Five articles discussing the topic of this web log:

Safer Lighting with Solar
Safer Cooking with Solar
Solar Heating, Cooling and Refrigeration
Safer Water with Solar
Safer Back-up Power with Solar

We thank those who have visited this site. It is hoped that it has brought important information to you. Most votes on Bloghop have been positive, but not all. If there are other things we should be discussing concerning this topic, please let me know. Your emails are welcome. Questions will be posted with attempts to answer them.

The smoke from Southern California is still blowing through Vegas. There are many efforts here to gather donations for the fire fighters. We wish them good luck and hope their toils come to a quick end. I found the pdf files linked below informative.

San Bernadino County and Riverside County Mountain Area Taskforce has published this list of pdf downloads for emergency preparedness, mostly as it relates to wildfires:

http://www.calmast.org/mast/public/how_to_prepare.htm

I have thought more about the foam (see post below). Needs to be bioegradeable, able to stick to the building for 1-2 hours, insulating capabilities to protect the home from the fire, and needs to be washable with a garden hose after the fire has passed. Not the same formula as airports, because that is for jet fuel and spark supression. Needs to be able to load in standard fire trucks without too much adaption or special trucks will need to be developed. Portable self contained units so that people can pick them up at local armory's, fire stations or city centers. Come on.... it can't be that hard, can it? A longer lasting formula could be developed for field/forest fire-line areas. Cost a lot? Possibly, but if it works the insurance compainies HAVE to be interested. A $300 - $3,000 dollar house emergency foam coating has to be better than a $300,000 fire claim!

Are there any airport emergency people out there that can shed some light on this? How about fire-fighters? Something has got to be better than pumping water on a hot fire which just turns into steam! Something has got to be made available, heck it could even be sold in home center stores in 5 gallon containers with a pump/application accessory. Great preparedness item for those willing to spend some money in advance. During droughts the "system" would sell, but also local government agencies could stock up on the stuff. If, after x amount of time and it is not needed, well, the non-toxic stuff could be disposed of and the pump kit kept "just in case".

As another possibility, can there be something that could be applied to a home with a hose and container, similar to fertilizers? There is a product I am familliar with that works on a small scale. It is called Flame Block 714 made by Flame Guard Plus, Inc. (www.flameguardplus.com). I have not checked out the site, because I just thought about this while I was writing this log, but the stuff is sitting in my office. The salesman left a sample bottle for my evaluation. It works on paper, fabric, etc. Seriously, when it dries, it really retards flame on very flammable stuff like paper towels.

If any of you have any ideas or can help develop this preparedness concept, please write me your thoughts. I will publish your comments if you wish.

Thanks, Mike

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Just thought you would want to know....

Wildfires of So. California.

Our hearts and prayers go out to those impacted by the wildfires in So. California. For the life of me I don't know how anyone could prepare for this disaster. Oh sure, I have heard about clearing low brush and weeds and keeping trees clear of your house. The problem I see in the desert, is that you want trees near your house for shade.

Also, with the newer communities, houses are almost built on top of each other. I moved into a new house and we are barely ten feet from our neighbors. Not good when a wind is blowing and a row of houses is on fire.

What can be done? Does anyone out there have any solutions? It was evident from news stories about this disaster that using your garden hose is fruitless. A simple fire extinguisher is also next to useless. Does anyone know what can be done by a homeowner at the last futile moments before an evacuation is called for??

What about foam?

Can one put a solution of foam on the leading side of the house/roof like it is done on runways before an airplane crash landing?? Could this be purchased in some sort of a pump/barrell configuration for quick application? Any help here? Can there be a different type of fire engine with a foam/pump pre-application in such disasters? It would be a mess to clean up, but far better than complete destruction of your house due to wildfire. Can this be stored in community storage for quick deployment, perhaps by the National Guard? Can this be stored in a self-contained system that could be hauled by pick-up truck to the home? Can anyone tell me why this is not a feasible plan?

I want to know for myself, and for others who may want to prepare for such a disaster. Any links, thoughts, emails, and ideas would be appreciated. Any comments will be reviewed/quoted in this web log (with your permission).

Please have a better day than those folks in Southern California!

CBS 60 Minutes Airs Show Sunday on Yucca Mountain

If the world would rely more on solar and less on nuclear energy, then we might not have the spent fuel storage problems that we are sure to encounter in the future. But the fact is that we do use a lot of nuclear for our electricity, and we will have to deal with the storage and transportation of the stuff for generations to come.

This Sunday 60 Minutes on CBS will air a one hour program on this issue. Senator Reid from Nevada will voice his strong concerns about storing radioactive materials in Nevada. You can find more information on this program here: CBS 60 Minutes - Yucca Mountain

I include this information on this log because, in a way it relates. There could be accidents in transportation and people will have to have a certain amount of preparedness information to react properly. I find it hard to understand those who are willing to let the government do all of the worrying and preparedness, and then if there is a disaster, then the government can "take care of me and my family". More on that later.

This is not just a Nevada issue. Nuclear waste material will be passing by millions of citizens throughout the United States.

On the CBS page there are links to other sites with information, including preparedness for nuclear accidents.

Have a good day. Michael

Using the Sun for Emergency Preparedness

This log is about using solar for emergencies. Most of the important information put together so far is contained in the five articles published on earthtoys.com. One more article in the series will be published December 1st. You can read these articles by clicking the topic in the right column in this blog, or click on the links below.

Safer Lighting with Solar

Safer Cooking with Solar

Solar Heating, Cooling and Refrigeration

Safer Water with Solar

Safer Back-up Power with Solar

I am not a writer, so I hope you will forgive the grammar mistakes. (Perhaps a budding editor will donate their services!??) I think if you look past the errors you will find new and interesting information to help your family prepare for emergencies in a safe manner. Solar really can help keep our families safer during regional, local or personal emergencies. If you have any comments or suggestions, please drop me an email message. Thanks!! Michael

46 Page Preparedness Guide

Here is a link to areyouready.com where you can download a 46 page PDF guidebook on emergency preparedness. The site needs your name and email for their research and advertising, but they assure you they will not distribute your address to anyone. There is a box to check to not receive their ads. Not as comprehensive as some info but it is put together well with colorful graphics. Emergency Handbook - Are you Prepared?

Watch for NEW LED Lights

I have always known that LED light bulbs are the way of the future, but they have been so darn expensive. Up until now. Stay tuned to this site, and our web site because we are venturing into a whole new era of high quality, reasonably priced (I mean reasonable!) LED medium base light bulbs. They come in 12 volts, three wattages, three colors (white, warmtone and yellow) and I think people who want to save power with their solar systems or back-up low voltage systems will buy them by the dozen!

We will try to have more info as we get it next week. Until then, have a great week!

Our "Day with the Experts" went well at the Desert Demonstration Gardens. We had a new informative display that I hope to make available in the store in about a week or so. Please plan on stopping by to see it. We will have informative posters and other info about Solar Energy, Solar Cooking and Solar Living.

I couldn't tell you of all the reactions from people who saw a chicken cooking in the Global Sun Oven. This was a sight that people had never seen or conceived before. They were absolutely amazed at this chicken cooking and browning using only sunlight as energy. One guy was convinced that I had another assisted fueling device hidden in the solar cooker. Others were terribly worried that the chicken was not "safe" to eat. I think their fears were alleviated when I opened the glass door and they smelled the delicious smell. When cooking chicken I use the secret Volcano seasoning we sell at the store. Nothing quite like it!

My wife and I took a couple of needed days off while we celebrated our 25th anniversary so I have not made any additions to this web log page for a few days. I am enlarging the vegetable garden in our small back yard so I am glad to come back to work to get a "rest", ha ha.

Have a great day. Mike

I just returned from the Post Office where they are distributing a small brochure called 'Preparing Makes Sense. Get Ready Now'.

This small brochure is a start to emergency preparedness and I highly recommend you pick up several copies for your friends and loved ones. I picked up several for my employees and family. I hope eventually my constant reminders will spark some action.

The brochure suggests that you visit www.ready.gov for more information. This is a good site and they have a link to download a larger version of the brochure in PDF file format. The download is 260k and you can download it here if you have Acrobat Reader: Preparing Makes Sense.

Day with the Experts

This Saturday we will be demonstrating solar cooking with the Global Sun Oven and the Villager Sun Oven at the So. Nevada Water Authority's "Day with the Experts" at the Desert Demonstration Gardens located at 3701 W. Alta Dr. (just east of Valley View), in Las Vegas, Nevada. 6,000 people are expected to attend from 8 AM to 4 PM. We are creating a new educational display board for the event. Hope to see you there.

There has been some talk recently of having a solar energy seminar on October 16th but I will have to postpone it. I will be out of town next week and we will announce when we schedule another one. Please email me if you would like an announcement of the seminar. Thanks, and have a "Sunny Day".

Fifth Article in Preparedness Series Published

Earthtoys.com has published the fifth article in our "Solar for Emergency Preparedness" Series. The article was released on this web log in three parts (below), but the earthtoys.com version has pictures! Safer Backup Power with Solar

I hope any of you who have batteries (don't we all??) will take the time to visit the Trojan Battery Maintenance pages as linked in this article. Even the most knowledgeable battery-type person will find valuable information on these pages. Whether you have a car battery, deep cycle batteries, or golf-cart batteries, you will find ways of extending the life of your batteries with this information. Even our technician (don't they say they know everything??) said he learned several important points when reviewing this information.

Quiz: How full do you fill the battery compartment when charged?
When do you add water to a wet-cell battery?
Do you take off the caps when charging?
When adding water do you need to use only distilled water?
What happens if you leave a new battery on a cement floor? (You might have to search a little for this one.)
Find answers on the Trojan site, and watch this log for further discussions. The results may surprise you!

Have a powerful day!