FEMA Can Use Idle Travel Trailers - NOW!

I heard on the radio this morning that there are thousands of travel trailers waiting for occupancy by those in need. It seems that there is no place to put them because the infrastructure is lacking for the portable homes. The common thought is that water, sewer and electricity needs to be in place before the trailers can be placed.

FEMA listen to me! This is not so! Get it together!

I don't have time to go into details. If someone out there is truly interested then phone me (toll free, I will pay the dime) to find out more specifics. Here it is in a nutshell:

1. There are waste disposal companies that send sewage trucks to drain the black water sewage and grey water holding tanks. Chemicals for odor/break down are readily available.

2. Fresh water can be delivered daily by truck to fill up the fresh water holding tanks for thousands of homes a day.

3. Basic electricity can be generated to provide lighting, water pump use, tv, etc. with two $600 solar panels, one $100 controller and two $80 golf cart batteries.

Basic training, battery maintenance, electricity conservation, etc., needs to be outlined to the family, but this is do-able, and NOW!

Heck, hundreds of thousands of "dry campers" congregate at Apache Junction, Arizona every winter. Ask anyone who has been there, they are all in one area, and sewage and disease does not abound, they love it!

I have managed one of the largest RV parts stores in the country for 18 years and the difficulty FEMA and the local Parish's are having is solve-able!

Living away from utility infrascructure is not rocket science. Millions of RV'rs do it every day, and they prefer it!

FEMA, please turn around and open your eyes. This tragedy can be turned into an inconvenience and to some, an adventure, living a new life-style. The added expense of solar panels, water delivery and sewage pick-up is minimal compared to the cost of hotel bills and the travel trailers themselves!

Keep in mind that any large congregation of people in a field or other location must have other facilities available. You are creating a small city when you do this, and as such you must provide a system of organization, leadership, cultural & social events, security, store provisions, entertainment, etc. This MUST be done to hold down crime, and idle time. Wi-fi should be provided for the community, a community center, help center, medical center, etc., for each of these communities. Volunteers from the trailer community must be utilized to perform many of these needed functions. A provisional mayoral council must be formed for basic government needs.

Do not simply put in the trailers and say "here you are". You are dealing with people who have needs, beyond mere survival. Please look to history for other large evacuations. Look to the story of the Exodus in the Old Testament. Look to the wagon train communities of the Oregon Treck and the Mormon Pioneers. There are important lessons here and you must deal with them in a quick, and humanly way. You must provide the responsible leadership that your calling has handed you.

Every person displaced is important. You must think of each person in need as if they were your mother or grandmother, regardless of race, or economic background. You are not dealing with numbers, you are dealing with the highest creation of God....people. You must always be "Up with People"!

Please feel free to contact me at 1-800-640-0766 if you truly interested in these words. If it will make the needed changes for good, then I will venture with you.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

This is a busy season for all, it is especially so for my family as my wife has been very ill and in the hospital this last week. Christmas will definitely be different for the Little Family this year. No tree, no time for shopping, etc. But we are blessed as she came home last night. I had the first good nite's sleep in over two weeks. Perhaps this explains my lack of posts lately for this blog.

I hope you all have a very happy holiday season. My heart goes out to the many evacuees who are not settled yet.

I have a few answers for FEMA and the many displaced evacuees who need homes using the thousands of idle travel trailers in the Gulf. Please see the next post, and have a good day! Mike

Article Submission Guidelines:

We’ve had some article submissions to Solar for Emergencies that we will be unable to publish. These articles need to deal with the topic of this blog, or a related topic.

I don’t mind doing some advertising for other companies or sites, but some of these submissions are totally not related. I have to ask whether or not the submitters even looked at the topics on this blog!? Some of these article submissions are little more than advertising for other non-related websites.

I appreciate submissions, but we need them to be on a related topic. I guess it is my fault for not publishing a list of guidelines. As in the past, non-related submissions will be rejected. Sorry about that.

Article submissions should be related to the discussion of using solar products or principles for emergency preparedness, disaster mitigation or disaster recovery.

We will accept;

survival stories,
almost any emergency preparedness topic,
independent living,
home food & needs production,
victory garden or food gardening tips,
food storage tips, cooking with food storage,
outdoor cooking,
outdoor wilderness survival,
passive solar building, new solar products, etc.

I am sure there are other topics that would apply, but when you think about it, there are hundreds of articles from each of the above topics that could be discussed. Please send your article or topic to me at: michael@vegastrailer.com.

Preparedness is a Mindset

As I see it, there are aspects of a disaster that we CAN control.

First, there is EMERGENCY PREPARATION
Ok, you've been beaten over the head a thousand times about preparing for emergencies. Heck, you have a spare tire and insurance don't you? It is not rocket science here. Water, a little food, a first aid kit, some bedding, some spare clothes, and a few devices you think will be important. This could be a flashlight, important papers, radio, etc. Everyone's needs are basic, yet there are different needs in different parts of the country. I would want warm clothes if I lived in Michigan and had to evacuate in the winter!

DISASTER PREVENTION
Part of Emergency preparation is prevention. OK, we as individuals may not be able to do much, but our communities should take on the lion's share of this. You know, building flood control, dikes, levees, etc. Lots of money, and lots of work.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
OK, this is where many of us think that New Orleans let go of the ball. I guess they didn't plan on a cat-4 hurricane in their preparedness plans. As I see it, they didn't help their citizens get as prepared as they should have. Every house should have had stored emergency evacuation kits for every member of the household. I would think that since they were below sea level that every house should have had an axe in their attic! How much would this have cost? Five bucks each wholesale? We saw needed busses under water... and the list goes on. Well, FEMA, States and communities are going to take a harder look at Emergency Management now.

DISASTER MITIGATION
In short this is relieving stress and suffering during/after the disaster. The preparations you make may help here, but the planning that your community does will count the most.

DISASTER RECOVERY
The government seems to be the biggest player here. We all look to FEMA and other federal agencies to help us after a disaster. Of course hundreds of thousands of people assist here. We all saw stories about people working together in groups to feed and assist Katrina evacuees. I hear some of these groups and churches may get some money from the government for their good deeds, but I don't think that was the driving force in helping the people who needed it most. I think we give of ourselves to others in times of trial - and that is as it should be.

Well, there are some things we can do as families, individuals and groups to be better prepared for emergencies. Some things our governments and civic leaders need to take action on. But the point here is that each of us can do something more than what we are doing! Case in point: I have friends that have been taught the principles of emergency preparedness since they were kids, and they still have done very little to prepare, 'just in case'. I have other friends who have done a lot of preparations, and they feel they still need to learn more.

I kinda fall into that last group. The more I learn, the more I feel I need to know. That is why I continually have a mindset about me that helps me further along the path I choose to follow. I want to learn more about how to be self sustaining. I learned how to grind wheat and make bread with the sun, and that is one of the most satisfying things I have learned. I know that if my power and gas goes out for any length of time, my family will have fresh, delicious bread to help them cope. Heck, I hope I never face that situation, but it is comforting to know I can provide in a pinch.

I've found that by having a continuous mindset to get further prepared, it has helped me to learn stuff I can use every day. The bread thing is just one. I buy books at yard sales and thrift stores. The best dollar I ever spent at a yard sale was my first Tom Brown Jr. book, "Field Guide to Wilderness Survival". I wouldn't part with that book, and the others in my library, including 4 that Tom Brown himself gave me! I'll tell ya, if I didn't have a mindset about preparedness, I never would have picked up on that yard sale book, or the opportunity would not have presented itself to procure the other survival/preparedness books in my library.

Some of the solar stuff is expensive, but by having a constant mindset, I have secured a few items that I normally wouldn't have if my attitude was "could care less". This week a friend came into the store because a customer of his (he is a RV mobile repairman) gave him a 43 watt solar panel that was wasting away in his back yard. The customer definitely didn't see the value in the $400 panel, so he gave it away. I think my friend who received it is going to put it to use on his small motor home. In certain situations that solar panel can be a life-saver! Constant mindset...

I remember reading an article on the American Red Cross site that said that it can be comforting to us as individuals and to the members of our family if we take preparation steps, no matter how small. Sure we can't prepare for every kind of emergency, but just knowing that you have some supplies 'at the ready' has a calming effect in this crazy world.

Hey, I just remembered another thing that helps to relieve a little of the stress of a modern world - Journal keeping. Yah, I mean it. Try it if you don't believe me. Heck, you could make a couple of entries about your preparation steps and the new principles you learned!

Anyway, I hope this blog and the related website, solarprepared.com gives you something to think about. There's a million preparedness sites on the web, and I don't wish this one to be all things to all people, but heck, some of the ideas about using solar devices for emergencies may just 'fit the bill' for you!

Have a great holiday season my friend. All the best, Michael

Communications in Emergencies

During emergencies or disasters most electrically operated communication devices shut down. They need power to operate, but with a little preparation, most communication devices can come alive when they are needed most. Solar panels or small wind generators generate power, batteries store power, and inverters will power or charge the communication devices. Though not readily available, small 12 volt or solar operated flashlight battery chargers are invaluable in extended power outages.

Short course on various types of communications:

AM/FM Radio
In the 50's the invention of the transistor radio was heralded as a revolution in communications. When it comes to emergencies the problem is, most of us do not have one of these things available with fresh batteries. During the East Coast power outage in 2003 the news media picked up on a fellow who had one and took it outside for his neighbors to listen. This event actually got national news coverage because most people in the blackout had no battery powered radios to keep informed. Unbelievably sad, but true. Most radio and television stations have back-up generators to transmit emergency communications but we need the minimal equipment to hear or watch it!

Television
Small television sets are available with 12 volt or battery operation. They are available in color or black-and-white, and are readily available and inexpensive.

Email/Internet/WiFi
When the power is out our computers will be out too. No email, no internet access. All aspects of the internet run on electrical power, including our computers. Even if we use a lap-top with batteries, there probably won't be any internet to log on to. Enter Solar Powered WiFi! A community in colorado is investing in a local solar operated wifi system just in case the power goes out. About time!

Cell Phones
Of course we know that in a power outage cell phone towers are out too, but not all. During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina many residents stuck in attics used their cell phones to call for help. The batteries didn't last too long so some means of charging the batteries should be addressed.This popular essential device could save your life if proper preparations are made.

FRS/GMRS/Walkie-Talkie
Most walkie-talkie devices are short/medium range (2-15 miles). These are good if everyone in your group or family has one and a plan is in place for frequency use. Batteries are needed so a way to charge flashlight batteries should be devised.

CB
CB's have a longer range and most of us don't use them any more. Too much cussing and horsing around on the air-waves. Here's where de-regulation killed the popular use of them. Most truckers have CB's because they are invaluable for the road. Most CB's operate directly off 12 volts so a solar powered low voltage system is ideal.

Shortwave/VHF/Amateur Radio
There's nothing amateur about amateur radio! If you are not a HAM operator, get to know one in your area. You can usually find them by the various types of antennas in their yard. During virtually every disaster HAM operators are very active providing emergency commmunications. During Hurricane Katrina 500 amateur radio enthusiasts were providing about the only emergency communications service in the Gulf. Here's an announcement about Hurricane Rita. Check out ARRL.org for more information. You need a special FCC license to operate this important equipment, and there are various levels of participation. Larger back-up power is needed as most of these specialized radios take more power to transmit long distances. Shortwave receiver radios can listen in on local police/fire department frequencies and communications world-wide. These receiver radios are available to everyone, but try to get the largest and highest quality one you can afford.

Scanners
If you don't want to transmit information on these special radio frequencies, you can listen in for important information by scanning the police, fire department and emergency responder frequencies in your area. Most scanners need the local frequencies to be programmed in the radio, but this is a simple procedure. Small battery operated hand-held scanners, 12 volt DC scanners and 120 volt AC scanners are available at your local Radio Shack or Electronics dealer.

GPS/Satellite
Technology changes daily. During local or regional power outages the satellites still are doing their thing out in space. If you have a device that operates on a satellite signal, then chances are it will work during a power outage, providing you have back-up power to operate the device here on earth.

Manual/Visual
Boy Scouts learn morse code, mirror signals, hand signals and other forms of short to medium distance communications. It might be a good idea to learn a few of these methods.

To learn more about emergency communications:
Subscribe to Popular Communications.
Buy the book "The ARRL Emergency Communication Handbook" from ARRL website.
ARRL book: Emergency Power for Radio Communications
Book: Guide to Emergency Survival Communications
Book: Communications for Survival and Self-Reliance

Check out Sundance Solar for solar operated radios.

Look for more communication links and information soon on SOLARprepared.com.