The Sustainable Living Podcast: 10 Ways to Be Prepared

10 Ways to Be Prepared

Feb 16, 2017

Weather is on our mind. Marianne has water from all over the neighborhood flowing theoretical in a culvert through her yard. In reality, the whole yard is flooded.

Jenise is being inundated with snow. As a matter of fact, the power lines are down and the city of Big Bear is without electricity. Good thing Jenise has solar set up with batteries to serve their water pump and keep the kitchen and the main part of the house going independently from the grid. Her wood stove keeps her cozy and can double to heat water and food. Storm or no storm, Jenise is prepared and comfortable.

This got us thinking about being prepared for emergencies in general. California is prone to earthquakes, other areas have tornadoes, hurricanes, prolonged drought - you name it and it is happening somewhere and people have to be ready.

Earthquakes are the most likely emergency in Southern California and can cause power outages. Our minds were on that subject anyways due to Jenise being in the middle of one

as we were recording. The first thing which came to mind was that in most urban situations no power means no water since electricity is needed to keep the water coming through the pipes.

Marianne is prepared with several 5 gal containers filled with tap water, a 275 gallon rain tank and several 55 gal barrels. She has charcoal water filters and wood to make a fire for boiling water. That still is not that much water, but her neighbors pool holds thousands of gallons of water, and as long as the basin stays intact it should be a good emergency water source for the neighborhood.

That let us to explore the importance of community in an emergency situation. We both think that the time to start getting to know your neighbors and explore ways to help each other is now. Once an emergency is upon us, it might be a little late in the game.

The idea of creating an off- grid challenge came up. It is certainly something to explore and flesh out more. For most of us, it would be hard to do. For example, driving a car is not exactly an off grid activity. I many areas, that is easily avoidable. In Southern California, not so much. Everything is built around automobile use. Houses are built far from stores. Kids don’t have a safe way to walk to school even if the school is close enough.

Gardening is a great way to start cooperating. Not everybody needs to grow everything. Or seeds can be shared, and of course the bounty of the garden.

Jenise and her husband were in the big earthquake in San Francisco and had no power for days. That was pre-cell phone time and even communication was shut off. They pulled out their camping gear and were okay during that trying time.

We think that it is a good idea to have enough food for a while stored in your home. Jenise even recommends the freeze dried emergency food, Marianne rather sticks to rice and beans. We both agree that storing seeds with the idea to plant a garden in case of an emergency is a bad idea. As many a gardener knows - there is a bit of a learning curve involved to get to the desired end result of an abundant garden.

Jenise had read an article on 10 ways to prepare for an economic collapse. One of the suggestions we think is applicable for all times is to build a local economy and be more independent from needing goods from far away.

Imagine not only your food grown close by, but your clothing made by a seamstress or tailor down the street, somebody knows how to make shoes and it probably will be easy to find a home brewing enthusiast. An herbalist can take care of ailments, a massage therapist and yoga teachers all working together to keep bodies and minds healthy. I bet if we get to know our neighbors, we have lots of skills right around us.

Marianne knows that within walking distance of her house is an electrician, a plumber, a hairstylist, an alteration business, a soap maker, and several artists and hard core gardeners. That are a lot of resources and skills to draw on.

Now add the idea of bartering or an alternative currency and no matter what is going on in the world, this community could be thriving.

Diana Leafe Christian shares many ideas and tools for communities to work better in episode 75 and Nicole Bienfang offers a step by step guide to move towards working together as well.

Nonviolent Communication has come up in so many interviews lately that we feel it is time to learn this tool. We both believe that if something shows up in life over and over and over again, it is probably time to check it out. Stay tuned for a future episode in which we will share what we learned.

Nonviolent Communication Training Course Marshall Rosenberg CNVC org:

The three hour version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwXH4hNfgPg

The nine hour version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4tUVqsjQ2I

Chris Agnos: How wolves change rivers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa5OBhXz-Q

Small efforts combined can make a huge difference. A shout out to our listeners for being part of the change. A big Thank You to all of you!

Buying a generator is another tip from the article. This is a must if a person in the household is in need of healthcare appliances which need electricity.

Another aspect of being prepared is keeping safe during a time when some people might want to take advantage of the situation. The article suggest to know who in the neighborhood is ex military or police, a hunter or a martial arts practitioner.

Other things to consider: