Respected journalist Ted Koppel is getting a lot of attention over his new book, Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath. The interesting and timely issue that Koppel is bringing into a mainstream spotlight is that of home emergency preparedness.
Not just a Joke?
While the "prepper movement" has gotten a lot of attention over the past decade, many have ridiculed the notion as peopled by extremists and alarmists. However, Koppel is only one of many individuals and organizations that are now focused on how Americans can prepare for the loss of power for short to intermediate-time periods.
In fact, the U.S. government is increasingly focused on the need for individuals to be ready to take care of themselves and their families, at least for short periods, when disasters strike. On a special website addressing preparedness, the possible causes of concern include:
The simple reality is that a bit of proper preparation today is as sane a consideration as having home insurance and keeping medicines in your cabinet. Even more so, a complex society such as ours that depends so absolutely on electricity makes reasonable preparation a practical and needful concern.
Proper Planning for Home Preparedness
The risks you face will depend in part on what part of the country you live in and whether you are in a rural or urban community. While every family must carefully consider their own level of preparedness, the general consensus is to ensure that you have a minimum of seven days (many say 14 is the minimum) supply of:
Additionally, ensuring a basic capability to communicate and access to power is essential. There is a major focus today on acquiring generators, solar cells and batteries, and other sources of power that you can use off the grid.
Many preppers are turning to and stocking propane reserve tanks as a reliable source of power for use in emergencies. You should check with local propane gas suppliers for prices and options, but a year's worth of propane for home heating systems will cost from $1,453 to $2,146. You can have a 1,000-liter tank installed for around $3,000. That amount will provide ample supplies for a number of items, such as lanterns, cook stoves, and portable heaters that operate on propane. For more information, contact Mrohs Gas Inc or a similar company.
If you haven't yet taken the steps to prepare your family for a potential emergency, an online search of "basic steps to prepping" will provide you with some excellent resources.
Share10 November 2015
I have always dreamed of living off of the grid. I didn't want my house connected to any utilities and I didn't want it anywhere that could be seen from the road. When I found this little lot for sale way out in the middle of the woods, I knew that I had found my future home. The one thing that I had to consider was how I would heat my home without any utility connections. The only solution to this problem was to have a propane tank delivered and use propane to heat my house. Find out about using propane to stay off the grid here on my blog.
