Use solar landscape lights for emergencies
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #141 • May/June, 2013
Solar-powered landscape lights in dark room.
Note different light patterns and brightness.
People own all kinds of household items that can be used to make life easier during...
Moving on: A small town can be a haven during a depression
By Claire Wolfe
Website Exclusive • September, 2010
One day last summer, I departed Last-Chance Gulch and the high desert, a U-Haul trailer bobbing behind. I aimed for my beloved Pacific Northwest where a friend had...
Why you need to addsolar to your emergencypower backup plans
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #149 • September/October, 2014
Click Here to listen to an interview with Jeff about this article.
Most of the electric substations, transmission lines, and electrical switchgear for any given utility are...
Storm survivors
By Anita Evangelista
Issue #71 • September/October, 2001
First couple days of June, 1998, weather pretty good, a bit wetter than it is now. Clear day, clouds moving in during the afternoon. By suppertime, the sky...
Preparing for a Temporary Catastrophe
By Dave Duffy
Issue #139 • January/February, 2013
November's Superstorm Sandy on the Northeastern coast of the United States was our most recent grand reminder that society is fragile, most people are not ready to take...
Gee-Whiz: From Paper to Canning
By John Silveira (aka O.E. MacDougal)
May/June 2017 Backwoods Home
The greatest inventions in history are the ones we now take for granted. Fire and the wheel-axle combination are among them. If we weren’t taught in...
Start your food storage on $10 a week
By Alan T. Hagan
Issue #59 • September/October, 1999
If Old Mother Hubbard had had a food storage program before she went to her cupboard her poor dog would have gotten his bone. Given the fact...
Survival firebuilding skills
By Corcceigh Green
Issue #97 • January/February, 2006
Firebuilding skills are essential for those who may find themselves in survival situations. As a testimony to this idea, Americans in the Gulf Coast States experienced a string...
With commonsense planning, you can survive hard times
By Jackie Clay
Issue #55 • January/February, 1999
Today, many people are afraid that hard times are about to descend upon us because of the Y2K computer date problem, also known as the Millennium Bug. Others...
Your survival depends on water
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #167 • September/October, 2017
As you develop your preparedness plans, consider your water supply. You can go without food for weeks but when you lack water for as little as two days,...
The fire wick fire starter
By Len McDougall
Issue #114 • November/December, 2008
When my hunting buddy Dar met me for lunch at our rendezvous point, he said he doubted we could make a small cookfire on the wet, snow-covered ground....
Prepper power! Part 2
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #137 • September/October, 2012
I discussed in Part 1 the many reasons why preppers need to think more long-term about providing reliable electric power. I also mentioned that while it's...
What to do when there’s no doctor
By Gary F. Arnet, D.D.S.
Issue #75 • May/June, 2002
We are used to being able to see a doctor at any time for any reason, no matter how small. Will this always be the case?...
Handy Keychain Mini-Gadgets
By Jeff Yago, P.E., CEM
Winter, 2017
I believe when most people think of being prepared, they immediately think in terms of bug-out bags, stored food and water, guns, and generators. However, there can be less...
A survival key ring — Your everyday tool for emergency preparedness
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #117 • May/June, 2009
If you saw the movie, "Castaway" starring Tom Hanks, you might remember that his character always carried a small pen knife with him. Early in the...
Frostbite — Don’t flirt with this sneaky danger
By Tom and Joanne O’Toole
Issue #96 • November/December, 2005
Frostbite can be defined, in its most severe stage, as when your fingers and toes freeze and have to be cut off because of gangrene. Wow,...
