Topic: NATO fuel cans

IV: Are you ready for disaster? Gear, supplies and training

August 7, 2008 |

Editors Note: This is Chapter 4 in a reprint of this five-part series, published on Daily Kos and originally published online by AlphaGeek {9.9.05}. From the diaries — Plutonium Page. The series offers a practical way to assess risk and prepare a variety of disaster scenarios. The series will appear chapter by chapter at 3 p.m. through Friday.

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. «Read the rest of this article»

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