Monthly Archives: May 2014

May 13th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Homemade Survival Bars

Post by Angela Paskett at foodstorageandsurvival.com


Long-lasting trail foods are critical parts of emergency survival gear

Have you ever wanted to make your own survival food bars?  Like the survival food bars the stores sell, but homemade survival bars so you know what’s in them.

Apparently there are a couple of different recipes out there for these survival bars, so maybe try them all.

 

——————

 

With approximately 2000 calories total, low cost, and long shelf life, these are a fantastic addition to your vehicle emergency kit or 72 hour kit.  But there were some problems.  Holy cow, they were hard to mix.  Then they overcooked a bit and stuck to the pan.  And finally, how in the world are you supposed to eat that brick?  There were lots of suggestions in the comments to alleviate some of these problems, so I did some testing and today I’m sharing the results so you can make your own homemade survival bars even better!

Ingredients:
2 cups oats (regular or quick)
2 1/2 cups powdered milk
1 cup sugar
3 TB honey
1 3 oz package jello (orange or lemon–these bars already have a high sugar content, and a sweeter jello just makes them more sweet)
3 TB water

Mix the oats, powdered milk, and sugar together in a bowl.


In a medium pan mix water, jello and honey. Bring to a rolling boil. This is just the 3 TB water called for in the recipe, not the cup of water you’d usually use when making jello.  A rolling boil is when the mixture doesn’t stop boiling when you stir it.


Using last year’s crystallized honey.


Full rolling boil

Add jello mixture to dry ingredients. Mix well.  Mixing by hand, you’ll probably end up just working the ingredients together with your hands rather than trying to mix with a spoon.  OR use a quality mixer and it’s done in a jiffy!  My Kitchenaid had no problem mixing this dough.


SO MUCH EASIER than mixing by hand! Thanks, KitchenAid. 🙂

If the dough is too dry, add a small amount of water a teaspoon at a time.  In my tests I added about 5 extra TEASPOONS of water total to the dough and I live in super dry desert area, so you may not need that much.  Your dough should be crumbly, but stick together when pressed.


Crumbly dough


Smash it together to test if it’s moist enough


As soon as it will stick together it’s done. Don’t add any more water.

Press the dough into a 9″ x 13″ parchment lined pan.


Line the pan with parchment.


This is the pan liner I used.  It has foil on the back side of the parchment.  Regular parchment would work as well.


Pour the crumbly dough in the lined pan.


Press in firmly.

After I had pressed the dough in by hand, I used a tortilla roller (mine is just a piece of 1″ dowel) to even it out and press it in more firmly.


Rolling it with a tortilla roller makes it stick better and be nice and flat all the way to the edges.

Instead of using your tortilla roller, you can place a sheet of parchment on top of the dough and compress it with another 13 x 9 pan pressed down firmly on top of the dough.

Originally we made brick shaped loaves, but a brick shape is not very conducive to eating, and this stuff baked up so hard it could not be sliced, just broken into pieces.  I also tried pressing the dough into a sheet cake pan, but the bars turned out too thin and crumbled after baking.  Pressing into a 9″ x 13″ pan was magic.

Here are the bars I tried making in a sheet cake pan.  Just didn’t work well.


Bars in a sheet cake pan were too thin and crumbly.

Cut the dough into bars.  Use a knife or a pizza cutter, but you’ll want to cut all the way through.  Parts that were just scored and not cut through crumbled when I broke them apart.


Now you can bake it or dehydrate it.

To bake the bars, place the pan in a 200 degree oven and bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  When the bars are done baking, remove them from the pan by lifting the parchment paper and allow to cool.  Separate the pieces.


Baked bars


Baked bars finished

To dehydrate the bars, carefully pull the bars out of the pan using the parchment paper, separate, and place on dehydrator trays.  Dehydrate at 145 degrees for 4-6 hours until thoroughly dry.


Pulled out of the pan and ready to get put in the dehydrator


Dehydrated bars finished. These crumbled more than the baked bars.

The heat does help these stick together better, so baking gives a nicer result than dehydrating.

Pack them up.  When they are thoroughly dry and completely cool, pack them into a zip seal bag, FoodSaver bag, Mylar bag, or wrap in foil.

For long term packing, I’d seal them in Mylar with an oxygen absorber. They may be hard enough to poke holes in a regular vacuum sealer bag, but Mylar 5 mil or thicker should hold them fine.

These bars have a very long shelf life.  Based on the original ingredients, I’d give them at least 20 years properly dried and packaged.  The short story on the bars we made almost five years ago is that they are still with us.

Approximately 2000 calories per batch, (around 225 per small bar) easy to make, and now easier to eat, these bars are perfect for your emergency kits!

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: foodstorageandsurvival

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May 12th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Wise Up and Stock up as Food shortages and Price Hikes Are Coming before the Years End – It Has Begun

Stop for a moment and think about what’s happening weather-wise around the world.

California is in the middle of a drought so severe that domestic supplies may be cut in a matter of weeks. California produces a massive amount of the food consumed in the United States.

Extreme cold in the United States has killed livestock in the hundreds of thousands.

Florida farmers are  looking at massive losses from cold weather not just ruining citrus crops, but squash, cucumbers and herbs.

Wheat growth in Texas is stunted by continuing cold weather.

The fishing industry in Indonesia has taken a hit because of bad weather.

Peru, Venezuela, and Bolivia have experienced rainfall heavy enough to flood fields and rot crops where they stand. Volcanic eruptions in Ecuador are also creating problems due to cattle ingesting ash with their feed leading to a slow and painful death.

Parts of Australia have been in drought for years affecting cattle and agricultural production.

Rice production in China has been affected by record low temperatures.

Large parts of the UK are underwater, and much of that water is sea water which is poisoning the soil. So wet is the UK that groundwater is so high it is actually coming out of the ground and adding to the water from rivers and the sea. With the official assessment being that groundwater flooding will continue until MAY, and that’s if it doesn’t rain again between now and then. The River Thames is 65 feet higher than normal in some areas, flooding town after town as it heads to the sea.

 

 Shepperton in Surrey

Even the boreholes that keep an eye on groundwater levels can’t cope, this one blew its cap off yesterday.


Crops are going to be severely affected with some farmers saying they will not be able to plant at all this year due to salt pollution from sea water inundation.

It’s time to ramp up your food prepping. Weather around the world is causing problems with food production and there is no reason to think these problems are just going to go away.

Although I personally don’t buy into the global warming hype there is no doubt that last years weather was bad enough around the globe to affect food security. The issues I’ve listed above are a few amongst many and we are only six weeks into the new year,

As I typed that last paragraph news alerts have gone out warning of 100mph winds, another few inches of rain and a further 23 flood warning issued to join the 300 plus already in force in the UK.

One geographical region having weather bad enough to damage food production usually results in higher prices because you have to import it from other countries. What happens though when those other countries don’t have food to sell you because they have barely enough to feed their own people?

It’s time we all woke up to what is happening. It’s highly likely that certain foodstuffs will be in short supply by the end of this year. What is available is going to be a good deal more expensive than it is now. Many will not be able to afford the prices asked for basic commodities.

Vitamin deficiencies, malnutrition and disease outbreaks always occur when any form of an economic shift takes place. There is no reason to think that our situation a few months down the line will be any different.  Food shortages and high prices are often a tipping point for wider unrest.

It has begun. Urge those whom you know are unprepared to wise up and stock up, time may be shorter than they think.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: Liz Bennett at undergroundmedic


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May 11th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

The Safest Areas in America: An Expanded Western Relocation Zone

This article has been contributed by the Strategic Relocation Blog

I have often been asked to comment on Jim Rawles’ concept of the Redoubt for survival relocation.  Rawles’ criteria of distance from population threats, defend ability, and agricultural suitability focus upon a fairly limited area of the Western US, centered on Idaho, and includes Western Montana and parts of Eastern Washington and Oregon.  In reality, it’s a fine area and certainly matches my core recommendations in Strategic Relocation for security, safety and livability, but it may be too limiting for most people.

However, having consulted with people and designed high security residences for the last 40 years around North America, I realize all too well that most people have financial, distance from family, weather and other personal limitations that simply won’t allow for relocation to an area so far north and remote from their needs as the Redoubt.  Some people, for example, need access to an international airport hub, which doesn’t exist in the Redoubt.  Others need a drier, sunnier climate for health reasons or even more solar potential.  Others simply need something closer to the metro area that have to remain in due to job or family reasons.

The map in Figure 1 below represents what I would recommend as an Expanded Secure Relocation Area. I don’t use the term “redoubt” because of its military defense implications. Even though I believe in defensibility at the retreat level I don’t like to infer that some broader military resistance strategy is possible for most people. For individual families I prefer less confrontational strategies of blending in, or getting out of the way, or concealment as the best form of defense for most people.


(Click here for full size image)

The area I have outlined is what is generally referred to as the Intermountain West and includes the Great Basin—that high desert plain between the Cascade/Sierra Mountains of Washington, Oregon and California over to the middle of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and New Mexico.  These two mountain ranges converge as they get further north and merge in Canada.  They provide a pretty formidable barrier for those coming from the West Coast or the Midwest.  In addition, the Great Basin has within its boundaries hundreds of miles of trackless desert and mountain areas that provide isolation by distance and hardship for anyone entering the area without vehicles, fuel and water.

That doesn’t mean everything within these bounders is equally safe, secure, or livable.  Obviously, border areas near California or Denver are not as safe as those in the central areas more distant from population threats. A person must be careful to select specific locations that meet the survival criteria others and I have outlined in Strategic Relocation.  The climate, for example, in this expanded area allows for a lot more use of solar in Nevada, Utah, western Colorado, and Northern Arizona.  And even though much drier than the Northwest, snowfall does fill mountain reservoirs which provides a reliable flow of irrigation water if you pick the right area.  Sure, the high mountain deserts can’t provide for large masses of people, but we aren’t trying to save the whole world here, just those who have the forethought to relocate in advance of the coming world crises, be they war, economic or disease.

This expanded security area centers around Salt Lake City, which is the only big metro area in the region and which has the full range of commercial facilities including an international airport (hub for Delta Airlines).  Most of the other smaller cities in the West have feeder flights into SLC. The Salt Lake Valley itself is not recommended for security, even though it is safer than most other large metro areas, unless you have an additional retreat in or past the many secure areas which surround SLC.  Unlike Denver, where the high mountains are miles away from the unsafe city area, in Utah the Wasatch Front of the Rocky mountains come right down to the city’s edge and provide not only quick access to mountain retreat areas but a barrier to social unrest from the cities.

This isn’t to say that you have to be anywhere near SLC or the center of the expanded secure area in order to find safety. I still highly recommend the Northern Idaho and Western Montana areas of Rawles’ Redoubt.  But for people who have to remain in California or Southern Arizona, it’s just too far for a retreat.  That is why I have included the forested higher elevations of Northern Arizona and Southern Utah for those needing to get out of Southern California or Phoenix and reach their retreat in one day.

I have excluded much of Eastern Wyoming, such as the mountains and valleys around Sheridan Wyoming simply because of the danger inherent in being downwind of the Yellowstone caldera.  It’s just too potent of a volcanic threat to areas east of Yellowstone Park to recommend for retreats or full time residences.  I’ve only included about half the Colorado Rockies in Colorado to avoid being too close to Denver and Colorado Springs, which are major nuclear targets and contain high density urban threats.

I’ve placed the borders of the secure zone clear into the Cascade and Sierra Mountains of the three most Western states even though they may be too close to the urban areas of Washington, Oregon and California—but that depends on how close you are to the major mountain passes that channel people through the mountains. You can find good retreat areas in those border areas if you carefully select areas not visible from or easily accessible from the highway passes.  This exemplifies why I emphasize more specific location criteria in Strategic Relocation rather than everyone trying to find the mythical “safe area,” which supposedly allows them to buy a home in a suburban area and feel safe.  It’s never that simple.  Safety is only relative—even in this general secure zone—so you must take care in selecting the homesite, as well as take precautions to secure your home, as I detail in my larger work, The Secure Home.

In summary, this expanded area gives you a lot more options both for full time residences near major commercial centers, and for retreats and survival farms in rural areas—in what we survival experts consider the safest general area in the United States.

 This is also a good area for ultimate retreats for those who will develop their preparedness strategy first in other areas of the US to the East—which are all covered in great detail in Strategic Relocation.  What I mean is that if you need to stay in the East or Midwest, you should always think about “where do I go from here” if my initial retreat strategic fails or is overwhelmed with refugees?  In general, if social unrest occurs in the US it will flow from the overly populated East and Northeast to the Midwest. There will also be flows outward from LA, SF, and Seattle to the more rural areas but will generally stay within the area confined between the Coast and the mountains.  Few will dare flee into the hostile desserts of California and Nevada.

 If you have the financial resources to develop a staged strategic relocation (suburban safe home, farm retreat and short-term mountain retreat) that’s always better than putting “all your eggs in one basket.”  But, in the final analysis, don’t despair if the task seems daunting or beyond your financial reach.  While you should stretch and save to achieve your preparedness goals, we all have limits and can only do so much.  We do what we can and then depend on God’s help to make up the difference.  Be sure and seek inspiration in any relocation choice you make.  These major decisions in life should not be made by human criteria alone.

Joel Skousen is a political scientist, by training, specializing in the philosophy of law and Constitutional theory, and is also a designer of high security residences and retreats. He is the author of Strategic Relocation – North American Guide to Safe Places and has also developed a fact-filled companion DVD to help those looking to relocate out of major cities.

Visit the Strategic Relocation Blog for more information and resources on the best places to live in America and how to find the perfect survival property.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

 

Via: shtfplan and Joel M. Skousen of Strategic Relocation Blog

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May 10th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Honey and Ginger Beat Antibiotics in Inhibiting Superbugs


Honey, and combinations of honey and herbs have been used for thousands of years to counteract various ailments including infections. And honey and ginger has been used as a healing combination for many conditions. But few realized just how antibiotic honey was – until recently.

Researchers from Ethiopa’s College of Medicine at the University of Gondar have determined that a combination of honey and ginger extract powder will inhibit the growth of superbugs such as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae  – some of the most lethal ‘superbugs’ known.

The researchers conducted a laboratory study to test the inhibition ranges – using a standardized approach of measuring minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) after culturing the bacteria in a broth solution and then using agar as a medium for measurement. The broths were cultured with the antibiotics for 20-24 hours to measure their effect upon the bacteria.

The researchers separately tested Ethiopian honey, ginger powder and a combination of the two against three different antibiotics. The researchers also tested a water extract of the ginger.

The antibiotics tested were methicillin, amoxicillin and penicillin – three of the most successful antibiotics in our pharmaceutical arsenal.

The researchers conducted five tests for each treatment. These included the following bacteria:

  • Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA and non-MRSA)
  • Escherichia coli (two different strains)
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae

The research determined that both the honey and the ginger extract powder (alcohol extract) independently had greater inhibition levels than any of the antibiotics. The only antibiotic to come close to the inhibition of either of these was amoxicillin – which was close to the ginger extract. And this was only on the non-MRSA S. aureus. The ginger and the honey – each alone – beat out all three of these antibiotics in terms of inhibition levels (MIC).

The numbers tell it all. Honey and ginger extracts each had an average MIC inhibition of 19.23 among all five bacteria – ranging from 13 to 24.

Meanwhile, the methicillin had an average MIC inhibition of 4.00 (ranging from 0 to 13), amoxicillin had an average inhibition of 12.25 (ranging from 7 to 22) and penicillin had an average inhibition of 13.25 (ranging from 9 to 20).

And the combination of the ginger extract and the honey had even greater antibiotic properties, with MICs averaging 25.62 and ranging from 19 to 30 – beating out all the pharmaceutical antibiotics by a landslide.

How was the ginger extract made?

The ginger extract powder was made by slicing ginger root and drying at 37°C for 24 hours. These dried ginger pieces were then ground and blended with methanol and ethanol. A 50% solution of ginger was the result.

The ginger extract powder was then blended with 100% honey at a one-to-one (50/50) basis.

The water extract of the ginger had no inhibition of the bacteria. This what other research has indicated – that alcohol apparently extracts the antibiotic constituents from the ginger.

The implications of this research are vast

The implications of this study are great. Both honey and ginger repel dangerous superbugs more than our most lethal antibiotics. These ‘superbugs’ have specifically armed themselves to counteract these overused antibiotics.

What about honey and ginger? Couldn’t these ‘superbugs’ eventually figure out how to counteract those treatments as well?

Nature works with completely different mechanisms than static antibiotics. How is that?

It is a fact that bacteria are always present around bee hives. Bacteria are also constantly present around the roots of a ginger plant – in the soil.

In fact, soils maintain some of the highest levels of bacteria.

So how did the honey and the ginger survive the bacteria onslaught before being harvested?

Living organisms are in constant motion. They are not static. Ginger plants, for example, are constantly producing their own antibiotic mechanisms to repel bacteria. These include producing acids that break down bacteria on contact. They also include using soil-based organisms to territorialize and inhibit bacteria invasion.

These antibacterial measures that plants utilize are incorporated into the flowers where pollen is produced. This pollen is collected by bees and brought to the hive.

The bees also employ their own antibacterial measures to prevent infection in the hive. These include employing their own probiotic bacteria colonies and producing their own antibiotics which are secreted from their saliva.

Propolis, in fact, is the product produced from the bee’s saliva and various plant resins. It has been shown to be significantly antibiotic.

So why do these antibiotic strategies beat out antibiotics like methicillin, amoxicillin and penicillin? Because these pharma antibiotics are static. They work the same way every time.

This means that bacteria like MRSA staph and E. coli can figure out a workaround. They can figure out how those antibiotics work and just develop measures that counteract them. Then they pass on that workaround to other bacteria in the form of plasmids.

Why? Because bacteria are alive, and they want to survive.

But so do bees, and so do plants, and so do other organisms these utilize. And this creates a moving target.

We might compare it to two opposing nations. When one country produces a certain weapon, the other nation will produce another one to counteract it. Then they will produce a new one, which the first nation will develop a means to counteract it.

This mutual counter activity produces something biologists call evolution. In each species’ quest to survive, their defense mechanisms evolve.

It is for this reason that using nature to help us counteract infection is far more sustainable than creating temporary, environment-polluting pharmaceuticals that only create resistant ‘superbugs’ in the end.

Learn how to use nature’s perfect antibiotic producers – probiotics.

REFERENCES:

Yalemwork Ewnetu, Wossenseged Lemma, and Nega Birhane, “Synergetic Antimicrobial Effects of Mixtures of Ethiopian Honeys and Ginger Powder Extracts on Standard and Resistant Clinical Bacteria Isolates,” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol. 2014, Article ID 562804, 8 pages, 2014. doi:10.1155/2014/562804

 

Case Adams
R.E.A.L. Natural

Case Adams is a California Naturopath and holds a Ph.D. in Natural Health Sciences. His focus is upon science-based natural health solutions. He is the author of 25 books on natural health and numerous print and internet articles. A listing and description of many of his books can be found on realnatural.org as well as GreenMedinfo’s book library. Contact Case at [email protected].

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

Via: readynutrition

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May 9th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Stop the doomsday thinking and get busy living!


People have said I post a lot about doom and gloom, even though it is more about just staying prepared.

I wanted to share this great article from our friends at thesurvivalmom.

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I heaved the final large box onto the conveyer belt and handed my membership card over to the cashier.

“Your card is expiring in two weeks, would you like to renew it right now?” She had her finger poised over the register waiting to ring up an additional, $45.

I looked over at my stash:

  • 40 rolls of 2-ply individually wrapped toilet paper
  • 1 box of 30 individually wrapped 2-ply paper towels
  • a 35 pound box of peanut oil
  • 2 jumbo sized cans of ground coffee
  • 1 industry sized bottle of dish soap
  • 2 cases of bottled water

“No thanks. If the world ends before two weeks, I gave you the money for nothing!” I held a straight face, as the cashier blinked at me twice. Although I was joking with her, I was halfway serious.

My mind was already thinking ahead. In two weeks a lot can happen:

1) My husband loses his job
2) The economy crashes
3) EMP attack
4) Medical emergencies
5) Plumbing issues

Even DOOMSDAY could happen. Whatever that might be!

This wasn’t the first time my mind jumped into gear. As a prepper of more than 15 years, I’ve had a lot of practice. I’ve also seen my share of people going to the extreme when it comes to being unprepared.

From one extreme to the other

For example, I have friends who live their lives on the edge. They have on average, three days of food in the house and two rolls of toilet paper. They truly believe that Walmart will always be there for the rescue, and that Uncle Sam has lots of money.

A psychologist friend of mine and her physician husband, both believe that everything in society will stay the same– our economy will always maintain, and that things will continually get better. They never plan ahead, except for their retirement.

I used to think like these people.

I can still remember several years ago when I was newly married and living paycheck to paycheck. A friend of mine gushed about how she’d found this amazing sale and that her cabinets were stuffed to the hilt.

“Why did you do that?” I was unimpressed.

I couldn’t imagine spending extra money on things I didn’t need right away. I had more important things on my mind, like having spare money for the weekend, and being able to eat out.

At the other end of the spectrum, were some folks on Doomsday Preppers. I noticed the unhappy faces. One family was building an underground bunker, and the mother was worried sick over her family being killed and her daughters being raped.

I looked at their children and wondered what they were thinking. Did these kids think they had a future? Were they excited about graduating high school and maybe someday getting married? Were their parents robbing them of their childhood?

Sometimes I have to turn off the TV and tune out the news as the negativity in the media can drag a person down.

Even gardening includes planning ahead

As a gardener, I have learned all too well the trials and triumphs of planning or not planning ahead.

Many a time, I have neglected my plants by failing to water them or not paying attention to pests. I’ll never forget the day I was admiring the first ripe tomato of the season, and went into the kitchen to open a can of tuna. I placed the bread on the counter, and I pulled out a knife. I went back outside to pluck the warm fruit and noticed half of it was missing. In less than five minutes, with my back turned, something stole my lunch. I wanted to throw in the dish towel.

But deep down, I know that the worst thing I can do is give up. I have to think back on the success. I have to remember the sense of accomplishment I feel when providing for my family vegetables I had nurtured and grown myself. I can’t think about the year when I had sweat and toiled for two surviving cucumbers. Or the time the squirrels un-dug my freshly planted watermelons. I have to focus on my accomplishments and my dreams of a better garden.

In order to be successful, I realize I have to think ahead and plan for those potential problems. I plant more vegetables now so that I can afford to lose some. I mulch and build shade so that I can shelter my plants against drought and extreme heat. There are so many challenges in the garden, and yet, so many ways to conquer them.

How can a person experience joy in the garden, unless they’ve experienced disappointment?

Prepping includes enjoying life as it comes

I also realize as a prepping mom, the worst thing I can do to my family is to squelch their joy. I have to approach our future with excitement and anticipation.

I stock up more so that we can afford to suffer loss. I prepare for hard times and bad weather, by making sure we can handle any type of emergency. I think ahead for possible worst case scenarios, so that we can enjoy the good days ahead and not be devastated if or when hard times come.

We plan for the worst and hope for the best. We prep not because it’s the end of the world, but we prep for a positive future.

I have noticed when it comes to prepping that there are two types of people— those who get busy with living and those who plan for no tomorrow.

I’m sure some of you out there have recognized author Stephen King’s quote here, “Get busy with living, or get busy with dying,”?

I don’t know about you, but I want my family to get busy with living.

 

This post Stop the doomsday thinking and get busy living! by Helen Ruth appeared first on The Survival Mom. Be sure to check it out!

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 
Via: thesurvivalmom

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May 8th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Build an underground greenhouse for year-round gardening


© Neo-farms

Growers in colder climates often utilize various approaches to extend the growing season or to give their crops a boost, whether it’s coldframes, hoop houses or greenhouses.

Greenhouses are usually glazed structures, but are typically expensive to construct and heat throughout the winter. A much more affordable and effective alternative to glass greenhouses is the walipini (an Aymara Indian word for a “place of warmth”), also known as an underground or pit greenhouse. First developed over 20 years ago for the cold mountainous regions of South America, this method allows growers to maintain a productive garden year-round, even in the coldest of climates.

Here’s a video tour of a walipini that even incorporates a bit of interior space for goats:

 


 

How a Walipini works and how to build one


© Benson Institute

It’s a pretty intriguing set-up that combines the principles of passive solar heating with earth-sheltered building. But how to make one? From American sustainable agriculture non-profit Benson Institute comes this enlightening manual on how a walipini works, and how to build it:

The Walipini utilizes nature’s resources to provide a warm, stable, well-lit environment for year-round vegetable production. Locating the growing area 6′- 8′ underground and capturing and storing daytime solar radiation are the most important principles in building a successful Walipini.

The Walipini, in simplest terms, is a rectangular hole in the ground 6 ‛ to 8′ deep covered by plastic sheeting. The longest area of the rectangle faces the winter sun — to the north in the Southern Hemisphere and to the south in the Northern Hemisphere. A thick wall of rammed earth at the back of the building and a much lower wall at the front provide the needed angle for the plastic sheet roof. This roof seals the hole, provides an insulating airspace between the two layers of plastic (a sheet on the top and another on the bottom of the roof/poles) and allows the sun’s rays to penetrate creating a warm, stable environment for plant growth.

SilverThunder/via

This earth-sheltered greenhouse taps into the thermal mass of the earth, so that much less energy is needed to heat up the walipini’s interior than an aboveground greenhouse. Of course, there are precautions to take in waterproofing, drainage and ventilating the walipini, while aligning it properly to the sun — which the manual covers in detail.

Best of all, according to the Benson Institute, their 20-foot by 74-foot walipni field model out in La Paz cost around $250 to $300 only, thanks to the use of free labour provided by owners and neighbours, and the use of cheaper materials like plastic ultraviolet (UV) protective sheeting and PVC piping.

Cheap but effective, the underground greenhouse is a great way for growers to produce food year-round in colder climates. More over at the Benson Institute and the Pure Energy Systems Wiki.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: treehugger

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May 7th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

DOJ Now Pressuring Banks to Refuse Service to Gun Stores


For the past several months, the U.S. Department of Justice has been pressuring banks to refuse service to businesses the DOJ is targeting politically, such as gun stores, in a program entitled Operation Choke Point.

Under the program, the DOJ, headed by Attorney General Eric Holder, is attempting to shut down various legal businesses, including firearm dealers, dating services, purveyors of drug paraphernalia and pornography distributors, by coercing financial institutions to close the bank and merchant accounts associated with these businesses.

The businesses targeted follow a 2011 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation bulletin which lists all of the above legal activities and others as “merchant categories that have been associated with high-risk activity” involving “disreputable merchants.”

“Although many clients of payment processors are reputable merchants, an increasing number are not and should be considered ‘high risk,'” the bulletin reads. “These disreputable merchants use payment processors to charge consumers for questionable or fraudulent goods and services.”

In other words, the FDIC, and now the DOJ, are trying to demonize gun shops by causing banks to view legal firearm dealers as no different than pushers of “ponzi schemes” and “get rich products,” two “high-risk” activities that are also listed in the bulletin.

In 2012, Bank of America told a gun company, McMillan Group International, that because the company was expanding into firearms manufacturing, the bank no longer wanted McMillan’s business.

“We have to assess the risk of doing business with a firearms-related industry,” the bank’s representative told operations director Kelly McMillan.

Last month, BitPay, a U.S.-based bitcoin processor, likewise refused to do business with gun dealer Michael Cargill of Central Texas Gunworks due to a similar policy.

And also in March, a Florida couple who own a gun store received a letter from BankUnited informing them that the bank was closing their business account, which they opened seven years prior, and gave them three days to transfer their money elsewhere.

“I was very angry,” Elizabeth Liberti told the Miami New Times. “They were very inconsiderate. We had all our credit cards going through that bank.”

“All of a sudden, we had to run and find another bank to keep our business going. We shut down for two weeks, and they wouldn’t even tell us why.”

BankUnited finally gave them a reason some time later.

“This letter in no way reflects any derogatory reasons for such action on your behalf, but rather one of industry,” wrote branch manager Ricardo Garcia. “Unfortunately your company’s line of business is not commensurate with the industries we work with.”

And it isn’t just gun stores that the Justice Dept. is targeting.

Last week, Xbiz, a news outlet pertaining to adult entertainment, reported that Chase Bank was sending out letters to hundreds of porn stars notifying them that their accounts would be terminated.

“I got a letter and it was like please cancel all transactions, please fix your automatic pay account and make sure everything’s taken care of by May 11,” actress Teagan Presley told Xbiz. “I called them and they told me that because I am, I guess, public and am recognizable in the adult business, they’re closing my account.”

“Even though I don’t use my account, it’s my personal account that I’ve had since I was 18, when it was Washington Mutual before Chase bought them out.”

And when Presley went to Bank of America to open a new account, the bank also turned her away.

An adult industry attorney, Michael Fattorosi, told Xbiz that banks in the past have “notoriously closed adult accounts or people in the industry’s accounts, but nothing like this.”

That’s because this discrimination is coming straight from the Justice Dept.

Jason Oxman, the CEO of the Electronic Transactions Association, recently revealed the massive scope of Operation Choke Point, which he indicated was also targeting ammunition sales.

The DOJ is ensuring the banks’ cooperation by threatening them “with subpoenas, civil investigative demands, and other burdensome and costly legal demands,” he wrote on The Hill. “And it’s working – payments companies across the country are cutting off service to categories of merchants that – although providing a legal service – are creating the potential for significant financial and reputational harm as law enforcement publicizes its activities.”

The Justice Dept.’s ultimate goal is to shut down these businesses completely.

This article and research was originally published by Kit Daniels at Infowars.com

Comment from Alex Jones: This is a classic example of criminal racketeering. Holder is shutting down businesses just like the Nazis targeted the assets and later the companies of Jews in the 1930′s. The DoJ has been caught shipping guns to drug dealers, terrorists and gang members in Mexico under Fast and Furious, yet Holder is targeting legitimate, lawful gun shops. This is completely outside of the law and resembles the behavior of a dictatorship. Impeachment proceedings must begin immediately.

Visit Infowars.com for breaking news, commentary and reports you won’t find in the mainstream.

 

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Via: shtfplan

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May 6th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Michigan Takes Away the “Right to Farm” from Folks in the Suburbs

The War on Self-Sufficiency continues, and the newest victims are small backyard farmers in Michigan.

The “right to farm” in that state no longer exists for those who live on any property where there are 13 homes within one eighth mile or a residence within 250 feet of the property. This means that the folks who have a couple of goats, chickens, beehives, or rabbits living harmoniously in their suburban backyards are at the mercy of their local governments and their neighbors. The “right to farm” laws that are on the books originally came about when city dwellers moved to the country and complained about their rural surroundings – things like smells and animal noises. However, the law has protected many people since then who just want some freedom from the system, whether they have a couple of acres or a suburban backyard.

The issue here is that those of us who supply as much of our own food as possible are a threat to Big Agri.

Michigan Sierra Club Chapter Assistant Director Gail Philbin [said] that she believes the action will “effectively remove Right to Farm Act protection for many urban and suburban backyard farmers raising small numbers of animals.”

“The Michigan Agriculture Commission passed up an opportunity to support one of the hottest trends in food in Michigan–public demand for access to more local, healthy, sustainable food,” Philbin said via e-mail Tuesday.

“The commission is essentially taking sides in the marketplace,” she said.

She credited commissioners with listening thoughtfully to dozens of people who commented in opposition of the changes.

“However, in the end,” she said, “the commission made only minor modifications to the rules that, for the most part, won’t change the reality facing the growing number of citizens around the state who seek some control over the quality of what they feed their families.

She said the changes favor large farming operations and leave thousands of people who simply want to grow their own food “to fend for themselves.” (source)

Many Michigan residents are unhappy with the ruling. The Inquistor reports:

Kim White, who raises chickens and rabbits, said, “They don’t want us little guys feeding ourselves. They want us to go all to the big farms. They want to do away with small farms and I believe that is what’s motivating it.”

…Shady Grove Farm in Gwinn, Michigan is the six and a half acre home to 150 egg-laying hens that provide eggs to a local co-op and a local restaurant. The small Michigan farm also homes sheep for wool and a few turkeys and meat chickens to provide fresh healthy, local poultry. “We produce food with integrity,” Randy Buchler told The Blaze about Shady Grove Farm. “Everything we do here is 100 percent natural — we like to say it’s beyond organic. We take a lot of pride and care in what we’re doing here.” Shady Grove Farm was doing its part to bring healthy, local, organic food to the tables of Gwinn residents, and it mirrors the attitudes of hundreds of other small farming operations in Michigan and thousands of others popping up around the nation.

…”Farm Bureau has become another special interest beholden to big business and out of touch with small farmers, and constitutional and property rights of the little guy,” Pine Hallow Farms wrote to the Michigan Small Farm Council. (source)

This is not Michigan’s first attack on those who defy Big Agri. Back in 2012, a farmer had his heritage pigs declared an “invasive species” and was ordered to have them destroyed, even though his family had been raising that same breed for generations.

Little by little, more people are becoming aware of the horrors in industrial agriculture. We don’t want to ingest hormones and antibiotics secondhand. We realize that whatever the animal has been fed, we are also being fed, so we don’t want to eat eggs that come from chickens fed GMO corn.  We understand that the horrible cruelty in which factory-farmed animals are raised certainly does not result in a healthy meat product in the Styrofoam package.  We know that the only way you can know for sure what you are getting is to raise it yourself.

Corporate interests can’t have that, of course.  They need folks to be blind and deaf to the atrocities they commit, or, at the very least, be unable to have the option to refuse to purchase the harvests of such atrocities.

We here at Nutritional Anarchy strongly recommend raising your own food and buying locally, but in Michigan, that course of action is about to get a whole lot more difficult.

Independence from the system is not just frowned on, it’s quashed completely. Welcome to your life in the Era of Agenda 21.

 

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Via: Daisy Luther Nutritional Anarchy,
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May 5th, 2014
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CDC Confirms Deadly MERS Virus Infection Has Reached U.S. Soil

After a year of being kept at bay and isolated to the Middle East the deadly MERS coronavirus has broken through World Health Organization containment zones and found it’s way to the United States. There is currently one confirmed case of the virus, which shows up initially with symptoms similar to a cold and then takes over the immune system, but the report from a CDC conference call on the infection is sobering. The infected individual started his travels in none other than Saudi Arabia, where the virus has been actively spreading for months. He took a plane to Chicago on April 28 via a layover in London, finishing the last leg of his journey to Indiana aboard a bus. Thousands of people were in the direct vicinity of this person while he was travelling. Because the symptoms may take several days to manifest it is quite possible that there are now people all over America who may be infected but have not yet been identified.

We urge our readers to be aware that the virus is here and that it may be spreading. The following article from Lily Dane of The Daily Sheeple provides additional details about the US-based infection, symptoms to look for, and preventative measures to consider right now in the event more cases are reported.

If you don’t have them already, acquire the necessary pandemic protection supplies ahead of any panic which may ensue should more cases be identified.

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed the first case of the deadly MERS virus in the United States.

AZFamily reports:

Middle East respiratory syndrome — or MERS — first surfaced two years ago. Since then, at least 400 cases of the respiratory illness have been reported, and more than 100 people have died.

Saudi Arabia was been the center of the outbreak. All the victims have had ties to the Middle East or to someone who traveled there.

The virus has been found in camels, but officials don’t know how it is spreading to humans.

The CDC said the infected person is a healthcare worker who traveled from Saudi Arabia to Indiana:

On April 24, the patient traveled by plane from Saudi Arabia to London, then from London to Chicago,” the CDC said. “The patient then took a bus from Chicago to Indiana. On the 27th, the patient began to experience signs of illness, including shortness of breath and coughing. The patient went to an emergency department on April 28th. Because of the patient’s symptoms and travel history, Indiana public health officials had him tested for MERS.

MERS is related to SARS, the virus that killed nearly 800 people in 2003. Both are caused by coronaviruses, members of a family of viruses that usually cause common cold symptoms and that infect a wide range of mammals.

The virus can survive on surfaces, and kills approximately one-third of people who show symptoms. Some people have been found to have the virus, but never develop symptoms or become ill.

Here are the symptoms:

  • Coughing
  • Mucous
  • Shortness of breath
  • Malaise – a general feeling of being unwell
  • Chest pain
  • Fever
  • Diarrhea (in some cases)
  • Renal (kidney) failure

The person who brought the virus to the US traveled via airplane and bus.

It is too soon to know if the virus will spread and how many will be impacted, but just in case…are you prepared?

Tess Pennington of Ready Nutrition provides the following tips:

So what can you do to be ready for a pandemic outbreak?

  • Store a two week supply of water and food. During a pandemic, if you cannot get to a store, or if stores are out of supplies, it will be important for you to have extra supplies on hand.
  • Have a supply of face masks to wear around those who may be ill or exposed to the illness.
  • Periodically check your regular prescription drugs to ensure a continuous supply in your home.
    Have any nonprescription drugs and other health supplies on hand, including pain relievers, stomach remedies, cough and cold medicines, fluids with electrolytes, and vitamins.
  • Talk with family members and loved ones about how they would be cared for if they got sick, or what will be needed to care for them in your home.
  • Prepare a sick room for the home to limit family member’s exposure to the virus.

To decrease the chances of the virus spreading and infecting other household members as well as members of your community, it is important that every effort be made to limit exposure to the illness.  Some considerations on how to prevent exposure to a pandemic outbreak are:

  1. Avoid close contact with those who are ill.
  2. Stay inside and avoid contact with others.
  3. Avoid touching your mouth, nose and eyes during any pandemic.
  4. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick.
  5. Keep your hands clean. Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub or make your own natural hand sanitizer.
    Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
  6. If you are ill, stay indoors or keep your distance from others.
  7. Keeping your immune systems up by getting lots of sleep, having a good diet and taking antioxidants in protecting your health.

Remember, MERS is a virus and has no cure. Preventing the spread of the disease is crucial.

Delivered by The Daily Sheeple

 

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Via: shtfplan

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May 4th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Know your fires & choose the right extinguisher: INSTANT SURVIVAL TIP

Did you know there are 5 categories of fires? Not all of them respond to fire suppressants in the same way.

  • Class A Fires involve ordinary combustible materials, such as paper, wood, rubber, some plastics.
  • Class B Fires are those with flammable liquids as their source. These could be gasoline, kerosene, lighter fluids and oils. In these cases, only the vapors of the liquids burn.
  • Class C Fires are caused by energized electrical equipment. This is a good reason to rid your home of extension cords, one of the most common causes of house fires, and just in case you’re tempted to plug a power strip into another power strip, don’t!
  • Class D Fires are combustible metals, such as aluminum or magnesium. These aren’t the type of fires you would ordinarily encounter.
  • Class K Fires involve large amounts of cooking oils and occur in restaurants and food plants.

When it comes to buying fire extinguishers, fortunately the ones that are commonly available are effective on fires in classes A, B, and C. This extinguisher is an example of one that is a large enough size to be effective on most small house and vehicle fires.

If you have old extinguishers hanging around, why not put them to good use and take the kids and other family members outside and practice actually using them? Over time, the hoses on old extinguishers can become plugged and the powder inside can become compacted. There’s nothing like hands-on training to really imprint a very important piece of information, how to use a fire extinguisher. When faced with flames, few of us will be calm enough to slow down and read the printed instructions.

 

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Via: thesurvivalmom

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