Ice Storms and Climate Change

I am hoping none of you you were affected by these storms. I spoke with my family in Ohio and they were doing well, they still had power and were stocked up on food. Many others were not so lucky it seems. I guess we need experiences like these to wake us up to what may happen in the near future. It seems as though the mainstream thoughts go back and forth from global warming to the beginning of a new ice age. What is obvious, is that our weather patterns are intensifying and becoming unpredictable. Does this mean the end of the world? Not in and of itself but I think we should start to pay attention to these earth changes. Let's see if they are just a simple cycles which the earth is constantly experiencing or if they are the first indicators of something more ominous like the 2012 predictions. Never the less, I think about the current situation in the Midwest and how the people who are living through this must feel and how they might have prepared better. In reading the article Midwest Ice Storms aftermath I was not surprised by statements such as these.

At Murray University in southwestern Kentucky, brothers Jim McClung, 42, and Dale Earnest, 38, were among those resting in every corner of a university theater. Some sprawled in aisles, propped in chairs or curled up on the stage. They, like many others, ran out of food and water at their frigid, powerless home.

"I had no idea the storm was going to last this long," McClung said.

Most people go about there daily lives oblivious to what may happen at any given point in time. It's not their fault unfortunately, we as Americans have had it very easy for the most part, our government usually reacts well and comes to our aid in a reasonable amount of time. We have been led to believe that our basic needs will always be met. My question is, what happens when the crisis is so big that the systems we have in place are stretched beyond their limits? What would happen if instead of the usual 72 hours for rescue was stretched to more like a week or two weeks? What if help never came? What if the emergency shelters and and hospitals were beyond capacity and you were turned away? What if there was no active police or fire department? Could you survive, could you thrive? Do you even have a plan in place for just a minor crisis like the current Midwest storm? My goal is not to scare you but to make you think and take some action. If not for yourself, then your family or friends or neighbors. You may read this and say... "Oh this won't ever happen". I am sorry to say it has and it will happen again. A minor example is hurricane Katrina, read about what happened in just the 7 days of that nightmare. The city fell into complete chaos and anarchy ruled... in just 7 days! Make some plans, put together a good emergency 72 hour kit, put up a few gallons of water in an easy to get to place, buy some extra canned goods the next time you go to the store. Print off and read the brochures on the bonus page I put together called - Emergency Preparedness. It is not the definitive guide to survival but it is a place to start.

Some excellent books I would like to recommend are located at my blog following this post The Midwest Ice Storm Aftermath. I hope you check them out and consider investing in at least the first recommended book.