THEN PROCEED, TO BE PREPARED.
Posted in Food | No Comments »
May 13th, 2006
Emergency Preparedness – www.seniordirectories.com
Feel like you are getting older and you can’t do much about it? 75-80 million Americans will reach retirement age in the next 10 years and services for the aging will increase. If you don’t need them now, you will – or someone you know will (mom, dad, uncle Harry, your Home Teaching or RSVT widow).
Foresightful Senior Directories is the first Utah publication to make available a listing of State, Federal, and private service providers under one cover. Focusing on the 55+ age group, they cover Salt Lake, Utah, Wasatch, Summit, Davis, Morgan, and Weber counties, and are soon to cover Tooele County as well.
Easy to read Calendars, discount coupons and senior activities are included with alphabetical information from Adult Day Care to Veterans Services, health hotlines to volunteer programs. Web access for your free directory, or for further information contact (your emergency preparedness specialist).
SEE THE NEED AND THEN PROCEED, TO BE PREPARED.
Posted in Communication, Process | No Comments »
May 13th, 2006
Emergency Preparedness – Whole Wheat Angel Food Cake Recipe?
“If they don’t have bread, let them eat cake,” said Marie Antoinette. Surely she was speaking about whole wheat angel food (sponge) cake. It is something to really loose your head over. The only difference between angel food and sponge cakes is that the entire egg is used in the sponge cake. We’ve never had anyone not like this, let alone know that it was whole wheat. The flavor is THE BEST. Try me on this.
6 large eggs, separated ½ tsp. Vanilla 1 ½ cups sifted whole wheat flour
½ cup water ½ tsp. Lemmon extract ¼ tsp. salt
1 ½ cups raw or brown sugar ¼ tsp. Almond extract 1 tsp. Cream of tartar
In a small mixer bowl on high speed mix yolks, water, sugar, and flavorings for 5-7 minutes, until very thick and creamy. Sift flour and salt together twice and add gradually to mixture on low speed.
Beat egg whites and cream of tartar together in another bowl until stiff. Do not underbeat or allow whites to stand, but fold immediately into first mixture and pour into ungreased tube pan. Bake at 325-350 degrees for 60-70 minutes, or until top springs back when lightly touched. Invert pan and cool thoroughly before removing. Delicious served with fresh fruit, ice or whipped cream, or all three. The Wheat for Man cookbook, p. 97 recipe, is out of print. BETTER HANG ON TO THIS, or call your EP specialist.
SEE THE NEED AND THEN PROCEED, TO BE PREPARED.
Posted in Food, Recipies | No Comments »