Survival Articles to help you learn

Many of these articles were written here but others of merit will be added to help you.

         2012 Disaster Survival or just being prepared to respond to an emergency.

It is unclear if the Mayan calendars ending and the prophecies of Nostradamus of the world ending in fire from heaven.  Some of the theories involve the Solar system crossing the Galactic equator.  This it is thought by some to put us in the direct path of asteroids and meteors.  These would have the ability to cause massive damage on a planetary scale; this could be the meaning of the ending of the Mayan calendar the destruction of the planet as we know it.  This would involve the death of many people and the complete breakdown of government services.  I believe that everyone should be prepared for short term emergencies at least and the people who value the safety and security of their family for much longer terms.

 I do not believe there is more chance of a meteoric collision in 2012 than in other years but there is a real reason to prepare for a disaster.  They can occur at any time in the form of hurricanes, storms, and earthquakes.  Most of these are short term disaster and within a few days help can arrive and give you fresh clean drinking water and possibly food.  In the event of an earthquake most bridges will have collapsed and the roads will be blocked for some time making rescue efforts slow.  I have been in earthquakes and seen bridges falling on top of cars and very large holes in streets where gas lines have ruptured and luckily caught on fire leaving a nice bright flame instead of just gas filling a neighborhood waiting for some one to drive through and generate a spark that would set off a huge explosion.  I have worked for utility companies and the disaster planning they had for natural gas was 6-10 weeks before service was able to resume along much of the pipeline.  So you can assume that you will be without power or heat or air conditioning for extended periods of time. 

Therefore it is up to YOU to prepare and not rely on some one else to take care of you.  I strongly recommend that you have at least the basic survival kit with 72 hours of water, food and basic necessities packed and ready to use at any time.  That really is a minimum amount and most survival kits will say UP to 72 hours knowing that you will run out of water long before then especially if you are working and removing debris or it is in summer time. Most store bought kits only ration you a quart of water per day instead of the gallon of water you are more likely to need. You need to know where to find water that is in your home or apt right now and would be accessible to you in an emergency.  There is a good chance you have 40 or 50 gallons of water in your house that would be available to you if you know where to look for it. You will need a good first aid kit for your car and your home. In any kind of emergency there will be injuries either yours or your less prepared neighbors   Learn how to build a first aid kit and survival kits that really will help your and not be expensive. 

A fast and easy way to start a fire without matches for survival and be able to read better as well.

  The Fresnel lens is a flat credit card sized magnifier which is especially handy because it is small enough to fit in a wallet, purse or fanny pack survival kit.  The ease of starting a fire with a Fresnel lens card magnifier is similar to using a regular magnifying glass it just much smaller. The credit cared size Fresnel Lens Fire Starter is a great back up fire starter and will fit practically anywhere. It is small, flat, light and cheap and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce and you can read fine print with it if you forget your glasses.

It is always a great idea have multiple ways of starting a fire on you at all times. Matches may run or a lighter could leak or fail. The Fresnel lens is a flat credit card sized magnifier which is especially handy because it is small enough to fit in a wallet, purse or fanny pack survival kit. It can be carried in your auto, back pack emergency kit or a wilderness survival kit of any shape or size.  The lens is a multipurpose tool that can be used to read small type, which makes it handy for us older folks, magnify flowers for identification, read a map or to start a fire. The Fresnel lens was invented in 1822 by Augustin Jean Fresnel (1788–1827). Fresnel’s original lens was first used in a lighthouse on a river. In the last forty years or so, with the advance of optical-quality plastics, and compression and injection molding techniques have made the lenses small, cheap and easy to carry with you.

    The ease of starting a fire with a Fresnel lens card magnifier is similar to using a regular magnifying glass. You can find or carry a small amount of dry, fluffy tinder, like the dry inner bark of a dead cottonwood tree, dry grass, grass rope, and even strands of cotton from an old bed sheet if they are separated into individual fibers. Then focus the sunlight through the lens on the tinder to start it smoldering. You will see a bright spot from the sun and focusing it to the smallest spot will give you the most intense heat and start the fire faster. When you have a glowing ember, and then gently blow on it to make it grow hotter until it ultimately bursts into flame. Card magnifiers only work when the sun is shining they may not produce enough heat to start a fire on cloudy days but they can save your matches and bail you out and they are permanent.  Dry tender can be found or made and he lens will work just as well dry or wet so falling into a stream will not affect it.

Stranded vehicle survival on a desert or in the mountains.

In most of the mountainous or desert areas that you are likely to be stranded in for whatever reason vehicle breakdown car crash or other reasons you will be unable to call out on the cell phone since off the main highway the cell towers do not exist.  Hopefully you have your personal and emergency auto survival kits with you.  If you need to start a fire (and you will even the desert gets cold at night) the desert is hot in the day but can drop 80 degrees at night below the high since the sand can reflect heat readily. 

    To start a fire if you have matches gather dry pine needles in a forest, dry leaves and bark small twigs etc and place them according to size.  The bark can be rubbed together and broken down into fibers the smaller the better and needs to be DRY.  Arrange the tinder (small stuff to build a fire with) in piles clear a space around the fire pit you have built and hopefully lined with rocks or dug with your survival shovel.  You want the tinder, small wood, sticks and bigger burnables close to the fire pit. 

            If you have matches lay a birds nest size area of small stuff, grass, dry leaves, grass rope fibers and then a little bit of small sticks with more added slowly as the fire gets larger and light the tender with the match.  Slowly add wood until the fire is large enough to make soup or cook your provisions or just keep you warm if you did not prepare and have them with you.

            If you have no matches and your car is broken you can one use some of the ¼ inch tubing you should be carrying with you (30 feet of tubing is small and easy to carry in the car).  Place one end of the tubing in the gas tank cut the tubing off about the height of the ground and then suck on it a few times and see if you can siphon some of the gas in the tank to a container (small) and use part of it to start a fire if you have wet damp wood (winter conditions like rain or snow) this can get wood dry and a fire going.  Wet wood can be placed close enough to the fire to dry (assuming you have cleared the snow away if present and will not just be melting snow and getting it wet again).  Pour an ounce or less of gas onto the tinder you do have and you can start the fire with the flint and steel you have with you or the Fresnel lens fire starter unless it is dark.  Rather than resort to making a fire bow in the dark etc. you can take the car battery out of the car and use a small wire (the snare wire will work fine) or a clip lead if you have one.  Attach one piece of wire to each battery terminal.  As the wires come close to each other it will generate a spark and ignite the gas on the tender or just tender if that is what you have. This will get your fire going and build it like before.  Many of the older cars used rubber hoses for going to the carburetor (gas line) and if you do not have the hose to suck it out maybe can place a container below one of the gas lines puncture it with your knife piece of glass or whatever and drain enough out of it to start a fire and keep yourself from freezing anyway as well as giving you something to signal with.  

            The oil in your car can make a fire as well if you have no fuel (dried animal dung will burn by the way (Cow chips, buffalo, deer etc.).  It will burn longer if you can mix it with water, if you have no water you might try collecting water out of your radiator hose or your windshield washer fluid.  I have been told that radiator fluid will burn but have not tried it but do know that the water mixed with your cars oil from the oil pan will burn longer and hotter.  About two parts water to one oil works ok and will generate heat.  It should burn on a piece of metal like your fender well if the car is trashed and you can get metal to let it burn on.  That keeps it from soaking into the ground.

            If you have a small maglight and can get two tiny wires from your survival kit or from your cars electrical system then place one wire in each where the bulb went and when placed together will create a spark and start the fire.  Do not do it long with them touching you will run your flashlight down quickly. 

            One other way if you have a working cigarette lighter you can use it to light a cigarette and use that to start the fire with as well.  Likely the lighter would cool before you got it to the fire area. Start the small kindling maybe with gas on it?  And use longer slower breaths to get it going as you walk back to the fire area. The tinder can go out or get started enough to burn you unless you have a way to carry the tinder back to the fire area and use it to light the kindling.  If you have a leather purse piece of metal or your shovel to carry it you can use the lighter in the car as well to start your fire.

            So there are several ways to start a fire in an emergency and you car is not going to get you out of there.  It might keep you from freezing one night on an Idaho back road when you run off the road etc. 

            For more information on what you should be carrying with you to survive both on you and in your car visit our web site http://www.2012-disaster-preparation.com/   .  We have other information there on snaring small game, finding, water and books on survival.

We have been teaching survival since early boyhood and have developed a survival website to show others how to survive in virtually any disasater man made or otherwise.  We show you how to build survival kits, first aid kits and find water to live on in your own home in an emergency.  With recommended supplies and tools for your auto and home to help you survive at home or on the road.  You can find us and the information you need at   http://www.2012-disaster-preparation.com/

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