Emergency Preparedness: Surviving In Tough Times

5 year map of earthquake epicentres in SW British Columbia/Pacific NW

Here on the west coast of North America being prepared for an emergency, say a 7.5 earthquake, has a very good chance of saving your life. This week 600 000 people on the east coast have been without power for days after the worst winter storm in decades. More snow is forecast for today. At times like these, having a plan and ready supplies can make the difference between a memorable experience and discomfort, injury, and possibly death.

Our longest period without power since being on the coast was in December of 2006. At that time we experienced the most powerful winter storm in these parts since the 1960s. There was a lot of rain, but far worse were the gale force winds. The roof blew off the building next door and 20 residents had to be evacuated in the middle of the night.

Besides missing some siding, our building rode out the storm. But it was a rough ride in our third floor unit fearing the shrieking winds would blow our windows in. Lying in our shaking bed trying to sleep that night we could feel that the whole wood-frame building was shuddering with the gusts. We were without power and heat for almost five days after the storm.

Emergency preparedness focuses on independence, self-reliance, and community robustness, qualities that we have largely abandoned in recent decades. As we have gained wealth we have chosen to pay others to provide us with everything we need. But our supply chains are notoriously fragile and entirely dependent on a disappearing fossil fuels. In an emergency it will not matter how much money you have. What you will need is an emergency plan and supplies so you can rely on yourself.

Relying on self-interested corporations and governments is a recipe for disaster in itself. They don't so much want to help us as exploit us for their own purposes. As soon as we become unprofitable, or vote for a different party, they will move on, leaving us to fend for ourselves (like we used to, and will again). We must be able to care for ourselves for a minimum of 3 days in the event of a disaster, and perhaps much longer if capitalism experiences a USSR-style collapse, which still seems to be a distinct possibility.

Speaking of collapse, in 2008 when the so-called good times came to a crashing halt, I noticed the effects in my local grocery store. Half the time it looked like there had just been a food riot. Shelves of staples like flour were near empty and disheveled. Most grocery stores would empty out in 3 days or less after a catastrophic event. I thought about that while scrounging for food, and it was a pretty scary thought; I felt very vulnerable. Perhaps it was coincidence, but conditions have improved along with the stock market since then.

Over the past few years we have improved our personal preparedness. The goals are consistent with our trend toward a simpler, more stable, secure, independent life. I am no survivalist, but I do want to be prepared, and being ready for emergencies gets me closer to my ultimate goal which is to live in as sustainable a way as possible. I can do without being preyed on by a system that benefits from our dependence and ignorance.


There is a lot of good information out there to help you implement your own emergency plan and help you attain some level of independence. Preparedness expert, Kathy Harrison, wrote Just In Case: How To Be Self-Sufficient When The Unexpected Happens to help individuals and families plan for unplanned events. It more or less covers everything you need to know to begin to take care of yourself and your loved ones. Harrison implores us, for our own good, to be prepared for the endless list of potential emergencies. She convinced me.

There are also very good resources on line, and available in your community. Often local programs focus on the risks appropriate to your area. At the library, on-line, or at city hall look for information on emergency preparedness, living off grid, simple living, or preppers. Look up 'survivalists' if you want to go hard core. All will assist you in increasing your ability to care for yourself when others can't or won't.

These are the basic beginning steps Linda and I have taken so far:

• stored water to last two people a week with minimal rations (1L/person/day), plus chemical water treatment to prepare additional water if needed
• two grab bags with warm clothing, food, water, tent, sleeping bags, multi-tool and other supplies
  
• a single-burner white gas stove for cooking, with extra gas
  
• a set of sturdy footwear by bed to prevent cuts from broken glass and debris
• identified safe places in our home (in doorways), as well as in the area (higher ground out of the tsunami zone)
• have handy flashlights, candles, crank-powered radio
• lashed down heavy objects to stabilize them in the event of the inevitable Big One
• stored food to last a few weeks
  

It is easy to deny the essential nature of emergency preparedness. No one likes to think of the ground shifting violently around them whether from earthquakes or financial collapse. I am relying less on the fragile consumer system and am learning to take care of myself. Increasing self-sufficiency pays dividends whether in response to local natural disasters or global economic turmoil.

I feel safer and more secure knowing I am prepared for another economic collapse, or a once every 500 year earthquake. I don't know about you, but the images of Haiti would have spurred me into action if I had not already started. Don't wait. Your life, and the lives of your loved ones could literally depend on it. Plus it feels very good to know you are prepared and able to care for one's self and family.

Here's to a safe, secure and simple life.

Fix It Because You Can

Ever since I was a kid I have loved taking things apart. I love it even more when they go back together again. If you have a few basic tools and curiosity it is amazing the things that can be done. If you aren't handy, with patience you can learn at least a few skills that will take you far and save you money.

My brother gave me an answering machine in 1995. It's not digital and makes clunking sounds as it faithfully does its work year after year. We thought about replacing it with a silent digital model, but in Frugalville, if it is not irreparably broken it doesn't get replaced.

Lately the recording mechanism started to get a little distorted. My outgoing message was not sounding like me any more, and listening to incoming messages was like deciphering backwards masking on a Beatles album.

Time to grab the tools and rip it apart, then hope I don't pull a Humpty Dumpty. Even if I did, fifteen years of faithful service for a used piece of electronics makes it fully eligible for retirement in a nice museum somewhere.


I snapped on the latex gloves, grabbed my tools and opened the patient. Since I did not study electronics anatomy, it all looked like indecipherable guts to my untrained eyes. I went for the heart of the matter and took a look at the motor drive, something I did recognize. Sure enough the drive belt was stretched beyond usefulness causing the devil in the machine sound effects.

From my Drawer of Potentially Useful Things I drew several sizes of rubber bands. After snapping Linda with one, I proceeded to choose just the right size to make a new belt drive and stretched it into place. Then I stitched the patient up and hooked it up to a power source.

It worked. Ya, I could replace it for less than $20 dollars, but now I don't have to. The rubber band was free.

We live in a world in which powerful interests profit from having us believe that we can not do things for ourselves, and we must rely on them - for a price. The fact is, we are capable of doing much more than we think. The solutions are often free, and fun. We can build, repair, create, and enjoy ourselves while saving resources and money.

Are Pirates Plundering Your On-line Personal Information?

It used to be that you only had to worry about petty thieves combing your on-line presence for sensitive information. Now professional plunderers are getting into the act, and lenders may be poking around. Who is looking at your tweets and Facebook friend choices, and what are they doing with this information?

How lenders and collection agencies use your social networking information has been in the news recently, making one think about how our on-line information can be misused. The pirates are on the horizon, and they want your information and your doubloons.

These purveyors of legal loansharking are sailing a sea of data provided by us, sometimes unwittingly. They are looking to gain a profitable advantage, whether by tailor-making advertising just for you, or by providing information about you and your choices to someone who wants something from you. I am not alright with either one of these uses of my data.

What exactly are they looking for in this piratical cruise through your on-line life? Writing about frugality and cutting up credit cards, using cash only for all purchases, or closing your bank account and burying your treasure? If so, I can kiss my credit card goodbye. Good riddance, I say.

Those sailing under the Jolly Roger, international flag of pirates, do not have anything I want - I do not agree to their outrageous terms. In the moonlight you can see they are the walking dead, and they don't even adhere to the Pirate Code. Credit card interest rates of up to 20% is an obvious unfair distribution of booty, for example, which contravenes the code of proper plunderers.

The good news is that we do have some control over how our personal information is shared on social networking sites. If you are a member of one or more, now is a good time to check your profile and settings to ensure you are getting the privacy you are comfortable with and deserve.

You can choose to say no to web sites that refuse to protect your information to your satisfaction. We can also choose to say no to those who wish to engage us in debt slavery aboard the Royal Fortune (Black Bart's ship). I would rather walk the plank and take my chance with the real sharks.



And if you do bury your doubloons in a treasure chest (or coffee tin) in the back yard, 30 paces from the oak tree, remember to draw a map.

Are We Still Going Up If We Are Going Down?

"The environmental disruptions, the ever-increasing list of species extinctions - all are evidence to those who are willing to see that this past 10,000-year phase of development does not mark great evolutionary progress but a terminal crisis in the life cycle of the planet.

It is time to imagine beyond endings."

From: Voices of the First Day: Awakening in the Aboriginal Dreamtime by Robert Lawlor, 1991

I have often wondered why the concept of evolution, a supposedly scientific theory (culturally-generated story), has white males at the top of the ladder with everything and everyone else taking up the rungs below.

We need a new story. Let's knock down the ladder and make it into a bridge.

What Would You Do With Spiderman's Head, Arms, And Legs?

When we are children spontaneity and creativity are how we roll. The borders and limits of the 'realities' of the adult world are not yet obvious. Joy rules the day and fun is made with natural and found objects. Pillows and blankets become forts, pots and pans musical instruments, and natural areas the settings for major adventures. Anything is possible.

As constricted grown ups with adult responsibilities we set aside our childhood ways. This often means simultaneously setting aside much of our spontaneous nature, as well as our belief in our own creative powers. When we are free of stressful conditions, are unafraid, and have time to be ourselves, the magical qualities of childhood can once again guide our discoveries.

This week I found a Spiderman action figure while out for a walk in the hood. The webbed wonder had obviously tangled with an evil foe, and lost. His body section was in rough shape and I buried it solemnly while several spiders gathered nearby. The limbs and head I put on ice and brought home.

When I got home Linda reminded me that we took a well-ripped Spiderman action figure traveling overseas with us. It was an unclaimed toy at the end of a year of teaching grade 6, and it acted as our unofficial mascot.

Could this be the same one? Did he follow us from the prairies? Last time we saw him he was hanging from our friend's houseplant, scanning the living room for nefarious activity. But that was 5 years ago and 1500 km away.

We started thinking of things we could replace Spiderman's torso with. An early idea was Spiderloaf (not that kind of loaf), because I had just baked a couple of banana loaves. We fused Spidey's head and limbs to the loaf, but he looked bloated and slow. Plus he was nutty. Walnutty.

The versions seen here were created complete with lyrics for the theme song. We also thought about their special powers.

Spiderpod, for example, can spin a world wide web and download about 150 songs.

Spiderdriver can solve any crime as long as it has a Phillips head.

Spiderpen could have been Spidersword, but his keen senses told him which was mightier and he requested a pen/body transplant.






Finally, we have Spiderband. He's bendy and stretchy, and can propel himself vast distances with a single snap.




The grown-up world, highly over-rated in my opinion, is not as set as we think, and responsibilities can and should be set aside occasionally for mental health purposes. It feels good to reclaim the best parts of childhood so that we can again feel the magic. Feel the joy. Run. Jump. Play.

Shakti Gawain says, "As you open to the playfulness in the universe, you see its humor in many ways."

I try to play a bit each and every day.

The Great Recession Generation To Learn Value Of Frugality

It's not the Greater Depression. It isn't even a minor depression. But it is the Great Recession - the biggest, baddest, meanest recession of the last 70 years. Some are predicting that the current generation may not get more stuff than their parents, the first time this has happened in decades. A whole generation is being introduced to the thrifty, efficient ways of their ancestors.

What the simple living and environmental movements couldn't achieve in decades the Great Recession has managed to do over the course of a couple of years. We are going back to less wasteful, more sensible times. Bigger is no longer better, and excess no longer means success.

In good times super-sized trucks, TVs, and houses signal to others that you have achieved the American Dream. George Carlin observed that it's called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it. Sure enough, we have woken up and the 'good life' fantasy is dissipating into thin air. Turns out a lot of the dream was bought on credit, and the banks want it back.

Excess does not look the same through our recession-coloured glasses. It looks like what it has always been - waste. It has taken the biggest financial kick in the ass in seventy years to make us realize that we must adhere to nature's limits, and nature is frugal. Nature does not waste.

A policy in our home is to not replace anything till it is worn out or broken beyond repair. It is not only about saving money. It is also about honouring the earth by using its resources as economically as possible. Many things we buy would serve us faithfully for decades, if not a lifetime. A cast iron frying pan will last several generations.

In spite of what a New York author said in her 2006 book (with a title similar to this blog) about her year-long experiment with the simple life, you can't really wear out a sweater in a few months. A beggar in India with no arms and no legs might wear out a sweater in a year.

All the things that we buy, and used to cherish till worn or broke, have become 'starter' items on an endless evolution of upgrades. The Ikea student furniture for the dorm is the gateway drug to the crack of leather sectionals in granite and stainless steel starter homes.

I could see that we were at the nadir of our obsession with acquiring new things when I spotted a particularly blatant commercial on TV. A car manufacturer showed an entire family, small kids included, pushing their new-ish, perfectly good mini-van over a cliff so they could go buy a new one.

Do we really fall for such blatant, disorienting propaganda promoting endless waste? It is easier to fall prey to such manipulation when we are flush with cash or cheap credit.

In this new era of perpetual recession we will find that we can do without the propaganda, and a great deal of what it promised. The acquisitive part of the American Dream was always an unattainable illusion. Our desperate attempts to achieve it has slain the earth, and made us fat, slow, and vulnerable.

Some say that the Recession Generation will be traumatized, but I say they will be unfettered. Saved from mindless toil and constant lifestyle upgrades, this generation will make frugality and common sense mainstream. They will be free and the healing will begin.

Over-rated: Money, Under-rated: A Happy Hoop

Part of the appeal of the simple life for me is enjoying the basic things that we often take for granted. Bodily functions, like toileting, have a way of impacting ones life in a most profound way. I am not alone in thinking this... saying it, maybe, but you know exactly what I mean, don't you? A sore hoop can ruin your whole day, regardless of how much money you have.

When a friend was in nursing school one nugget of information she shared was, "If you don't poo or pee you die." That makes a lot of sense. If you don't take care of basic bodily functions you are going to be one unhappy camper. Just ask the guy in post-op that hasn't had a movement in a week.

This reminded me of one of the most useful things I read last year. The practical tip was in a book about caring for the human body, something I am increasingly interested in as I begin to see evidence of mine wearing down. The book advised, in the chapter on the digestive tract, to wet your toilet paper before wiping.

Now there is piece of advice that can have an immediate impact on your quality of life.

While I was traveling, the lack of toilet paper in many places turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Soon I tapped into the wisdom of using water to clean the backside, instead of using paper to wipe everything around. Like a friend said, "If you got some poop on your face would you wipe it off with toilet paper, or would you wash it with water?"

Toilet paper under a microscope.

I wonder what the frictional difference is between water and toilet paper? It's like comparing silk and sand. Even the very best pillowy soft, triple-ply, 100% virgin forest toilet paper is made of scratchy cellulose fibre. Wetting it decreases the friction considerably, reducing the damage to your delicate parts.

I like to make sure to get 100% post-consumer TP (made from recycled paper), which has come a long way since the original brown stuff with wood chips in it.

We aren't set up for using water to wash with as in several places I have visited, but now I have fused two toileting technologies, and I swear by wet sand paper. I mean, toilet paper.

Who knows, this could help me make the switch back to water only. Trees would be left standing, my hoop would be happier, and money would be saved. I wonder what I should do with my share of the $2.5 billion dollars that Americans spend on TP every year?

Celebrate the healthy functioning of your body. Be thankful if it is squeaky clean and happily working as it should.

Join The NBA Community: Become A Follower

The Aboriginal Rainbow Serpent is an energy figure symbolic of the sacred body of the earth and the preformative spiritual order of the universe. It is also the original appearance of creative energy in the Dreamtime. The serpent is always associated with vibration and flowing energy fields. Robert Lawlor

We would like to invite you to join NBA by becoming a follower. I sincerely thank the 12 or so brave individuals that have been on the leading edge of publicly joining our community. They noticed the gadget on the right margin, and have chosen to use it to show their support. Future followers will be following them in their support of our blog's mandate.

Why become a follower? First of all, it is free. You don't have to buy anything, no noxious advertising will assault your frugal sensibilities, and being a member of NBA has benefits. If you have a google account being a follower will automatically send NBA posts to your reader. And as a follower you will feel more of a part of the community and may feel more welcome to participate and help make it suit your needs.

Over the past 6 months to a year we have stepped up our efforts to become a preferred source of entertaining, useful, and occasionally controversial information on how the end of consumer culture will bring an enhanced quality of life for all.

It has been an exciting time and although we can not claim any kind of viral status, we have logged several thousand visits. My mother even phoned to congratulate us after going on-line at my sister's place and clicking through a few page views on our blog.

It is amazingly motivating to know that there is support out there for the content that we offer. Having followers is both carrot and stick, and will ensure on-going posts continue, and improve.

Our message may be highly counter-culture (although less so all the time it seems), but it is on the fringes where new ideas take hold. We are happy to see that the crowd out here is growing larger all the time. Our individual actions will lead the way to global change. Together we are strong.

Please think about joining our fringe community and becoming a follower of Not Buying Anything. Whether you become a follower or not, thank you for your support. We would love to hear from you, and appreciate all comments, suggestions, and feedback.

What Are You Optimistic About?

Japanese Kanji symbol for Optimism

Sometimes I fear I focus more on 'consume less', and not enough on 'live more'. Talk of a global depression with simultaneous climatic catastrophes makes life seem more hazardous than the Cold War years. It is easy to get caught up in the sensational doom and gloom headlines and disaster entertainment. Is there anything left to feel optimistic about?

Yesterday I was at the public library waiting for Linda to get off work. As I scanned a shelf of books one title jumped out at me - "What Are You Optimistic About? Today's Leading Thinkers On Why Things Are Good And Getting Better" edited by John Brockman. What? A whole book of good news? I grabbed it.

From Marc D. Hauser who is optimistic about the end of -isms, to Roger C. Schank who is looking forward to the end of the commoditization of knowledge, this book is all about launching into action from a positive place, rather than from frustration and anger.

We may not often hear about the good things that are happening all over our little planet, but happening they are. Will a sunlight-powered future help us on the oily slide down Hubbert's Peak? Will having more women in politics end war? Is capitalism aligning with the good? All of these movements, or revolutions, are getting up to speed in the background hum of chaos. Positive patterns are beginning to emerge from the ether.

The last time I checked, the world was still peopled with mostly warm-hearted, intelligent, caring human beings. I meet them daily. Friends, neighbours, cashiers at the grocery store, fellow walkers, people on-line, all behaving in a most non-apocalyptic manner.

I am optimistic that current and future hardships will draw us together as a community like none other that this world has ever seen. Through the Internet and travel, more of us are meeting each other than ever before, and it seems to me that we are not only getting along, but are also growing and thriving together.

Not that there isn't work to be done, but I feel like we are headed toward a more cooperative future guided by non-violence and doing the least amount of harm. A future where we can talk and share and learn together for the benefit of human kind. I am optimistic that our vast potential as a species will see us to a whole new level of being.

Realizing what we are doing well, celebrating our potential and focusing on solutions will get us to where we need to go. We live more by thinking positive thoughts. What are you optimistic about?

My Resolutions for 2010

Making resolutions this time of year seems kind of, well, corny and insincere. Well-meaning individuals purchasing fitness club memberships as part of a resolution to "get buff" be warned. A 2006 British consumer report found that 220m pounds ($375m) was wasted every year in the UK on unused club memberships. And the guilt? Priceless.

Ideally I would be in a constant state of assessing my performance as a functioning human being, rather than possibly once a year. Out of jail? Check. Feeding, clothing, and sheltering self, and loved ones? Check. Doing the least amount of harm to self, others, and planet? Check. Exercising for 30 minutes per day, and expunging the word 'fuck' from my vocabulary? Sound of needle scratching across vinyl, then silence.

I have been trying to check in with myself more often. Then I can begin self-correcting right away by setting small goals for practice and improvement. However, any time we pause to self-reflect and set goals is a good thing, and I wish all of those making pledges for 2010 complete success. I will even jump in with a few of my own:

1. Get rid of more possessions. The times in my life I have felt completely liberated were while living out of a backpack. A few days in the backcountry of Waterton/Glacier International Peace Park or traveling overseas for months, stripping life to the bare essentials taught me that the world is a wondrous, safe place full of amazing people, and you can carry everything you need to enjoy it all.
   
2. Allow a natural, easy flow of money in to, and out of, my life. Money comes. Money goes. Nothing good comes from worrying about it. Everything is going to be alright. We will help each other.
   
3. Become more involved in my community. I will become more cooperative within the greater community by volunteering my time in a school, food bank, or where ever else my help is needed.
   
4. Start cultivating an allotment in a new community garden area. I miss having a garden. In Sooke and across Vancouver Island great things are happening in the area of farming and food security. I want to grow a green tangle of magnificent munchables, and help others do the same.
   
5. Meditate more. Even in my simple lifestyle I am amazed at how I manage to keep busy 99% of the time. I know the Dalai Lama says that sleep is the best meditation, but I would like to be a little more active than that this year.
   
6. Go for longer, slower walks. Driving is way to fast, at any speed. Sometimes riding a bike is to fast. I want to see life unfold, manifest, come into being. I find that walking, with frequent stops, is a good pace. Ambling, wayfaring, wandering, getting lost - this is where the magic happens.
   
7. Quit drinking coffee. Will 2010 see the end of hot, sweet, milky fair trade coffee? Cut out coffee, cream, and sugar and switch to green tea. I do like green tea.
   
8. Practice compassion. This slays the flaming dragons of judgment, outrage, and offense. It fosters acceptance and forgiveness.
   
9. Write more letters. Hand written letters have always been special, but are even more so now since the advent of instant communication. For the last few years of my 95 year old grandma's life we corresponded via snail mail. She told my mom every time I wrote, and I enjoyed going to the mailbox to get grandma's cards and letters, always written in perfect script. Grandma passed on in 2009.
   
10. Laugh a lot. When I take myself and/or life to seriously it becomes less enjoyable, and I become less effective. I will cultivate mirth, and laugh with abandon more often this year. After all, if it's not fun, it's not sustainable.

Affirmation to start off new year: "I am meeting all of my goals easily and joyfully in 2010." Say it. Repeat as often as necessary. Let's have some fun this year.