Today just after I had just finished grocery shopping, the power went out completely in the parking lot and the surrounding area. My roommate and I drove past our apartment complex and no lights were on except the emergency stairwell lights.
We wanted a warm meal so we decided to drive a few miles to get some food at a restaurant. After waiting about an hour, we drove back and found that the power was still out. We had some perishable foods, so we decided to go into the apartment and store those away.
There were a few emergency lights for the building and luckily one of the elevators was functioning (I live on the 11th story of my building). I met a woman in the elevator who told us that we also didn’t have any water.
This really surprised me, because when the power went out when I lived with my parents, we would always have heat with the gas furnace and running water. I thought to myself and wondered why we didn’t have running water because a power outage shouldn’t really affect the water pipes. But then I realized that because our building was so tall, it probably needs pumps powered with electricity to get the water pressurized enough to flow to the higher floors.
I thought that the water supply would be independent of oil/energy but I was proven wrong. Even people who live in houses who don’t need a pump to pressurize the water are reliant on water utilities to create enough pressure to deliver it to their houses.
What have I learned from all of this? I am not in any way prepared for peak oil. I’m not even prepared for a mild disaster with a 3 days supply of food/water. I don’t have any backup batteries and only had a flashlight because my dad left it here when he helped me moved down. I don't have any source of heat without electricity or any emergency
So what are my next steps?
- Get a small supply of non-perishable food and a few large jugs of water.
- Get spare batteries and flashlights
- Get a solar/hand-powered radio
You would think that volunteering for the American Red Cross for over 4 years would be enough time to actually get a disaster kit, but apparently not!
- The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century
- James Howard Kunstler
- The Party's Over: Oil, War And The Fate Of Industrial Societies
- Richard Heinberg
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2 comments:
"Get a small supply of non-perishable food and a few large jugs of water.
Get spare batteries and flashlights
Get a solar/hand-powered radio... Although these won’t prepare me for the “Long Emergency”, at least they will be small steps in the right direction."
Personally ... as bad as it may sound, I think a gun might be a good investment for that long emergency.
Pick and choose from this list of favorites: candles, matches/lighter, can opener, knife, cash, multivitamins, antiviral drugs, antibiotics
As frivolous as this may sound: some hand-powered flashlights come with an ipod charging cord. Gas can (perhaps full), gloves, wool beenie, stick of chalk, deck of cards. (Army MRE's are ~healthy food with a 3 year shelf-life, a flameless heater, and moisture resistant matches.) Just after Christmas is the best time to buy candles. I've noticed that 1-gallon jugs of water are more durable than their 3-gallon couterparts. Handgun+ammunition may protect your food and freedom but a rifle can get you dinner. Boards and nails can help with windows. I always underestimate the power of fruit juice concentrate. Sometimes high calorie snacks are worth more than healthy food. Salt matters.
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