Post B5UoDTUxT26x6iKmfo by michaelgemar@cosocial.ca
(DIR) More posts by michaelgemar@cosocial.ca
(DIR) Post #B5LK9nt4yPrY8YJKD2 by blogdiva@mastodon.social
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OMG this whole “patriots“ #solar generator marketing is pure evil genius, but for the common good. i see these #ads during baseball games and they really go out of their way to hit all the MAGA redneck prepper notes; while selling the one thing the petromafia sugardaddies & their politician stooges dont want their base to embrace: solar energy. it’s #solarpunk machiavellism and it feels weirdly refreshing
(DIR) Post #B5LK9oDHlI1f9DlShk by gatesvp@mstdn.ca
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@blogdiva I keep coming back to this video from Technology Connections https://youtu.be/KtQ9nt2ZeGM?si=DRU9nV5Ny2VZpPeKSolar + Battery is every independent, conservative, prepper 's dream. ☀️➕🔋Don't want a government telling you what you can do with your energy? Rationing your access? ☀️➕🔋Want to build and own something that lasts for a really long time? Want to invest in your future sovereignty? ☀️➕🔋☀️➕🔋 Is the number one freedom tool of any property owner. Plant it around your crops and use it to power your harvesters. Now the price of diesel won't screw you over. Hook it up to your HVAC system so the animals stay cool when the sun gets hot.The failure of conservatives to embrace and promote this money-saving independence tool is kind of mind-blowing. It's like they don't actually want to save money or achieve Independence.
(DIR) Post #B5LK9oRSuZMtrCOmo4 by azonenberg@ioc.exchange
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@gatesvp @blogdiva It wasn't until COVID hit that I realized the brainwashing and cognitive dissonance of the American conservative/prepper community.I expected them to realize their moment had come, retreat into their bunkers, eat expired MREs when not patrolling the area wearing body armor and asbestos-filled Soviet gas masks, and threatening to shoot anyone who got close enough to infect them.Like, the apocalypse you've been waiting for is finally here. This is everything you've trained for. And you... pretend it's not real.
(DIR) Post #B5LKiJ8HJLyct6sAMq by azonenberg@ioc.exchange
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@gatesvp @blogdiva And like, the preppers aren't fundamentally wrong. Natural disasters are real. Where I live especially (pacific northwest, so earthquake country split up into literal or virtual islands by bodies of water connected by bridges, ferries, etc) it's common knowledge among savvy people at all levels that when the big one hits, we're going to get cut off.The island I used to live on is connected to the outside world by one ferry and one bridge that dates to the 1940s.The county I live in now is connected to the rest of the state by... three ferries, one of which is on that island, and I think two or three bridges providing the main ways in and out. Evacuating over a quarter million people through those routes post/mid disaster is never going to be on the menu, and they're likely to all be damaged or obstructed enough that getting help in will be impractical for a while too.So you really *will* be on your own to an extent.
(DIR) Post #B5LL99zfOhP0MYeIbY by azonenberg@ioc.exchange
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@gatesvp @blogdiva But the part they miss is that 99.9% of the time, going solo isn't the way to do it.The most likely scenario is that a town or neighborhood will have most or all paths in and out cut off, and some or all utilities out of service for an extended period of time.So what you need to do is address any imminent life threats (put out fires, evacuate unstable structures, rescue people trapped under debris) to the extent possible, then get together with neighbors (ideally not meeting them for the first time) and make a plan to deal with whatever is happening right where you are, because you're all you've got.The three fire stations in my city of 13000 are not sending anyone to my tiny street when the big one hits regardless of how bad the damage is or how many injuries there are. There's too many of us and not enough of them.
(DIR) Post #B5LLrN2GGl8FYLwZhA by azonenberg@ioc.exchange
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@gatesvp @blogdiva Sure, by all means be prepared to escape and/or resist if a band of violent looters shows up.But you also have to consider the more practical issues - some people might have medications that need refrigeration. Perishable food is going to spoil unless you can provide backup power to refrigerators and freezers. But if you can't preserve that food, you're not going to be able to last nearly as long on shelf stable pantry goods. How much water do you have? Is it drinkable?I'm downhill of a water tower so even if treatment plants and pumps fail, we would probably still have water pressure at least for a while, but if pipes are damaged it might have to be filtered or boiled before it's safe to drink. Who has stockpiles of bottled water, and how much?Who's injured? How bad? Who has first aid or medical training, and supplies? Can people be treated for minor cuts and scrapes and sent home unsupervised? Can someone with a broken limb be splinted and left with a friend until you can get them to proper care, potentially days out? Is there something really critical that demands immediate higher care, and is there anyone nearby capable of providing it? Can you get them there on foot?Sure, tourniquets and quik-clot are nice to have. But can you manage someone with a broken arm for a week until a boat shows up to take them over to the one undamaged hospital in the area?
(DIR) Post #B5LSqxtESYJlFDTSPw by ahltorp@mastodon.nu
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@azonenberg In Sweden, the government recommends a week of food as prepping. Enough to last through initial problems, and even when emergency food distribution is up, it’s unlikely to be at full capacity right away, so any way to relieve the pressure on those is important.
(DIR) Post #B5LT6ZtjQdszT59WaW by azonenberg@ioc.exchange
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@ahltorp Yep, the official recommendation is 2 here.But it doesnt all have to be exotic freeze dried stuff etc, ordinary canned/dry goods you're gonna use anyway are the best.And if you can manage to keep power on some of the time, even if only to a subset of homes in the neighborhood with generators, you can stretch things a lot further by keeping the fresh foods edible until they're consumed. Not always an option but definitely something to do if you can.
(DIR) Post #B5LTwDNWOuh2gQi0vo by azonenberg@ioc.exchange
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@ahltorp My solar system is grid tied and no use without utility power, although if I get a battery to go with it that will change and I'll be able to run off grid in a pinch supplementing with generator.My current plan is... for brief blips in power the UPS handles things for the computers, nothing else cares.For longer duration (30 minutes to maybe one day) outages I fire up the generator to keep everything running so I can work, not lose open documents, and remain fully productive. The only things that degrade in this state are the heat pump, water heater, and oven - all of which use too much power to run on generator.If I anticipate the outage being multiple days in length (i.e. it's the result of a large scale disaster not a random storm or tree on a power line), we're no longer in "business as usual" mode.In that case priority #1 is to shut down all of the tech as quickly as possible to keep the batteries charged for later.Then go dark but set up the generator. A few times a day, fire it up to cool down the fridge and run the microwave or toaster oven or something to eat as much perishable food as we can (charging phones etc at the same time), then shut it off and keep the fridge closed to stretch our limited fuel supply as long as possible.When we run out of generator fuel or fresh food, switch to shelf stable stuff.
(DIR) Post #B5MH0iVbUpm492GX8C by tempusfelix@wehavecookies.social
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@azonenberg @ahltorp For me, biggest (in every way) issue, and one that you have mentioned, is water. We have a water based system. Consumption, cooking, hygiene, medical care all uses copious amounts of water, even if you’re trying to be careful. If you have 4 humans in a property you will likely use 25L of clean water for consumption and personal care alone per day. That doesn’t include toilets, anything other than a military wash and so forth. I have some bottled water stored for drinking only but to carry a week of water is hundreds of litres. And where we live is water on demand driven by the utilities electric pumps so we often get issues when the power fails. I’ve seen some very clever and basic systems but can’t implement them due to the property.
(DIR) Post #B5MH0iqWF4VLBu3EjQ by azonenberg@ioc.exchange
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@tempusfelix @ahltorp Yeah.You can get by without water for hygiene in a pinch for a while: a large bottle of alcohol based hand sanitizer will last a family weeks, and if you're just using buckets or a hole in the ground for toilets you don't need water to flush. Showering is fine to skip for a bit, and can also be done with seawater (plentiful here) or just by standing outside in the rain for a bit.Drinking water is the main thing you can't avoid. Stored potable water is of course the best option, but bulky.In my area rainwater is readily available in the winter (but almost nonexistent in the summer) and mostly drinkable although probably better to boil in case some critter was drinking out of your collection container etc.Seawater is everywhere here, but desalination is a big issue. You could probably rig up a still out of kitchen pots and pans, but it would consume a huge amount of fuel to get all your drinking water that way.Lots of people outside city limits have private wells, though. Some of these are likely to remain functional if you can find a way to power them.
(DIR) Post #B5MHT7Gb2Z7p2RmujA by azonenberg@ioc.exchange
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@tempusfelix @ahltorp Also, the city water system here is based on a bunch of wells within city limits (not water piped in from far away). So while distribution piping and storage/pumps would potentially be damaged by an earthquake, odds are decent that the actual water source would remain functional as long as they could get fuel for the backup generators at the wells.There might have to be some kind of improvised distribution system developed (think trucks or people on foot moving 5 gallon buckets) and such a supply constraint would certainly require rationing to some extent, but I think by a couple of days post incident there's a decent chance that some kind of long term water supply could be rigged up. This is definitely not the case everywhere, just thinking about my local area.
(DIR) Post #B5UoDTUxT26x6iKmfo by michaelgemar@cosocial.ca
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@azonenberg @moira @gatesvp @blogdiva It’s like all the 2nd Amendment nuts who worried about government overreach, but aren’t bothered by masked jackbooted thugs grabbing people off the street into unmarked vans and taking them to incarceration camps with no oversight.