The Clarksville Chapter of the Audubon Society will be holding their regular meeting on Thursday September 3rd at  7:30 p.m. in conference room E106 in the Sundquist Science Building at Austin Peay State University. Randall Johnson of TVA will be presenting a program titled  “Integrated Resource Plan: TVA’s Environmental and Energy Future.” Light refreshments will be served.

On June 15, 2009 TVA kicked off an 18 month long project to prepare a new Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) entitled TVA’s Environmental and Energy Future. The purpose of the IRP is to develop a flexible portfolio of supply and demand side options that TVA can use to meet the valley’s electrical demand needs for the next 20 years. The portfolios developed will be evaluated for several criteria including capital and fuel costs, reliability, possible environmental impacts including climate change, compliance with existing and anticipated future regulations, and other factors.

To learn more about the Clarksville Chapter of the Audubon Society check out the current issue of their newsletter, The Warioto Warbler.

Landsat satellite data collected in 1987 and 2002 show (click to zoom) the growth of the Hobet-21 mountaintop mine in the Mud River watershed of West Virginia. The mine expanded across thousands of acres and produced one of the state’s longest valley fills when rock and dirt were placed into Connelly Branch. The center portion of the mine site had been partially reclaimed with grass (light green) as of 2002. [NASA images by Jesse Allen, based on data provided by the Global Land Cover Facility (GLCF).]

Nationwide permit (NWP) 21 was first issued in 1982, pursuant to section 404(e) of the Clean Water Act, to authorize structures, work, and discharges associated with surface coal mining activities, provided those activities were authorized by the Department of the Interior, Office of Surface Mining, or by states with approved programs under Title V of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). Each time since 1982 that the Corps reissued its NWPs, it also reissued NWP 21, often with modifications that were made after considering comments received in response to the various proposals to reissue that NWP.

Since NWP 21 was first issued in 1982, surface coal mining practices have changed, and surface coal mining activities in the Appalachian region has become more prevalent and as such has resulted in greater environmental impacts. Mountaintop surface coal mining activities increased because many of the remaining coal seams in the Appalachian region were less accessible to non-surface coal mining techniques. Since the late 1990s, there have been increased concerns regarding the individual and cumulative adverse effects of those activities on the human environment and the natural resources in this region, including streams and other aquatic resources.

The wholesale use of NWP 21 to authorize surface coal mining waste discharges has resulted in adverse environmental impacts that may be more than minimal on a cumulative basis. For this reason, the Corps now believes that impacts of these activities on jurisdictional waters of the United States, particularly cumulative impacts, would be more appropriately evaluated through the individual permit process, which entails increased public and agency involvement, including an opportunity for public comment on individual projects.

Public Comments

In accordance with the suspension and modification procedures provided in the NWP regulations, public comment is invited, and a public hearing may be requested. After evaluating all comments pertaining to the proposed suspension and modification that are received in response to this notice and any public hearings, the Corps will publish its decisions concerning the NWP 21 suspension and modification in the Federal Register. If NWP 21 is suspended, the suspension would remain in effect until NWP 21 is modified or expires, or until the suspension is lifted.

Written comments, including requests for a public hearing, must be submitted on or before August 14, 2009.

You may submit comments, identified by docket number COE–2009–0032, by any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: CECW-CO (Attn: Ms. Desiree Hann), 441 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20314–1000.
• Hand Delivery/Courier: Due to security requirements, the Corps cannot receive comments by hand delivery or courier.
• They will not accept e-mailed or faxed comments.

The Corp will post all comments on http://www.regulations.gov under docket number COE–2009–0032. Instructions: When submitting comments via http://www.regulations.gov, direct your comments to docket number COE–2009–0032. All comments received will be included in the public docket without change and may be made available on-line at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, unless the commenter indicates that the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI, or otherwise protected, through regulations.gov or email.

The regulations.gov web site is an anonymous access system, which means they will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment.

If you submit an electronic comment by sending a CD–ROM to Corps Headquarters, they recommend that you submit those comments via overnight mail to ensure timely receipt. The Corps also recommend that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD–ROM you submit. If they cannot read your comment because of technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, then they may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic comments should avoid the use of any special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.

For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov. All documents in the docket are listed. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, such as CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form.

For more information

See the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Proposed Suspension and Modification of Nationwide Permit 21, or contact Ms. Desiree Hann or Mr. David Olson, Headquarters, Operations and Regulatory Community of Practice, Washington, DC. Ms. Hann can be reached at 202–761–4560 and Mr. Olson can be reached at 202–761–4922.

Editor’s note: Portions of the text in article have been taken from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers’ Proposed Suspension and Modification of Nationwide Permit 21, and wording may have been modified for our summary.

NASHVILLE – On Wednesday State Representative Joe Pitts (D-Clarksville), along with thirty-nine other House Democrats and two Republicans, voted down a bill that would have allowed coal mining companies to dump unacceptable levels of selenium into local streams and rivers.

“The overwhelming scientific evidence cited in committee testimony indicated the proposed levels of this dangerous mineral would be intolerable for humans or animals,” said Pitts. “We chose to maintain a safer position than to risk the public health over something that can’t be undone if we make a mistake and today we said enough is enough.”

Selenium

Fish deformities caused by exposure to Selenium

House Bill 1204 by Rep. Joe McCord (R-Maryville) would have increased the toxic effluent limitations of the substance known as selenium. Inorganic selenium is present in water in two key forms and is highly toxic to fish and wildlife.

Under the proposed legislation, Tennessee standards on selenium could not be any more stringent than the recommended national criteria established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). However, the bill also goes further and adopts a proposed 2004 standard not recognized as the official standard of the EPA. Current EPA standards established in 1984 recognize the maximum level of selenium at 5ug/g. Under HB1204, that standard would be weakened to 7.9ug/g.

Dr. A. Dennis Lemly

In a report presented by Dr. A. Dennis Lemly, the original scientist in charge of developing the revised selenium standard, he writes that there are “several egregious errors bias EPA’s draft selenium criterion” and the report “dangerously overestimates the safely tolerable tissue-based number.” The report goes on to say that the suggested standard of 7.9ug/g “would allow up to 85% of fish and aquatic birds to be poisoned.”

“As Legislators, we have a responsibility to be good stewards of our state, and to do what we can to protect it for the next generation of Tennesseans to come,” said Pitts. “Poisoning our fish and wildlife, and ruining drinking water for the sake of coal production is not the definition of being a good steward.”

In response to questions, EPA Acting Regional Administrator A. Stanley Meiburg wrote a letter stating that the standard being proposed by HB1204 is “not an adopted or recommended standard or even a proposed rule” and that “the EPA is still working on a selenium standard based on analysis of fish tissue to set a selenium level which protects against the chronic effects of selenium as it builds up in fish and other aquatic life.”

Selenium bioconcentration in duck embryos can cause deformities such as malformed beaks and feet (middle embryo) and low embryo survivability (left & right embryos were dead at time of collection). (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.)

“This legislature is trying to take Tennessee into the 21st Century and with it bring green jobs and opportunities all across our state,” said Pitts. “How can we promote a new generation of green workers if we continue to destroy the natural resources that we have?”

The bill failed to reach the required 50 votes necessary for passage and has now been referred to the House Calendar and Rules Committee. The measure may still be brought up before the end of session later this month.

NASHVILLE

“Taking simple steps in our daily lives can make a dramatic impact on our air quality,” said TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely.  “We hope this educational program will lead motorists to make positive changes in daily driving habits.”

TDOT recommends these SIMPLE steps to help Clear the Air in Tennessee:

S – Watch your Speed

• The faster you drive, the more fuel you burn, and that means you’re polluting more without going any further.

I – Idle less

• Idling is a major contributor to harmful air pollution. When parked, it’s more fuel-efficient and better for the air to restart your vehicle rather than to idle for 10 seconds or more.

M – Maintain your vehicle

• A well-maintained vehicle gets better gas mileage and emits fewer pollutants. A routine tune-up can increase your mileage by an average of 4%, and a new air filter can improve your mileage by up to 10%.

P – Plan your trips

• Plan ahead to combine trips in the same area of town, or make adjustments to accomplish your to-do list closer to home or in fewer stops.

L – Leave your car at home

• Carpooling, biking, walking and using public transportation are all excellent ways to reduce vehicle emissions. Using these alternatives even a few days a week can save 1,500 pounds of air pollution a year.

E – Educate Others

• Become a “Clear the Air” advocate and help other Tennesseans change their driving habits to reduce air pollution.

“These steps are easy to do, but can have a large impact on the air we all breathe,” said TDOT Environment and Planning Chief Ed Cole.  “In addition to concerns about public health, our state could lose the ability to spend federal dollars on highway projects if we don’t take steps to Clear the Air. That means less money for road and highway repairs and projects, and more traffic congestion.”

Tennesseans in nonattainment counties will soon notice “Clear the Air” messages on billboards, banners, print ads and on TV and will hear informational spots on the radio.  Tennesseans can also learn more about air quality in Tennessee by visiting www.cleartheairtn.org.  The new web site provides information on the causes of air pollution, ways to reduce individual impact on air quality and helpful links to local clean air groups.

“Breathing polluted air can have serious impact on your health, including aggravated allergies, heart disease, eye and respiratory irritation, decreases in lung capacity, permanent scarring of the lungs, asthma and bronchitis and can even lead to death,” said TDOT’s environmental outreach coordinator Joan Barnfield.

Children are especially at risk from the negative effects of air pollution because they breathe one and a half times more air per pound of body weight than adults.  Almost half of all asthma cases in the U.S. occur in children, a problem exacerbated by poor air quality.  More than half of all Tennesseans live in areas where air pollution poses a health risk.

Nonattainment and maintenance counties in Tennessee are: Anderson, Blount, Cocke, Davidson, Hamilton, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Montgomery, Roane, Rutherford, Shelby, Sevier, Sumner, Wilson and Williamson counties.  For more information on Clear the Air Tennessee and how you can help, visit www.cleartheairtn.org.

About TDOT

TDOT is a multimodal agency with responsibilities in aviation, public transit, waterways and railways.  TDOT maintains 14,150 miles of highway in Tennessee including 1,104 miles of interstate.  The Department of Transportation has approximately 4,200 employees with four statewide region facilities in Jackson, Nashville, Chattanooga and Knoxville.  TDOT headquarters is located in downtown Nashville.

(NASHVILLE, TN), April 16, 2009 – Election laws, economic development, the budget, telecommunications, and violent crime were among a wide variety of issues headlining debate on Capitol Hill this week. However, State Senators also took time on Monday to remember the victims of last week’s tornadoes in Rutherford, Sumner, and Benton Counties and commended emergency personnel for their handling of the disaster.

The worst damage was in Rutherford County where a deadly EF-4 tornado hit Murfreesboro packing winds of 166 mph to 200 mph, killing a mother and her baby. The tornado, which was a half-mile wide and ran a 28-mile path, set a record for the longest EF-4 tornado in history. Seven people were critically injured and about 818 homes were damaged, with 111 of those homes completely destroyed. The cost to businesses and residents has preliminarily been estimated at $40.2 million.

A Murfreesboro Gas station suffered significant damage (Chris Jackson)

“Our prayers go out to those who lost loved ones in this devastating storm,” said Senator Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro), whose home came within 150 yards of the tornado’s path. “This is a situation that we never want to face, but I must commend the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), the Department of Transportation (TDOT), the Department of Safety and especially all of our police and highway patrol who have worked overtime to help our citizens. Many citizens have come out to help, and the response from churches in our area has been unbelievable. I will do everything in my power to make sure the residents and responders have enough resources and supplies to continue their recovery efforts.”

“We truly live in a great state,” added Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville), whose district makes up most of the area damaged by the tornado. “I certainly understand why we are called the Volunteer state as we had hundreds of volunteers that helped us go yard to yard to clean up debris. TEMA, TDOT and our state troopers did an outstanding job in assisting our local authorities. This is the worst disaster in Rutherford County’s history and we need to keep all of the folks who suffered losses in our prayers.” Senator Tracy is Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee which oversees state operations of roads and the highway patrol.

Both Ketron and Tracy are working with state and federal officials to request aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for storm victims.

The Good Friday tornadoes have renewed debate on increasing the number of sirens in densely populated areas to warn citizens of a tornado. Legislation has been introduced to phase in additional sirens to ensure that citizens are warned of a developing emergency like a tornado. The bill, SB 88 sponsored by Senator Paul Stanley (R-Germantown), calls on the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) to coordinate with each county to plan to add a certain number of civil defense sirens per year beginning in 2012. The proposal is pending action in the Finance Committees in both the House and Senate.

There have been 120 deaths in Tennessee since 1999 as a result of tornadoes.

State Senators debate bills to protect the integrity of voting process

Several bills to protect Tennessee’s election process were acted on this week by State Senators, including legislation requiring voters to provide photo identification before voting. The bill, SB 150 by Senator Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro), provides for various forms of photo identification to be used, including a driver’s license, military identification, a valid passport, government employee identification cards, and any federal, state-issued identification card that contains a photograph of the voter. The legislation does not apply to citizens 65 years old or older and those in nursing homes. It also allows for those who are indigent to sign an affidavit swearing their status as an eligible voter. In addition, the bill provides for a “provisional ballot” which would only be counted if the election counting board is able to verify identification of the voter within three days.

Seven states require a photograph be shown to prove identification, including neighboring states Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana.

Legislation that would give election officials the tools to prove citizenship before registering to vote was deferred upon final consideration in the State Senate on Thursday. Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville), sponsor of the bill is working with House sponsors to revive the measure in the House of Representatives where it received a tie vote in the Elections Subcommittee of the State and Local Government Committee this week.

The proposal, SB 1999, sets forth the criteria that local election officials can use to establish citizenship upon registration to vote if they are in doubt. The U.S. Constitution already requires citizenship. In addition, federal law makes it a crime knowingly to make a false statement or claim regarding citizenship upon registering to vote. However, local election officials are reluctant to ask due to lack of guidance on what criteria can be used in determining citizenship.

“The dilemma is that election officials in the field have questions about what they can ask for to substantiate that assertion when one checks the box that they are a U.S. citizen,” said Leader Norris. “These officials don’t want to bring it up if they are not authorized to ask for certain identification. What this legislation does is gives them guidance and clarifies what they can ask for if an election official chooses to put that person to the test.”

Another bill regarding elections approved by the full Senate this week, SB 1420, honors the service of those in the military by making it easier for those overseas to access and return the necessary documents to vote absentee. In the last election, many Tennesseans in military serving overseas requested that they be allowed to send their scanned documents by email because they did not have access to a fax in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This legislation, sponsored by Ketron, would allow Tennesseans serving in the military overseas to scan an absentee request or change of address form and attach the document to an email to be sent to the their county election office to make it easier for them to vote. Currently, only a fax is allowed. The local election office would still compare the signature of the voter before mailing the ballot.

Finally, the State Senate gave final approval to legislation, SB 440 sponsored by Senator Doug Overbey (R-Maryville), requiring that convicted felons must pay all court costs imposed before being eligible to have their voting rights restored. Currently, a person convicted of a felony must be pardoned, discharged from custody or supervision, and have paid all restitution to the victim of the offense to have his or her rights of suffrage restored. This legislation would add the payment of court costs as well.

Senate approves Megasite bill to enhance prospects of bringing new industry and jobs to West Tennessee

Legislation that enhances the prospects of bringing new industry to West Tennessee met approval in the State Senate this week and is ready for final action in the House of Representatives. The bill, which could come up for a final vote in the House as early as next week, is the result of a team effort of West Tennessee legislators to bring new jobs to the area.

“The stage is set for success in West Tennessee after passage of this bill,” said Senator Dolores Gresham, a co-sponsor of the bill. Gresham represents Haywood County where the site is located. “This has truly been a team effort. All of our West Tennessee delegation has been pushing for passage of this measure and will continue our efforts until it is signed into law.”

The bill, SB 653, makes numerous changes to the Tennessee Regional Megasite Authority Act of 2007, including the ability for authorities to purchase nearby property to be included in the megasite zone. This provision means a Megasite authority could purchase land for critical infrastructure needs, like a highway ramp or rail spurs in non-contiguous acreage. Currently, additional property within the megasite zone must be contiguous. The legislation also deals with the make-up of the megasite authority, making it much like a local industrial development board to enhance success of the project

Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation

The legislation is in addition to the proposed allocation of more than $27 million in bonds slated for the project in the 2009-10 budget to allow authorities to buy land for the Haywood County megasite. Legislators are hopeful that the measure will have the same impact on the area as the megasites in Clarksville and Chattanooga, where similar projects have landed more than $3 billion dollars in new investments from Volkswagen Group of America, Hemlock Semiconductor and Wacker Chemical, creating more than 3,000 new jobs.

“The West Tennessee megasite is the No. 1 major industrial development site in the state,” said Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville). “It will have a great deal of impact on the future of our region.”

Senate Committees continue to study budgets of various departments and agencies of state government

Committees in the State Senate continued to review budgets of the various departments and agencies of state government. One such agency is the Department of Tourism, where members of the Senate Environment Committee members took an in depth look at financial challenges facing that industry. A major challenge to the Department of Tourism’s ability to expand the economic benefits for travel and tourism is ever-increasing competition from other states.

In order to compete and create new opportunities, Tennessee must take advantage of advancements in technology, especially in the area of web-based travel planning, and find ways to partner with other state agencies and the tourism industry to capitalize on special markets and creative promotions to maximize available financial and human resources.

In the Education Committee, members heard testimony on the budget of the Tennessee Lottery Corporation. CEO Rebecca Paul Hargrove told members that the lottery program currently has a $6 million shortfall in estimated revenues for the current fiscal year. Revenue forecasters had predicted a growth in revenues, but Paul said the revenue growth has been flat.

Thirty out of forty-two states that use lotteries have seen a decline in sales. Tennessee has seen growth in Instant ticket sales, but Powerball sales have lagged by $8 million. The budget for the next fiscal year assumes an increase of $6 million in revenue growth. Hargrove said the last quarter has been promising and that the lottery will continue to develop products to boost funds.

The Tennessee Education Lottery operates entirely from revenue generated through the sale of its products. Net proceeds from sales of Lottery tickets fund specific education programs, including college scholarships, pre-kindergarten and after-school programs. Since the Tennessee Lottery began selling tickets on Jan. 20, 2004, it has raised more than $1.3 billion for these programs.

Crooks with Guns legislation targets repeat violent offenders

Legislation strengthening penalties against repeat violent offenders who use a gun in commission of a robbery was approved in the Senate Judiciary Committee this week. The bill, SB 673 by Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville), is one of three bills proposed this year by the Public Safety Coalition.

Tennessee ranks second in the nation in the number of violent crimes. These criminals are often repeat offenders. Sixty-seven percent of those convicted of violent crimes are re-arrested within three years of being released from prison. The recidivism rate increases to 80 percent when you move past that three-year marker.

The bill now goes to the Senate Finance Committee for approval.

Legislation helps children in state custody with post-adoption services

Legislation that aims to improve Tennessee’s success rate in adopting children who were previously in state custody has received the unanimous vote of the State Senate. The bill clarifies state law to provide post-adoption services for child welfare adoptions.

The bill, SB 1702, applies to adoptions when children have been taken into state custody for being unruly or delinquent and parental rights from the biological parents have been terminated. These are some of the most difficult adoption placements for the Department of Children’s Services. However, the rate of success improves if post-adoption services are offered. A few of the services include crisis intervention, family and individual counseling, support groups for parents and children, case management services, and networking of families and community providers.

“Tennessee beats the national average on child adoption placements and we want to see that our success rate improves,” said Senator Doug Overbey (R-Maryville), sponsor of the bill. “These services are proven to help in providing a healthier atmosphere for both the child and adoptive parents.”

Legislation providing more opportunities for Tennessee products to be used in gasoline is approved on Senate Floor

Legislation that allows more Tennessee products to be used in the blending process of gasoline products was approved Thursday in the State Senate. The bill, SB 1931, requires suppliers of gasoline products to make gasoline available to wholesalers in a condition that allows the wholesaler to blend it with ethanol.

The federal government has adopted policies which have encouraged the blending of ethanol and other agriculturally produced products with petroleum-based fuels. Tennessee has also encouraged the agricultural production of crops for conversion into ethanol and biodiesel additives to expand the use of these products.

In 2008, major oil company suppliers began to cut off wholesalers’ access to unblended product. Availability was limited at gasoline terminals to only blended products which resulted in an increase in the price from what local wholesalers could produce. This practice has prevented wholesalers from visiting ethanol terminals within the state and blending the product which has decreased the consumption of Tennessee ethanol.

“This bill is in response to far reaching and swift changes from major suppliers regarding the ability of wholesalers to access unblended fuels,” said Speaker Pro-Tempore Jamie Woodson (R-Knoxville). “Wholesalers in Tennessee have been successfully blending for 20 years. This bill ensures competition in the market and it is a big win for Tennessee consumers and farmers.”

Market Regulation Act of 2009 would modernize state’s telecommunications law

Legislation to modernize state telecommunications policy and promote more competition and choice for Tennessee consumers has been approved on final consideration in the Senate. The legislation, SB 1965 sponsored by Senator Paul Stanley (R-Germantown), allows existing traditional telephone providers to opt into “Market Regulation” so they will be treated on the same terms as their competitors in the cable, wireless and Internet telephone companies.

When Tennessee lawmakers rewrote the state’s telecommunications law in 1995, they retained regulations on existing telephone providers. Since then, new telecommunications companies have emerged using technologies that did not exist when the law was written and that are not under the same regulations as traditional phone companies.

Under this legislation, called the “Market Regulation Act of 2009,” the TRA will continue to regulate wholesale telecommunications in Tennessee for market regulated companies. It also keeps in place government support programs such as the Lifeline to assist seniors and low income consumers. Consumers would continue to have a variety of alternatives for resolving complaints regarding phone rates. However, sponsors feel that the increased competition will keep companies from raising rates as they vie to attract and retain customers. In addition, the legislation includes language to assure there will be no rate hikes in rural areas for at least one year.

Similar market regulation legislation has passed in other states, including Alabama, Mississippi, Indiana, Nevada and Missouri; and is currently pending in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

State budget

Various state departments will see a 12 percent decrease in size by the end of his term in 2010, Bredesen said.

Those cuts will be needed because of lower revenues caused by the recession, he said. He expects to see a decrease of about $1 billion in state revenue this year.

Bredesen unveiled his budget plan last week, which predicts the state budget for four years instead of the normal two.

The education budget remains fully funded, but some other departments may see cuts greater than 12 percent, he said.

The federal stimulus money will mean the state will not have to cut the 2,300 jobs that had been forecast.

However, Bredesen warned the reprieve will be temporary.

“It lets us go on a glide path, instead of diving down there this spring,” he said.

Bredesen predicts state revenues will be flat in 2010, and grow 3 percent in 2011 and 5 percent in 2012.

While overall state unemployment is not significantly higher than national levels, Bredesen said the state will look at how it can help counties that have been hit worst by the recession.

The increase in unemployment has put a strain on the state unemployment fund, he said. At the current rate, the fund will be depleted by this winter.

That will mean increasing the unemployment taxes for businesses, he said.

Visit jacksonsun.com and share your thoughts.

- Mariann Martin, (731) 425-9782

Legislation to ban “texting while driving” headed towards Senate floor after approval of Finance Committee

Legislation that would ban “texting while driving” is headed towards the Senate floor for final consideration after being approved by the Senate Finance Committee. The bill, SB 393 sponsored by Senator Jim Tracy (R-Murfreesboro), prohibits sending or reading text messages or emails on a hand-held mobile phone or personal digital assistant while a driver is operating a motor vehicle in motion.

Over two-thirds of those under the age of 24 who were polled have admitted to sending text messages while driving. Studies show that drivers of any age who text behind the wheel swerve out of their lane, with many running into head-on traffic.

Under the bill, a violation would be a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of no more than $50.00. The legislation would take effect on July 1 if approved by the full Senate and House of Representatives.

Legislation allowing legal gun permit holders to “carry” in restaurants that serve alcohol approved in Senate

The Senate voted 26 to 7 on Thursday to allow law-abiding handgun permit holders to “carry” into restaurants or other establishments serving alcohol as long as the owners of the premises have not posted notification that they are banned. The bill is one of several proposals in the General Assembly this year to allow citizens to exercise their second amendment rights.

Those who are in possession of a handgun are already prohibited from consuming alcohol or face a Class A misdemeanor, which carries a $2,000 fine and up to 11 months and 29 days in jail.

The Senate stripped a restrictive amendment placed on the bill in the House to ban permit holders from carrying in restaurants that serve alcohol between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Also removed from the House version of the bill was a provision to restrict the right of a permit holder to “carry” in age-restricted establishments.

The bill, SB 1127, now goes back to the House for a vote on the Senate’s action to remove these provisions. If the two bodies cannot agree, the measure will go to a Conference Committee to work out the details.

Bills in Brief

Tea Time – Thousands of citizens came to Legislative Plaza in Nashville this week to take part in one of the 24 Tax Day Tea Parties across Tennessee. Citizens participated by holding signs and reading speeches to protest the tax-and-spend policies in Washington. The events in Tennessee are part of a larger grassroots movement against government spending called Taxed Enough Already, or TEA, reminiscent of the Boston Tea Party revolt against taxes 235 years ago.

Tennessee’s bond rating — Tennessee Finance Commissioner Dave Goetz appeared before the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee this week where he told members that all three bond rating agencies have confirmed their confidence in Tennessee’s financial standing by maintaining the state’s bond rating and giving Tennessee a ’stable’ credit outlook. Both Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s held firm their rating of AA+ with a credit outlook of stable. Moody’s Investor Service also maintained its rating at Aa1 with an outlook of stable. In February, Moody’s expressed a negative outlook for the broad sector of all U.S. states.

Farmers – The full Senate voted 29 to 3 to approve legislation this week that gives limited immunity to farmers who participate in “agritourism.” The legislation, SB 2164 sponsored by Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville), applies to events like a “pumpkin patch” or “corn mazing” that farmers may want to have on their property. The measure requires the farmer to post and maintain a sign that warns persons of this bill’s limitation on liability

Wine / Shipping – The full Senate has approved legislation, SB 166 sponsored by Senator Paul Stanley (R-Germantown), to allow consumers to ship wine from wineries to their homes. Currently, it is a felony under Tennessee law to transport wine across state lines. This legislation allows wineries to ship up to three cases of wine per year to Tennessee consumers provided they have license.

“2-1-1″ – State Senators approved a bill putting into place a “2-1-1″ advisory council to advise and assist the Tennessee Regulatory Authority (TRA) in establishing statewide standards that will ensure that the citizens of Tennessee are served by an efficient and effective 2-1-1 service. The “2-1-1 service” is a statewide phone number that connects Tennesseans with community services and volunteer opportunities. The legislation to create an Advisory Council, SB 1210 sponsored by Senator Jamie Woodson (R-Knoxville), will ensure that the quality of service is raised to an even higher level.

In her periodic newsletter and update, Goddard College Professor Catherine Lowther circulates items of interest on environmental issues. With her permission, we pass these items to our readers.

Gland, Switzerland: The world is heading for an ecological credit crunch as human demands on the world’s natural capital reach nearly a third more than earth can sustain.

That is the stark warning contained in the latest edition of WWF’s Living Planet Report, the leading statement of the planet’s health. In addition global natural wealth and diversity continues to decline, and more and more countries are slipping into a state of permanent or seasonal water stress.

“The world is currently struggling with the consequences of over-valuing its financial assets,” said WWF International Director-General James Leape, “but a more fundamental crisis looms ahead — an ecological credit crunch caused by under-valuing the environmental assets that are the basis of all life and prosperity.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

The report, produced with the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the Global Footprint Network (GFN), shows more than three quarters of the world’s people now living in nations that are ecological debtors, where national consumption has outstripped their country’s biological capacity.

“Most of us are propping up our current lifestyles, and our economic growth, by drawing – and increasingly overdrawing – on the ecological capital of other parts of the world,” Mr Leape said.  “If our demands on the planet continue to increase at the same rate, by the mid-2030s we would need the equivalent of two planets to maintain our lifestyles.”

For more information,check out Panda.org , The Living Planet Index, which reflects the health of the planet’s ecosystems; and The Ecological Footprint, which shows the extent of human demand on these ecosystems.

Dreaming the future can create the future. We stand at the threshold of a singular opportunity in the human experiment: To re-imagine how to live on Earth in ways that honor the web of life, each other and future generations. It’s a revolution from the heart of nature — and the human heart. Then again, in the immortal words of Yogi Berra, “The future ain’t what it used to be.” We also stand at the brink of worldwide ecological and civilizational collapse. We face a reckoning from the treacherous breach in our relationship with nature.

Future Scenarios by David Holmgren, author of Permaculture, Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability

FutureScenarios.org presents an integrated approach to understanding the potential interaction between Climate Change and Peak Oil using a scenario planning model. In the process I introduce permaculture as a design system specifically evolved over the last 30 years to creatively respond to futures that involve progressively less and less available energy.

This exploration of energy descent scenarios has been an organic one which began with a didactic intention to highlight how large scale energetic and environmental factors shape history more than ideologies and the heroic actions of individuals. But my purpose was to empower those committed to ecological values and social justice to be effective in their quest to create the world we want, rather than just resist the world we don’t want.

Let us act as if we are part of nature’s striving for the next evolutionary way to creatively respond to the recurring cycles of energy ascent and descent that characterize human history and the more ancient history of Gaia, the living planet. Imagine that our descendants and our ancestors are watching us.

Earth 2100

ABC is producing a special about the earth’s future to air next September and is inviting anyone to submit a 3 minute video about what you think the world will be like in 2015, 2050, and 2100. See trailers and film clips already submitted at http://earth2100.tv/

WASHINGTON, D.C.: The ongoing economic crisis, volatile energy prices, and the rapid increase in global CO2 levels will force critical choices on climate action by the new President in the early days of the next administration, according to a report released today by Clean Air-Cool Planet (CA-CP), an independent organization dedicated to finding and promoting solutions to global warming.

“The next president can lead America and the world in addressing climate change if he links our effort to reduce emissions to the revitalization of our economy and the creation of a more secure energy future.” ~~ Rafe Pomerance, CA-CP’s president.

To advance a new strategy, the report recommends 25 early steps through which the incoming President can establish clear priorities for his administration, build a consensus for legislation in Congress, and inspire the public and private sector to action to reduce the threat of climate change.    “Building a Foundation for Success:  Recommendations for Early Action on Climate Change for the 44th President of the United States” outlines a focused set of actions that can be accomplished within 150 days of taking office, as opposed to prescribing long-term policy outcomes. The actions include organizational steps, administrative and diplomatic initiatives and early approaches with Congress.  Taking account of the changed political situation resulting from high-energy prices and the turbulence in financial markets, CA-CP also proposes a new, auction-based approach to cap and trade legislation that will return 80 percent of the auction revenues to the public through tax reductions.

“The next President will have the opportunity to establish American leadership on climate change with a robust new strategy, but to be successful will require taking early action in a number of areas, including White House organization and the administration’s initial budget proposal,” said Brooks Yeager, executive vice president for policy at CA-CP. “The first steps in crafting a more successful approach have to be taken during the transition and the first 100 days of the administration – and they must lay the foundation for a comprehensive approach which builds a new consensus for action on this critically important issue.”

CA-CP identifies seven broad climate change goals for the upcoming presidential transition:

1. Pick the right team to carry the initiative;
2. Reallocate budget resources, to make climate change a priority;
3. Legislate for economy-wide emissions reductions;
4. Aggressive research and development for low-carbon energy technology;
5. Federal planning for adaptation to climate change impacts;
6. Enable and encourage citizens to build efficiency and conservation in their homes and communities;
7. Re-engage cooperation with international partners.

The recommendations draw on interviews with more than 40 professionals experienced in presidential transitions, senior White House officials and Executive Branch staff from Republican and Democratic administrations, economists and climate change experts.  The agenda is derived out of the concerns of New Hampshire citizens, expressed at the grassroots level and in town meetings during the 2007 primary season.

“In 1961, President Kennedy began the Space Race with the intent to land a man on the moon within the decade. His powerful speeches and leadership were the driving forces in diminishing public skepticism and making a lunar landing a reality,” said Rafe Pomerance, CA-CP’s president, “In a similar way, the next president should inspire citizen engagement on climate action in communities all though America by stressing the moral importance of action, and the growth of clean energy jobs and investments in the future as tools for economic revitalization.”

A link to the entire report and executive summary is online at http://www.cleanair-coolplanet.org/cpc/PLI_report.php

Summary of Early-Action Recommendations by CA-CP

Picking the right team to carry the initiative: The central issue for the next President is how to organize the
Administration’s core team, starting with White House staff, to help him carry out a climate agenda. The President should:

• Establish a transition team focused on climate policy before Inauguration Day.
• Create a National Energy and Climate Council in the White House to ensure a central, empowered entity that reports directly to the President.
• Designate a Special Envoy on Climate Change to undertake initial high-level international contacts.
• Put critical sub-Cabinet positions on the fast track for nomination and confirmation.

Reallocation of budget priorities: The President’s budget proposal for FY2010 is the first key policy opportunity to make climate change a priority. The President should:

• Identify climate change as an early budget priority.
• Include a climate change rebate in the budget of $80 billion annually over 10 years, derived from future carbon auction revenues.
• Expand capacity at key agencies and provide at least $400-500 million to make a new climate strategy operational.
• Increase funding for the Climate Change Science Program from $1.8 billion to $2.1 billion, and to $3 billion byFY2013.
• Increase funding for the Climate Change Technology Program from $3.7 billion to $6 billion, and to $13 billion by FY2015.

Legislation for economy-wide emissions reductions:  New legislation to limit emissions of greenhouse gases is an essential policy step. The President should:

• Articulate principles for Congressional action that include long-term emissions reductions linked to the goal for global emissions reductions of 50% by 2050, and which establish a program with auctioned permits that returns 80% of revenue from the auction process to the American public.
• Establish a White House-Congressional bipartisan working group to shape legislation.

Aggressive research and development for low-carbon energy technology: While currently available technologies can do much to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, new breakthroughs will be needed for the long term. The President should:

• Establish and empower the Advanced Research Projects Administration for Energy (ARPA-E) to embrace a risk-taking culture and a focus on game-changing technology.
• Fully fund ARPA-E start up in a separate funding line in the DOE budget at $150 million in FY2010.

Federal planning for adaptation to climate change impacts: The reality of climate change at the local level is placing a new priority on helping Americans understand and adapt to its impacts. The President should:

• Issue an Executive Order requiring all federal agencies to report on the potential impacts of climate change on their areas of responsibility.
• Increase investment in regional climate change assessments and update regional scientific assessments on vulnerability.
• Restore the “Mission to Planet Earth” as a NASA priority and invest in our capacity to monitor the changing  climate.
• Direct the Secretaries of Commerce, Interior and the EPA Administrator to provide needed information on climate change impacts to the American public through an initial pilot project on water resources.

Enable and encourage citizens to build efficiency and conservation in their Homes and Communities: The next President has the opportunity to mobilize the American public to be more energy efficient in their homes and communities, the most effective strategy for cutting energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions. The President should:

• Initiate a national effort to retrofit half of America’s homes and buildings by 2020 with average energy savings of 30%.
• Support a fundamental change in electric utility rules that creates incentives for electric utility companies to help building owners save energy.
• Call for the establishment of local energy committees across the United States, and direct EPA and DOE to assist local efforts to increase efficiency with information and technical support.

Re-engage cooperation with international partners: Climate change cannot be solved without U.S. leadership for a global response that engages key countries. The President should:

• Direct the Special Envoy on Climate Change to consult with key nations.
• Declare a change in U.S. policy, the centerpiece of which is the commitment to enact a mandatory domestic  emissions reduction program.
• Act early to engage developing countries through bilateral and collective efforts to reduce emissions.
• Initiate or expand practical emissions reductions efforts in which other nations can participate, such as the Methane to Markets Partnership and a cooperative effort to reduce short-lived climate forcing pollutants in the Arctic.
• Fully engage in the U.N.-based international negotiating process.

Depressed about Global Warming? Using amusing and inspiring stories Kilowatt Ours teaches how you can personally make this a greener world.  This 2008 updated version of Kilowatt Ours will be broadcast on Nashville Public Television, NPT Channel 8, on Friday, October 24 at 7:00 pm.

Kilowatt Ours provides simple, practical, affordable solutions to America’s energy crisis and shows how we can save electricity, save money and make a difference for ourselves and the planet. It is unique in that it is a solutions-oriented look at one of America’s most pressing environmental challenges. Yes, this film has solutions for us; it is not “this is too depressing” and it is not “this problem is too big”. 

Filmmaker Jeff Barrie offers hope as he turns the camera on himself and asks, “How can I make a difference?”

In his journey Barrie explores the source of our electricity and the problems caused by energy production including mountain top removal, childhood asthma and global warming. Along the way he encounters individuals, businesses, organizations, and communities who are leading the way, using energy conservation, efficiency and renewable, green power all while saving money and the environment. For more information, visit kilowattours.org

On Thursday, October 2, at 7:30 p.m., the hidden destruction of the Appalachian Mountains will be revealed via the Mountaintop Removal Road Show. This program features a beautiful and thought-provoking multimedia show with traditional Appalachian music and culture.  The “roadshow” takes place at the APSU Sundquist Science Building Room E106B and is free and open to the public. It is presented by S.O.A.R.E., Students Organized to Advance Renewable Energy.

Mountaintop removal. Photo by Viv Stockman @ www.ohvec.org.

Lexington, Kentucky environmental activist Dave Cooper will explain what it is like to live near a mountaintop removal mine, and answer questions.

In Virginia, West Virginia and eastern Kentucky, coal companies blast as much as 600 feet off the top of the mountains, then dump the rock and debris into mountain streams.  Over 300,000 acres of the most beautiful and productive hardwood forests in America have been turned into barren grasslands.  Mountaintop removal mining increases flooding, contaminates drinking water supplies, cracks foundations of nearby homes, and showers towns with dust and noise from blasting.

On September 4, at 7:30 p.m., Dr. Andy Barrass, Department of Biology, Austin Peay State University, will present the Bat Recovery Program for Dunbar Cave. This program will be held at the APSU Sundquist Science center Complex D126 at 7:30 p.m.

Dr. Barrass will also host the October 2 program on the Mountain Top Removal Roadshow with Dave Cooper.This program is designed to educate the public about mountain top removal mining. The Mountaintop Removal Road Show includes a stunning 22-minute slide show about the impacts of mountaintop removal on coalfield residents, communities and the environment, and features traditional Appalachian mountain music and shocking aerial photos of decapitated Appalachian mountains.This program will start at 7:30 p.m.

The groups first annual potluck dinner will be held November 6 at Hilldale United Methodist in the Heritage Hall Room at the back of the church. 6:00 p.m.  The topic for the evening’s program will be Important Bird Areas and the Yucatan, presented by Scott Somershoe of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Sommershoe will give a brief update on the Important Bird Area (IBA) program status in Tennessee and share a recent trip to the Sian Ka’am Biosphere Reserve in the Yucatan peninsula.

“We are working on data collection important for the IBA program, i.e. wading bird surveys, eagle monitoring, etc. I will discuss status and results of statewide monitoring programs. I will also provide an introduction to the Watchable Wildlife Website that I am developing through TWRA. Finally, I will talk about a very recent trip to the Yucatan peninsula, specifically Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, to band birds for a research project.”

– Scott Sommershoe

On December 4, at 7:30 p.m., Richard Tippit of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will review the Corps’ Water Management in the Cumberland River basin.

Clarksville For Obama met recently to do its part in crafting this new national party platform. About 50 people converged at “Get Some Coffee” at the Great Escape Theater Complex along Trenton Road for Clarksville’s “Listen to America” event. Jim Robertson and Tyrone Taylor, Clarksville for Obama and Tennessee for Obama members, respectively, co-chaired the event. The meeting objective was to choose five topic areas, brainstorm to finalize, prioritize and develop enactment of those particular interest proposals. Five brainstorming groups were formed to consider the specific topics.

The final work product as developed by Clarksville area residents, concluded in the following the proposals:

War:

• Improve foreign relations with the international community and NATO.
• Reinstate Baker-Hamilton
• Address improving the Veterans Administration: elevate it to full presidential cabinet department status and non-discretionary funding
• Upgrade soldiers and veterans health care; command leadership must recognize its responsibility to support soldiers in all aspects of health care, including casting aside negative connotations regarding seeking mental health care
• Aggressive support for improving support systems for active duty military families and the families of service member casualties

Education:

• More funding of regularly budget-reduction targeted curriculum subjects of music and the arts.
• Increase funding and support for counseling and counselors.
• Support calls for quality teachers nationwide
• Encourage a 100 percent high school graduation rate.

Environment:

• Lessen dependence on foreign oil and petroleum-based energy
• Support and fund alternative energy generation and fuel development.
• Look beyond corn-based ethanol and bio-diesel development
• Wind and solar energy technologies must also be made part of the national energy profile
• Encourage and promote local recycling programs to prolong and extend useful lifespan of local landfills

Health Care:

• Establish universal health care coverage
• Exclude pre-existing condition penalties
• Include dental and mental health care coverage in addition to physical health care
• Shift Medicare and Medicaid to a universal insurance plan

Economy:

• Aggressive support for mass transit nationwide
• Insist on concentrated attention to infrastructure needs fund repair of roads, bridges, levees and waterways
• Institute a living wage and universal child care
• Encourage small business development and operations
• Encourage private individual savings and aggressively reduce the national debt

These five proposals were formalized and forwarded to the National Obama Presidential Committee for inclusion in a final report to the National Democratic Committee. This action is being repeated across the nation as the American people come together to formulate their party’s national focus for the next four years. Such initiatives truly represent citizen empowerment.

For more information on the local Clarksville for Obama group, or to sign up to host a house party, get assistance in hosting such an event or otherwise support the Obama campaign, visit their website at: <www.clarksvilleforobama.com.>

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In a great many ways, we live safer lives today than our parents and grandparents ever did. Western civilization’s emphasis on science and engineering has driven incredible progress in our understanding of the world. Because our understanding of the world is imperfect, and our social systems fractious and chaotic, we still make mistakes.

The result of this progress, unfortunately, is that much of Western civilization teeters precariously at the top of a technological pyramid. Remove the non-stop infusions of energy and goods, add a little natural or man-made disaster, and that balancing act rapidly devolves into chaos.

In this, the fourth installment of this series, we will discuss the material preparations required to support your emergency plans.

Yes, people, that means it’s time to talk about MREs, radios, and guns. (Actually, guns will be covered in part 5, but you get the idea.)

This is the fourth installment out of five in a multi-part series on personal disaster preparedness. Your humble correspondent is a Silicon Valley technical executive with both professional and personal experience in risk assessment and disaster-readiness planning.

When disaster strikes, will you be prepared?

Despite what you may have gathered from reading guides to readiness from the government, the Red Cross, or other organizations, you should not begin with a spending spree at the local hardware store.

In this installment, we will discuss emergency gear, supplies, and other preparations for disaster including training and community organization.

Material Preparations

Even the most ruggedly self-reliant wilderness survival types will tell you that material preparations are critical to putting your plan into action. In this section, we will review categories of material preparations you may need to support your plan.

Batteries, chargers, and adapters: stop the insanity

As you plan your various preparedness kits, take note of everything you want to include which uses batteries or an external power source. Now, look at all the chargers, connectors, adapters, and battery types required to support your gear.

Whoa.

Wherever possible, reduce and consolidate the number of dependencies you have on different types of cord, adapter, and battery. See Active Communications below for suggestions on how to standardize on USB power for charging phones, PDAs, and other pocket electronics. Minimize single points of failure wherever possible.

Your communications plan

In previous installments, we have discussed the requirement that each plan include a rendezvous point at one or more safe locations. After all, communication doesn’t get much more direct and reliable than talking to someone face-to-face.

Before everyone in your group has made it safely to the rendezvous point, though, there’s no substitute for a solid communications plan. Here’s where you get to benefit from some of your correspondent’s hard-won arcane knowledge of telecommunication systems in North America.

Quick, name the public voice communications service that will be brought online first after a major disaster. Home phones? Nope. Business lines? Negative. Cellphones? Not likely.

Give up? The answer: pay phones. Yes, that dying breed, those dinosaur relics of the pre-cellphone age will be a shining beacon of civilization in the aftermath of a disaster.

Recommendation: All emergency kits should include a $10 roll of quarters and prepaid phone cards from two major long-distance providers.

Why two major long-distance providers? In the chaos following a natural disaster, especially an earthquake, it’s hard to predict which portions of the phone network will be reliable and which will fail. Having two different long-distance providers gives you a much better shot at getting a call to go through.

Recommendation: Take one of your city/region maps and go on a payphone hunt. Find at least two payphones within walking/biking distance of home and work and mark the locations of each on the map. When you’re done copy those locations to the map in each of your emergency kits.

Next quiz question: are you more likely to be able to complete a call to a local number, a number in a different part of your state, or a number in a different state altogether?

The answer, surprisingly, is that interstate long-distance calls are the most likely to go through in an emergency. This is because these calls are handed off from your local phone company to the long-distance networks at special “tandem” switching locations in every city.

Recommendation: Each family member and each emergency kit MUST have a durable card (i.e. laminated) with comprehensive contact information, including multiple out-of-state emergency contacts. Enlist the help of distant friends or relatives to act as a message switchboard in a crisis. This is a proven, reliable technique for reuniting separated family members when local communications are degraded or offline. If you take away nothing else from the recommendations in this series, for the love of Bob take this one and run with it. Take care of it today. Now. Go! DailyKos will still be here when you get back.

Finally, let us speak for a moment of the oft-overlooked capabilities of our mobile phones. As mentioned above, making or receiving voice calls will be bloody near impossible in many disaster situations. However, I’ll let you in on a little secret:

If your mobile phone can register with the network, it is very likely that you will be able to send and receive text messages even if you can’t make a voice call.

Recommendation: Everyone named in your emergency plan should have a mobile phone capable of text messaging, and should know how to send and receive text messages. Using a single network provider for the whole family will further increase your chances of getting text messages through quickly during a crisis.

Here’s another one:

Wireless data services offered by the mobile network operators will frequently be available even when voice calling is severely degraded or offline altogether. Exhibit A: the bloggers roaming flooded New Orleans this week, filing reports and pictures using laptops with access to the Verizon wireless data network.

At the time of this writing (Sep 2005) this is still a relatively expensive proposition for most people, at $40-$80/month. However, most mobile phones available in the US offer browser-based access to online services via those same wireless data networks. In addition, network operators are beginning to offer mobile email services at very low cost, with email programs that run on your phone and integrate with major service providers such as Yahoo!.

[Disclosure: your correspondent is co-founder of a company which makes email products for many mobile network operators.]

Recommendation: Familiarize yourself with the wireless-data capabilities of your phone. If you have an free email account with a major service provider, look into whether access to your email account is available via the browser on your phone. Consider signing up for a service which will give you direct access to email on your phone.

Let us say a few things about a few things you might need

To a certain extent, training and planning can compensate quite a bit for failure to plan for your physical needs in an emergency situation. However, it would be foolhardy to expect that you can get through a week of widespread municipal service outages and civil disturbance with nothing more than a solid plan and pure thoughts.

We have now come to the point in this series that everyone was eager to get to when Part 1 was posted — what emergency planners call “logistics”, and you, dear reader, might call “gear, goods, and guns”.

The Part 3 section entitled ‘Key planning considerations for your preparedness plan’ breaks down material needs into a list of categories. Your correspondent is a firm believer in breaking down intimidating problems into manageable, logically organized chunks. The hope is that by considering each separately, it will be for the reader easier to understand the requirements and trade-offs for each category, and then fit that into the reader’s larger understanding of preparedness planning.

Each requirement category includes solutions in three categories:

• Best-of-breed options are, generally speaking, commercially available but you’ll pay for the convenience
• Cheap-and-cheerful options are alternative solutions for emergency needs which may not be as polished or neatly packaged as commercial products, but are generally much cheaper than best-of-breed choices
• Improvised solutions are what you can fall back on if, for example, the best-of-breed gear you bought is destroyed or taken from you

We will begin by discussing the individual categories, and then proceed to assembly of these items into preparedness kits. In [Part 3], your correspondent shared his pragmatic view of the correct way to approach disaster preparedness. In particular, plans which rely on rotation of supplies on a frequent basis are vulnerable to failure. It’s just human nature. This must be balanced against the need to exercise due care in maintaining your preparedness plan and supplies, hence my clear policy on this issue:”Material preparations MUST NOT require inspection more than once per year, and MUST still be capable of meeting minimum safety/usability requirements if left unattended for FOUR YEARS.”

Without further ado, let’s get down and dirty. I fully expect some of my suggestions to spark debate, and likewise, I expect to learn more about effective preparedness solutions from the comments. Please keep in mind that budgets and urgency levels do vary, and try to respect the limitations some of your fellow Kossacks may have in preparing for disaster.

Water, water, everywhere but not a drop to drink

Water is heavy, bulky, and absolutely vital to human survival. The so-called “standard human” can survive for up to 30 days without food, but even under the most favorable conditions will die after 5-7 days without water. That number decreases precipitously in adverse circumstances such as high heat and/or high levels of exertion. In a crisis, safe drinking water is a precious commodity, more valuable than you can imagine.

Quantity: One gallon per day per person, half that for portable water rations. While waste should be carefully avoided (see Sanitation, below) each person should drink as much as they need to stay hydrated. As soon as you tap into your stored water supply, you MUST begin working to identify additional sources of drinkable water. In some circumstances, this could mean preparing to evacuate.

IMPORTANT TIP: all-in-one powdered drink mixes such as Gatorade, lemonade, etc. are wonderful for breaking up the monotony of drinking plain water from your emergency supply. They’re also good for covering any taste left in the water after filtration and/or purification. Be sure to store some in each of your long-term preparedness kits.

We will discuss three subcategories of water supply: bulk stored water, portable stored water, and clean-water production from available supply.

Bulk stored water

There are many ways of ensuring that you will have water available when your life depends on it, but only a few will meet your author’s demanding standards for longevity and safety.

Recommendations:

Best-of-breed: Brand-new, food-grade FDA-certified water storage barrels; water treated with 5-year preserver concentrate.

Required accessories:

• 5-year preserver concentrate
• new siphon pump
• new water-grade siphon tube as backup to pump (store separately from pump, in household emergency kit)
• bung wrench for installing/removing plugs
• waterproof tape & permanent marker for labeling barrel with date filled/refilled
• 5-7 gallon container with on/off tap to hold water pumped from barrel

Recommended: tamper-evident seals.Store barrels away from direct sunlight, in a cool location if possible. If you live in earthquake country, your correspondent strongly recommends storing your supply in two separate barrels, with one barrel located away from your home or residence. If you do not have a shed or other shelter, consider storing your outdoor water barrel in a large UV-resistant garbage can, which should be hidden and/or locked.

Water stored in barrels should be replaced every 3 years, at a cost of approximately $15 for water preserver concentrate and barrel seals.

Cheap-and-cheerful: Water in plastic bottles will generally ‘keep’ for up to a year. Because this is a commodity that is consumed under normal circumstances, care must be taken to maintain adequate stock on hand. Define your minimum level of safe inventory and DO NOT GO BELOW THAT LEVEL.

While any good preparedness plan should include some bottled water, as it is highly portable and the bottles are reusable, your correspondent is NOT a fan of this as your main water-storage measure. You need to rotate it too often, you’re likely to drink your reserves by accident, and it’s MUCH more expensive than barrel storage.

10-year cost comparison:
55-gallon barrel, all accessories including preserver: $150
55 gallons of Trader Joe’s bottled water in 1L bottles: $1100

Improvised, part 1: If time is more available than money, you can maintain an emergency water supply by dumping/refilling clean and sterilized 2-liter bottles with tap water every 3 months.

Wash the bottles with a weak soap solution, rinse thoroughly. Rinse bottles with a solution of diluted unscented bleach (pure 5% sodium hypochlorite), rinse until no chlorine smell remains. Cap tightly, apply tape label indicating date filled, store in a dark, safe location at/near floor level. Empty and refill (no wash/sterilization required) every 3 months.

Improvised, part 2a for house-dwellers: This should be your absolute last-resort backup plan. As soon as water pressure drops off, which generally indicates an integrity failure in the water supply, shut off the master water valve to your house. Your emergency water supply now consists of the 1-2 gallons of water in the flush tank of each of your toilets (NOT the water in the bowl!!!) and the contents of your hot-water heater. Make sure nobody flushes a toilet before you recover that fresh water from the flush tank!

Because contamination may have entered your water supply before pressure failed, this water should be considered suspect. At a minimum, either purify it (see below) or boil it for 10 minutes before drinking.

Improvised, part 2b for apartment-dwellers: Same basic idea as the previous measures. If you can, fill the tub and any available containers with water before pressure fails. If pressure fails, turn off the water supply to your toilet and recover the water from the flush tank as outlined above. Water stored in the tub or other open containers should be considered potentially contaminated and must be purified or 10-minute-boiled before use.

Portable stored water

While bottled water isn’t recommended for long-term storage, a portable water supply is a must-have for vehicle and work preparedness kits. At home, you will want to be able to take a supply of water with you if you need to evacuate, and a full 55-gallon barrel weighs around 465 pounds.

Recommendations:

Best-of-breed: Aqua Blox or equivalent 5-year-stable “juice box” style water. Ignore the outrageous claims and treat each 3-pack as a minimal one-day supply for one person. Supplement with an additional 750mL of bottled water per person per day, rotated at least yearly.

Cheap-and-cheerful: Just buy the damn Aqua Blox. Seriously. They’re around $1.09 for a 3-pack. If you insist, you can go exclusively with bottled water in rotated yearly, but this is cheap peace of mind.

Improvised: Any clean, watertight container can be used to hold or transport drinking water for a few days. If your only means of storing a temporary supply of water is a (very clean) bucket, cover the bucket as well as possible and subject it to purification, filtration, and/or 10-minute-boiling before use. If you have a sufficient supply of unscented bleach drops or other means of chemical purification, consider adding it to the container at fill time as a preventive measure.

Clean-water production from available supply

The lightest water of all is the water you don’t have to carry. There may be situations where you are unable to transport sufficient water, but will have access to some form of fresh water. In a disaster, the only water you can trust is water that you’ve stored yourself, and water in a factory-sealed bottle or jug. Any other water must be considered suspect.

There are three main methods for making water safe to drink:

Purification through chemical treatment or 10 minutes of boiling. The downside is that chemical treatment may make the water taste anywhere from barely tolerable to horrible, and may not be effective against some microorganisms. Boiling uses up valuable energy resources. The upside is that either one can generate enough clean water to keep you alive if you have the resources to purify suspect water.

Filtration can be extremely effective, especially with today’s incredibly advanced filtering technology. However, filtration may not remove viruses (depends on filter in question) or chemical contamination (requires an activated-charcoal filter). Your correspondent considers filtration the minimum safeguard for drinking water from any source (even barrel-stored water) in a disaster.

Distillation is energy-intensive, but yields clean, safe water that generally tastes better than purified water. Chemically contaminated water should be run through an activated-charcoal filter before distillation. (If the water has any sort of smell, assume that it requires filtration and proceed accordingly.) This is not generally a viable method in a disaster.

Recommendations:

Best-of-breed, personal: Exstream Orinoco or Exstream Mackenzie water bottle purification system, hands down. There may be others out there, but these beasties are amazing. Works with any freshwater source, regardless of organic contamination or virus load. Deploy minimum one per preparedness kit, especially vehicle and work kits. Spare filter and cleaning materials recommended.

Best-of-breed, group: First Need Deluxe Portable Water Purifier/Filter, recommend one unit with spare filter catridge and cleaning materials for each group preparedness kit.

Cheap-and-cheerful: One Exstream bottle purifier as a backup to stored and bottled water supply. Alternatively, Aqua Mira water treatment solution will kill viruses and microorganisms but will do nothing for solid contaminants.

Improvised: In your correspondent’s preparedness kit, you will find a zip-lock bag containing an empty water bottle, a dozen 6″ paper laboratory filters, a funnel, an eyedropper, and a relabeled medicine bottle containing pure 5% sodium hypochlorite bleach. If you take the bottle out of the bag, the whole thing fits into a cargo pocket. This is my last resort for clean drinking water, and you shouldn’t consider it if there are ANY other options. One drop of bleach per 16oz filtered water, let stand for 30 minutes before drinking. See above for much better alternatives.

OK, we’re not going to die of thirst – got anything to eat?

As the machines said to Neo in The Matrix: Revolutions, “There are levels of survival we are willing to accept.” You need to decide what your priorities are when it comes to emergency nutrition. In a nutshell: long shelf life, tastes good, cheap… pick any two. Dehydrated food generally tastes much better than long-shelf-life MRE-type food.

As with water supplies, there are different trade-offs for stored food vs. portable rations. The storage space required, increased weight, and decreased packaging efficiency of stored food can be a good trade-off for lower per-meal costs and better-tasting meals. On the other hand, portable food needs to be light, resource-efficient (no dehydrated stuff!) and extremely convenient.

Rough order of priority for consuming food stores fresh foods on hand:

1. Frozen foods on hand
2. Canned food with low water content
3. Canned food with high water content
4. Shelf-stable prepared foods (MREs)
5. Shelf-stable rations (ER food bars)
6. Dehydrated/dry foods (backpacking meals, pancake mix, etc.)

If dehydrated foods are part of your nutrition plan, and water is not an issue (all water supplies intact/known-good and water for rehydration included in planning) then move “dehydrated/dry foods” up to #3.

Stored food

Best-of-breed: Mountain House Easy Meal Security-Pak, will feed a family of 5 for 9+ days. NOTE: Requires water for preparation, budget 25% additional water supply for food prep. Hot water not required for preparation, but highly desirable.

Cheap-and-cheerful: Once your stock of fresh & frozen food is exhausted: canned foods (rotate regularly) supplemented with instant noodles, etc. as water supplies permit. Keep in mind that all of the water used to prepare a cup of instant noodles ends up in you, albeit with some salt. Not very calorie-dense, however.

Improvised: There’s not much substitute for being prepared when it comes to food. If your issue is money and/or storage space, consider supplementing your normal stock of food with some Emergency Ration food bars, which are shelf-stable for 5 years and very affordable.

Portable food

Best-of-breed: MREs or canned food. MREs have the advantage that you can get cheap just-add-water chemical meal warmers to heat them up, whereas canned food needs a backpacker stove if you don’t want to eat it cold.

Cheap-and-cheerful: Emergency Ration food bars. You don’t have to like them, you just have to survive. Packaging says you can live on 1200 calories/day, but I don’t call that living. Figure 1800 calories/day minimum per person, 2400 calories/day for a male engaged in heavy activity as the worst case. Remember, everything tastes better when you’re hungry and there’s nothing else to eat.

Improvised: Candy bars and cookies will keep you going for a few days, though you’ll feel like crap a lot of the time. Sealed packages of trail mix keep pretty well, but rotate them every 6 months. Avoid caffeinated soft drinks if water is in short supply, as they have a dehydrating effect. Beyond that… does your neighbor have a dog?

Food preservation

While we will be discussing ways to power your refrigerator and/or standalone freezer in an emergency later on, you need to plan for the possibility that you may not have that option. The recommendations are the same regardless of circumstance:

• Buy one or more of the new “5-day” super-insulated coolers, sized appropriately for your household. If you have an older cooler, replace it with a new 5-day model. Tip: get one with wheels. If you need to relocate on foot, this will make it much easier to take your cooler.
• If you have room in the freezer, freeze a number of water bottles and keep them frozen. Be sure to freeze bottles capable of expanding; Trader Joe’s 750mL and 1L bottles are perfect for this, and cheap.
• If the power goes out and stays out, unload all of your ice and frozen food into the bottom of your new 5-day cooler(s).
• Transfer only those refrigerated items that will actually be consumed to the coolers. Anything that goes unused wastes ice.
• Keep the cooler(s) closed as much as possible
• Keep the cooler(s) in a cool location. If you are sheltering in your back yard or similar location, consider digging a hole for each cooler; line the hole with a tarp and shade the cooler if possible

One final note, for households who depend on refrigeration to keep medication from going bad: your priorities for any capacity to keep things chilled will be quite different. In addition to prioritizing medication over food in the cooler, you might also consider getting one of the small car-sized mini-refrigerators which runs off 12VDC.

Food preparation

You can certainly survive indefinitely eating cold prepared foods, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to like it. For many people, the lack of a hot bitter caffeinated beverage in the morning represents the true end of civilization. With a little planning, this can be avoided. Note that all of the options here are dual-use equipment, and are useful in an emergency and at a campsite.

Best-of-breed: In this writer’s opinion, it’s difficult to beat the versatility of the Coleman Roadtrip Grill with dual burners and interchangeable griddle, grill, and stove inserts. It will run off of 16oz propane cylinders (expensive, but easy to store) or, with an accessory hose, the more economical refillable propane cylinders. At the risk of sounding like a Coleman shill, your correspondent also heartily recommends the Coleman Hot Water On Demand. If you happen to have some non-potable water in addition to an ample supply of drinking water, you can even use it to take a hot shower. Note, however, that the Coleman HWOD does use a rechargeable battery, so plan on having access to an AC power point to recharge it every 40 gallons or so.

Recommended fuel for the above: one 20lb propane cylinder with adapter hose, plus 12 1lb disposables as a backup. Double the number of 1lb disposables if you get a Hot Water On Demand.

Cheap-and-cheerful: It’s hard to beat the good old basic propane stove — but a dual-fuel stove that will run on unleaded gasoline is a better choice for emergencies. Another popular option is the good old outdoor grill — if you’re creative, you can warm or cook just about anything on the grill. Some grills even have an accessory burner which works great for making soup or hot beverages.

Improvised: Well, not truly improvised, but the most frugal option for cooking heat is military-surplus trioxane bars burned in an Esbit mini-stove. While trioxane is supposedly non-toxic, you should plan on using it with at least a little ventilation.

One final note: if you wander the aisles of camping gear at your local outdoors or sporting-goods store, you will see many zero-power alternatives to familiar kitchen gear. Camping equipment is a particularly good source of food-preparation gear for your preparedness kit.

A capful of bleach to a gallon of water, or a bit of bleach in a wet dishrag, can sanitize just about antythin; use with caution as fumes can be toxic. In disaster clean-ups, though, it is cheap and effective.

Sanitation — what’s that smell? Ew!

You should assume that, in an emergency, there will be no water available to wash dishes or flush toilets, and minimal (if any) water available for personal hygiene. This will be a challenge for most Americans, who are accustomed to taking a nice, hot shower or bath at least once per day.

Kitchen sanitation

Assuming that water is in short supply, kitchen sanitation can be a challenge. You may need to improvise. If you are being careful to prepare only as much food as people can eat, the task is simplified somewhat. Paper towels and sanitizing wipes can be an effective means of cleaning up pots and pans. Dry sand makes an excellent improvised pot-scrubber. Be sure that any cooking vessels, dishes, or utensils are clean and dry before storing them for the next meal.

Personal hygiene

For personal cleanliness in emergency situations, the author relies on a few common items: moist baby wipes, waterless hand cleaner/degreaser, and hand sanitizer. You can, in fact, get reasonably clean all over using only baby wipes. Your correspondent’s preparedness kits include quite a few sealed “bricks” of unscented baby wipes stored in individual ziplock “freezer” bags. (As a side note, ziplock bags are one of the greatest inventions of all time. If I had to be stranded on a desert island with only three things, I’d take ziplock bags, a pack of cable ties, and my Leatherman.) Note also that baby wipes make a superior toilet paper substitute.

Likewise, alcohol-based hand sanitizer is quite useful. Keeping your hands and face clean can be difficult but is very important in avoiding infections and disease during a disaster. (See Medical below for discussion of various disposable gloves.)

Finally, all emergency kits should have a supply of feminine hygiene products. Many of these materials are dual-use for medical response in an emergency.

Potty breaks

And then there’s the call of nature, i.e. the human need to eliminate bodily wastes. You MUST have a plan for dealing with this. Fortunately, this need can be met simply and inexpensively.

In my opinion, the best solution is the Reliance Luggable Loo. This is about as simple as it gets — it’s a toilet seat affixed to a 5-gallon bucket. Be sure to acquire a supply of Bio-Blue or similar product, and store it in your Loo along with toilet paper, baby wipes (see above) and a roll of thick, strong trash bags. You do NOT want these bags to break or leak, as they will be serving as the liner in your Loo, and then tied off for removal and disposal.

Electricity — sweet, sweet AC current

Face it, you live an electricity-centric lifestyle. You’re reading this very Diary on a computer powered by the stuff, connected to the Internet which depends on ultra-reliable electric power. If you’ve ever been in your house during a power outage, you probably noticed how much quieter it was without the humming and whirring of your electric lifestyle.

When most people think about electricity in a disaster, they immediately think “I gotta get me a generator!” Well, generators are nice, but for many people they’re overkill. Let’s look at some of the alternatives.

Power generation

Portable generator: Noisy, which can draw the attention of folks who, shall we say, didn’t consider preparedness before the big quake hit. They can, however, be tremendously useful, and are relatively fuel-efficient if you keep the running load in the 50-60% range of the generator’s rated capacity. Not normally designed to run 24×7, and a couple weeks of continuous operation will seriously shorten the time to rebuild.

Permanently installed generator: Convenient, can be set up to kick in automatically if the power goes out. Generally quieter than portables, but still noisy. Diesel units are available, which is nice because the authorities are much more amenable to you storing significant quantities of diesel fuel than, say, gasoline. (It’s that whole explosion thing, y’know.) If you live in the country, LP-fueled generators may also be an option worth considering.

Solar array with battery bank: Dual-use, doesn’t directly pollute, amount of energy available depends on size of solar array, size and number of batteries, etc. Expensive up-front costs, pays for itself especially if your state subsidizes residential solar.

The inverter alternative

As we discussed, though, for many people these options are either overkill or represent a serious financial burden. If you think about it, a generator is basically an internal-combustion engine attached to a device that converts the mechanical energy into electricity. Can you think of anywhere you might find a convenient, quiet, well-maintained internal combustion engine?

Yes, grasshopper, I’m talking about your car. With a DC-to-AC inverter, you can run your refrigerator, enough CFL lights to illuminate your main room nicely, a AA/C/D-cell battery charger, your laptop, and so forth — all at the same time. In fact, you can get an inverter big enough to do this for under $200.

One word about running that fridge, though: modern refrigerators are fairly frugal in their steady-state energy usage, with two exceptions: when it first starts up (up to 2500W for 1-2 sec!) and when you open the door and all of those nice lights come on (700W). Consider disconnecting all the light bulbs and use a flashlight.

If you go this route, keep in mind that your vehicle will probably be idling at least half of the time you’re using the inverter so you can avoid killing your battery. You will need to figure out how much fuel your car or truck uses per hour at idle to plan effectively. This isn’t too hard:

• Fill up your gas tank and a plastic fuel can with graduated markings on the side.
• Drive directly home, turn off your car, and top off the tank.
• Note the level on the fuel can. Write it down.
• Turn the AC to full blast, and your headlights on high beam. Leave the door open so the interior lights will be on. This is to simulate the worst-case load of the inverter.
• Start your car and let it idle for 15 minutes exactly, then turn it off.
• Top off your gas tank from the fuel can.
• Note the new fuel level in the fuel can. Write it down.
• Subtract level reading 1 from level reading 2, and multiply by 4. This is the number of gallons per hour.

Keep in mind that once you eat all of the food in your fridge and freezer, or transfer it into a cooler (hint) you can greatly extend your fuel supply by only running this setup part of the day.It’s also a very good idea to keep one of those self-contained jumpstart packs handy in case you run your battery down too much to start your car. (Let’s be honest — those jumpstart power packs are a great thing to have in your trunk no matter what!)

The advanced electric-systems hacker might consider acquiring one or more large sealed lead-acid batteries and a DC-DC charger. Depending on sizing, this could enable round-the-clock power for your inverter when coupled with a couple of hours of charging off the car’s power (or any AC power source) each day.

One final tip on this subject: consider acquiring a length of appropriately-sized flexible metal ducting to enable you to safely run your vehicle in a closed garage. (Obviously, if your exhaust system leaks this is a bad idea regardless of any ducting between the tailpipe and the outdoors.) Be sure to get a roll of high-temperature metallic tape (auto-parts store) to get a reasonably good seal between the ducting and the tailpipe(s). If you don’t know how to do this safely, don’t even try it. Run your vehicle with the garage door open, but post a guard the entire time it’s running.

Transportation – the burden and blessing of America

For this section, we’re going to assume you own at least one vehicle. (Sorry, city-dwellers, you already know what your options are. Consider getting a bike and helmet if you’re worried about evacuating under your own power.) We shall also presume that your vehicle is reasonably functional and runs on gasoline. The type of fuel factors into fuel storage limitations.

Chest-thumping about “I never let my tank get below half-empty” aside, assume for a moment that the crisis hits and your gas gauge is near E. Even if you want to evacuate from the region in your vehicle, this is not an auspicious way to start your adventure. At a minimum, you should keep a 5-gallon reserve supply of fuel in an accessible location.

The Authorities, for good reason, frown on private citizens storing more than about 25 gallons of gas at home. Even that should be in securely sealed, high-strength 5-gallon containers. Your humble correspondent has found that surplus NATO 5-gallon fuel cans, suitably cleaned and painted with Rustoleum primer and red gloss, are excellent for storing fuel safely. These cans are quite possibly strong enough that I could use one hold up my truck for a tire change. Don’t bother asking questions about how much fuel is stored at the author’s home — it’s enough for my plans, and it’s stored safely, and that’s all I’m saying.

A couple of notes about storing fuel:

• Gasoline requires a stabilizing additive to last more than 60-90 days. The most popular product on the market is Sta-Bil. Be sure to check out the ‘Lawn Mower Racing link at the Sta-Bil site. :)
• TIP: A double dose of Sta-Bil (4oz per 5-gallon can) will keep gas fresh for 24 months.
• Every year, use half of your stored fuel to fill up your vehicle and refill the cans with fresh fuel and more Sta-Bil. Put a piece of tape on each can with the fill-up date.
• TIP: Pick a holiday (e.g. Memorial Day) and rotate your stored fuel on that holiday every year. It’s much easier to remember.
• IMPORTANT: Any significant quantity of stored gasoline should be NOT be in your house, or in a building attached to your house. If you don’t have a shed, Rubbermaid makes inexpensive, durable outdoor storage in a variety of sizes and shapes. Plan on adding a hasp and outdoor-rated combination lock to whatever outdoor storage you use. (Don’t use a keyed lock unless you put a key into a combination-access lockbox nearby, and even then it’s not a great idea.)

A few more notes about surplus NATO fuel cans:

• Gasoline storage containers are legally required to be bright red in color in the US and (I think) Canada.
• Surplus 5-gallon NATO fuel cans MUST be cleaned and rust-inhibiting primer applied before the bright-red paint goes on.
• Plan on replacing the rubber gasket as soon you buy your NATO can(s), even if it’s a “like-new” can. Rubber decays over time, and gaskets are cheap insurance.
• Used NATO cans may have fuel residue from fuels other than gas. Plan on rinsing each one out 2-3 times with a few ounces of clean gas. Capture the contaminated runoff in a sealed container. Your local fire department can assist you in safely disposing of it.
• Don’t forget a NATO-spec fuel spout! Without it, you’ll be struggling with funnels, and that’s just lame.
• NATO cans are not C.A.R.B. compliant, and if you use a NATO can for gasoline in California you are a Very Bad Person who clearly Does Not Care About The Environment.

Finally, consider that you may need to, er, liberate fuel from an abandoned vehicle or storage tank at some point. Traditional tube siphons are extremely hazardous to your health when used for fuels. Consider investing in a self-priming siphon to avoid a mouthful of gas or diesel.

Environment — keeping warm, keeping cool

Human beings have a remarkably narrow range of “comfortable” temperatures, compared to many other organisms. Get us outside that comfort zone for too long, and things start to get ugly, not to mention smelly and/or hypothermic. We’ll focus on keeping warm, since Part 3 included quite a bit of information on how to survive a heat wave.

Keeping warm and healthy in weather which is cold, wet, or both is a life-threatening challenge. The two easiest ways to make the best of an available heat source are (1) contain the heat in a smaller space, and (2) keep more of the heat in that space by blocking absorption or escape.

For (1), your correspondent recommends having a roll of plastic sheeting and duct tape handy. (Yes, I know, plastic and duct tape, ha ha.) These materials can be used to increase heat retention (additional layer of air barrier over windows & unused doors) and block off areas of the dwelling which are not absolutely required.

For (2), covering hard flooring and exterior walls with rugs or blankets is highly desirable in a cold-weather crisis. The reason European royalty were so into tapestries, in reality, was that they helped cut down on drafts.

Finally, heating. Keep in mind that your central heating will not work without power to the control electronics and main unit. If your plan for staying alive in a week-long winter storm involves your central heating unit, you’d better find a way to supply it with electric power.

We will assume that if you live in a cold-weather climate, you are aware of the various options for grid-independent heating, such as wood, coal or pellet stoves, kerosene heaters, and so forth. If you own a home in such a climate and do not have any such resources, you need to do something about it ASAP.

For emergencies in general and apartment dwellers in particular, the author urges caution in choosing an emergency indoor heat source. While there may be other alternatives, the only indoor-safe portable heat source worth mentioning is the Coleman Catalytic Heater product line. The downside is that if you’re going to count on this type of heater to get you through 3-5 days of freezing temperatures, you’d better stock up on the 1lb propane canisters. You will need at least 3 canisters per day to keep it running.

Active communications — direct vs. short-range vs. long-range

XM Satelite Radio

Being able to communicate with the world outside the disaster zone can, and frequently has, made the difference between life and death for survivors of the initial event. Most people are already 90% prepared for this situation, but in an emergency extending over the course of a week or more, that extra 10% is a killer.

Direct signaling

There’s a helicopter flying over your neighborhood and you’re stranded at your house with a disabled relative and no means of transportation and no working means of communications. What do you do?

First, you need to get the attention of the aircrew. Do not shoot flares at the helicopter, as this tends to make pilots nervous. However, stick-type road flares arranged in a geometric pattern (triangle, square, whatever you can manage) will attract attention. Likewise, in the daytime a signaling mirror used to flash light from the sun at the aircrew is a good attention-getter. At night, an LED strobe (e.g. the kind used by runners and bicyclists at dusk) brought to a high point at your location is also extremely visible.

Next, you need to get your message seen. Your correspondent likes to think big, as is noticeable-in-aerial-photography big. Contrasting paint on a light or dark background (roof, street) in letters 1m (3ft) tall will catch anyone’s attention. Failing that, make a sign using a sheet and stake down the corners. And for Bob’s sake, try to get the spelling right.

Recommended supplies: 3 large cans blaze-orange spray paint, replaced every 3-4 years or when used (however little); signaling mirror; LED flasher with spare batteries (lithium batteries last a very long time in the box; replace every 5 years)

Finally, be ready for rescue. Enough said.

Short-range comms

A popular notion among many halfway-prepared individuals is that FRS radios will be useful in an emergency. I’ve got news for you: not bloody likely.

First, if you live in the author’s city or many like it, FRS (and its more powerful cousin, GMRS) will be used in a disaster to coordinate search-and-rescue teams. This is the case in most cities with CERT teams. If you, or more likely, your 9-year-old daughter, starts yammering on the radio when my team is conducting a search-and-recovery operation, you will be told in no uncertain terms to cease transmitting on my channel. Take a look at Fremont’s CERT Communication Plan for an example of how we use FRS radio.

Low-tech is a good way to go for short-range communications: buy everyone a whistle, and agree on a few basic signals. You can get incredibly loud emergency whistles for only a few dollars. I’m a particular fan of the Coghlan’s Six Function Whistle which incorporates an LED light, a compass, a magnifier, a thermometer, and a signal mirror. Between the LED light, the whistle and the signal mirror, you should be able to get someone’s attention.

Finally, if you are a neighborhood or group leader, seriously consider picking up an electronic bullhorn with spare batteries. The author knows from experience that he’s not a terribly effective organizer if he loses his voice from shouting too much. Get one on eBay and seal it into a waterproof bag. Note that this is also a very useful item for search and rescue operations.

Long range comms

For the prepared individual, having a range of options in the plan for communicating outside the disaster zone is a must. (See Communications Plan above.) Let’s discuss a few of the ways one can prepare.

Personal Locator Beacon: also known as an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon, and if you need to shout for help really loud, this is the way to go. These devices include a GPS receiver to transmit your exact location to a satellite. They’re expensive, but boy howdy are they a nice safety net.

Ham radio: In a disaster, ham radio operators are frequently the only link between the disaster zone and the outside world. While some people might recommend the purchase of a hand-held ham radio, use of that radio by an unlicensed operator might interfere with mission-critical communications in progress. A better plan is to get in touch with your local ARRL chapter and find out how you can tap into their emergency communications plan, or even get licensed for basic ham radio operation yourself.

Mobile phones: See the communications plan section above. Note that battery power will be a scarce commodity after the first 72 hours. Your correspondent strongly recommends storing a manual phone charger such as the Sidewinder in your emergency kit.

It is also strongly recommended that, if possible, your household standardize on a single brand of mobile phone i.e. Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, etc. This will simplify the power situation considerably, and in some cases, enable you to turn off one phone and reuse its battery in another.

For routine charging, in the author’s experience nothing beats the versatility of a USB charger cable with AC and DC USB power adapters. A good source for this is Expansys — here’s a link to a Treo 650 kit as an example.

Passive communications – keep informed!

Radio and TV broadcasts are an excellent way to keep informed before, during, and after a disaster. You should have multiple means of receiving broadcast information.

Best-of-breed: As stated above, having multiple options is key. Your correspondent is a big believer in this, and recommends the following:

• Freeplay Energy EyeMax AM/FM/Weather-Band Emergency Radio with LED Flashlight
• XM Satellite Radio receiver (e.g. SkyFi2) and “boom-box” accessory with batteries, AC, and DC power adapters

The XM radio isn’t just for news and entertainment — XM channel 247 (get it, 24/7?) is a round-the-clock emergency information channel.

Cheap-and-cheerful: A no-name imported hand-crank radio is a good basic addition to your preparedness kit.

Improvised: Many households have at least one personal radio or radio/CD player with headphones gathering dust somewhere. Pack it up in a ziplock bag with spare batteries and put it in your preparedness kit.

A note about TV: a small TV with multiple power options can be a great comfort in a disaster, assuming the local TV stations are online and transmitting. For stuck-at-home emergencies an inexpensive (~$130) portable DVD player is a power-efficient means of entertainment, especially if you have kids.

Let there be light!

One point of commonality you’ll find among preparedness and first-responder types is a predilection for flashlights. You have your traditionalists who favor the MagLite, which doubles handily as a blunt weapon. You have your law-enforcement types who are fans of the ultra-bright SureFire lights. You get the idea.

In a disaster or emergency situation, light is a critical need. Let’s face it — if you have to spend a week cooped up with three other people in a dark room during a blizzard, you are likely to go a little nuts.

Area Light

Candles are OK for temporary lighting, but for any situation lasting more than an hour or three they’re not a great choice. That said, it is a very good idea to have a couple of long-burning emergency candles on hand for backup lighting and cooking heat.

Likewise, battery-powered incandescent area lamps are convenient when a thunderstorm knocks out power for an evening, but are a relatively poor idea for disaster preparedness due to battery requirements. See below for alternatives.

Zero-power lighting

A good oil or kerosene lamp, if used safely, will provide hours of light from fuel which can sit on the shelf for a very long time and still remain usable. Safe storage for both lamp and fuel are critical; be sure to get or make a padded hard-case for the lamp to ensure that it is available when you need it.

Another excellent choice for zero-power lighting is a dual-fuel lantern capable of burning unleaded gasoline or ‘Coleman fuel’. Because these have been around for a long time, they are readily availble used complete with cushioned hard case for under $40. These lanterns can be relatively fuel-efficient, capable of making a gallon of fuel last a week or more at 8 hrs/day.

One potential exception to the no-battery-powered-area-lamps rule of thumb is the new class of LED lanterns coming out. The eGear LED lantern, for example, will run at full brightness for 40 hours (5 8-hour evenings) on a single set of D-cell batteries, and much longer at reduced brightness. Your correspondent considers this within the acceptable range, and at $40, it’s an affordable solution.

If some electric power is available (generator, inverter, etc.) then you might consider using some of your power budget for lighting. Generally speaking, incandescent lights are not an efficient use of your power budget, but fortunately, there are alternatives.

Compact fluorescent

In warm-weather situations, it’s important to minimize the amount of heat your lighting introduces into your environment — especially since the air conditioner won’t be running. Compact fluorescent bulbs are a direct replacement for incandescent bulbs and require much less power to run, typically 15-20% of an equivalently bright regular bulb. They also put out much less heat. 100W of power budget from your inverter or generator is enough to brightly light a medium-sized room with four 150W-equivalent CFL bulbs.

One thing to keep in mind is that inexpensive generators frequently output, shall we say, less-than-perfect electric power. This can be very, very hard on CFL bulbs. One way around this is to use your generator intermittently to charge one or more large batteries, and run your lights off the batteries via an inverter with cleaner power output.

Halogen

In cold-weather situations, you want your lighting solution to put out heat. The author’s home preparedness plan for colder weather includes a selection of inexpensive halogen work lights to illuminate and warm the main living area. These are dual-use equipment, as they also come in handy working both indoors and outside. Spare bulbs are a must-have.

Clothing: plan for the extremes

Nothing beats having clean, dry clothing to change into when you’re cold, wet, dirty, and tired. For temperature-sensitive humans, clothing is our first and sometimes only line of defense against illness or death due to exposure.As the section title says, plan for the extremes. If disaster struck your area and you needed to hike home from work or school, do you have the appropriate clothing and footwear to survive the journey?

First, a word about mosquitos and biting insects. Your preparedness kits must include some form of insect repellent. It will, literally, help keep you alive in a disaster, when biting insects begin to spread infectious disease. Get the strongest DEET-based repellent you can find; a malaria outbreak is NOT the time to be trying out weak-ass alternatives like Skin-so-soft.

Next, a word about sunscreen. Keep a supply of high-SPF sunscreen in your vehicle and replace it yearly. Simple enough.

On to the clothing…

Headwear: hats are cheap but crucial. Keep a sun hat or cap and a winter hat for each person in all of your preparedness kits. Remember, you don’t have to look good, you just have to stay alive, so feel free to scrounge cheap but serviceable headwear for this.

An old pair of Keds will protect your feet in all but winter snow; for winter, keep an old pair of waterproof boots with rubber soles on hand.

Footwear: your work and vehicle preparedness kits must include footwear. Your correspondent’s work kit has an old but serviceable pair of athletic shoes, while his vehicle kit has a well-broken-in pair of insulated 8″ combat boots. The key here is that storing a brand-new pair of shoes is a Very Bad Idea. You will injure your feet and thereby endanger your ability to function in an emergency if you try hiking 10 miles in a brand-new pair of shoes. (Editor’s Note: when all else fails, at least have an old pair of tennis shoes to wear to protect your feet from debris)

Smart wool socks are not just for winter; they neutralize heat and cold, and keep your feet warm even when when (tested by this CO editor while wading through knee-deep hurricane waters)

Socks/underwear: While a change of underwear is nice to have, socks are crucial to your well-being, and they’re cheap. Keep a sealed pack of generic white athletic socks in each of your preparedness kits. Add at least one pair of underwear for each member of your household in a ziplock bag. (Aren’t ziplock bags great?)

Clothing: Layers, people, layers. Recommended per person: several t-shirts, 1 pair utility shorts with lots-o-pockets, poly fleece sweatpants, poly fleece pullover, oversized Army-type long-sleeve shirt and pants sprayed with waterproofing, wind/waterproof outer jacket. Adjust plan for kids, but make sure they have a similar range of clothing. Seal clothes into labeled waterproof bag(s).

wide strong belt capable of supporting your full weight. Draeger Piccola dust masks with breathing valve very strongly recommended — research post-9/11 respiratory ailments in NYC if you want to know why.Shelter

Protective gear: Heavy leather gloves, light leather gloves, kneepads,

Be prepared to protect your shelter in advance of a storm and make emergency repairs afterwards.

Consider your options for overnight shelter if you are:

• Stranded at work
• Stranded in your vehicle
• Unable to occupy your home

Suggested items for preparedness kits include plastic tarps with tie-down grommets and 100′ of nylon cord (all kits), blankets (all kits), and a tent big enough for your family (home kit).

To be covered in Part 5: Medical, Assembling Preparedness Kits, Security and Firearms, Preparedness Training, and a hyperlink roundup.

I’ve written Governor Bredesen and my other TN representatives opposing MTR. I’m proud to say that our Clarksville Senator, Rosalind Kurita, was ranked as one of the top three Tennessee senators for her voting record on protecting the environment. If you’d like to know how other Tennessee legislators voted on environmental issues in 2008 see http://www.tnconservationvoters.org/.

I first heard about MTR around 6 years ago from Dr. Joe Schiller, a Biology professor at APSU. He’s been educating people about this horrific practice and battling against it for many years. I’ve seen video and pictures of MTR but this will be the 1st time I’ll actually see this destruction in person. I’m a member of Save Our Cumberland Mountains (SOCM) and other organizations which oppose MTR.

United Mountain Defense, Mountain Justice and Three Rivers Earth First! ask you to march with us for Appalachia. This is a call from the Mountains of Tennessee to those who understand the value of a living forest, clean water and a place to call home. This is a call for you to take a Sunday out of your life to help preserve some of the oldest mountains on Earth.

National Coal is blowing up the three peaks of Zeb Mountain for the coal beneath even though there are other methods of mining that are less destructive and at the same time create more jobs for local residents. National Coal has a terrible record of over 50 violations on Zeb Mountain – including illegally mining through two streams. National Coal has wrecked the watershed of Zeb Mountain – and the New River Watershed is next if we don ’t stop them. There’s a story on Channel 5’s web site detailing some of these issues.

Email call (865) 689-2778 for more information. If you’d like to carpool with some other Clarksvillians, contact me at .

Warming so far, about two degrees Fahrenheit over land areas, seems almost innocuous, being less than day-to-day weather fluctuations. But more warming is already “in- the-pipeline”, delayed only by the great inertia of the world ocean. And climate is nearing dangerous tipping points. Elements of a “perfect storm”, a global cataclysm, are assembled.

Climate can reach points such that amplifying feedbacks spur large rapid changes. Arctic sea ice is a current example. Global warming initiated sea ice melt, exposing darker ocean that absorbs more sunlight, melting more ice. As a result, without any additional greenhouse gases, the Arctic soon will be ice-free in the summer.

More ominous tipping points loom. West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets are vulnerable to even small additional warming. These two-mile-thick behemoths respond slowly at first, but if disintegration gets well underway it will become unstoppable. Debate among scientists is only about how much sea level would rise by a given date.

In my opinion, if emissions follow a business-as-usual scenario, sea level rise of at least two meters is likely this century. Hundreds of millions of people would become refugees. No stable shoreline would be reestablished in any time frame that humanity can conceive.

Special interests have blocked transition to our renewable energy future. Instead of moving heavily into renewable energies, fossil companies choose to spread doubt about global warming, as tobacco companies discredited the smoking-cancer link. Methods are sophisticated, including funding to help shape school textbook discussions of global warming.

CEOs of fossil energy companies know what they are doing and are aware of long-term consequences of continued business as usual. In my opinion, these CEOs should be tried for high crimes against humanity and nature.

Conviction of ExxonMobil and Peabody Coal CEOs will be no consolation, if we pass on a runaway climate to our children. Humanity would be impoverished by ravages of continually shifting shorelines and intensification of regional climate extremes. Loss of countless species would leave a more desolate planet.

If politicians remain at loggerheads, citizens must lead. We must demand a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants. We must block fossil fuel interests who aim to squeeze every last drop of oil from public lands, off-shore, and wilderness areas. Those last drops are no solution. They yield continued exorbitant profits for a short-sighted self-serving industry, but no alleviation of our addiction or long-term energy source.

A price on emissions that cause harm is essential. Yes, a carbon tax. Carbon tax with 100 percent dividend is needed to wean us off fossil fuel addiction. Tax and dividend allows the marketplace, not politicians, to make investment decisions…..

http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/2008/TwentyYearsLater_20080623.pdf

Accompanying slides:

http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/2008/TippingPointsNear_20080623.pdf

About the author: Dr. James E. Hansen, longtime director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said in a January 29, 2006, New York Times interview that officials at NASA headquarters had ordered the public affairs staff to review his coming lectures, papers, and postings on the Goddard Web site and requests for interviews from journalists. Since 1988, he has been issuing public warnings about the long-term threat from heat-trapping emissions, dominated by carbon dioxide, that are an unavoidable byproduct of burning coal, oil and other fossil fuels.