May 25
Epidemics and Pandemics – Taking Care Of Yourself California Style (Part 1)
An Executive Summary
Epidemics are outbreaks of a disease that occur within a short period of time in a defined region which have the potential to significantly affect operations and the health and safety of those systems, their employees, their families and the public. While many diseases can result in an epidemic and then a pandemic, this report places emphasis on preparedness for an outbreak that could arise from the Avian influence. A pandemic of Biblical proportions that has potential to disrupt operations from months to years.
Historically, the most famous epidemic/pandemics were: influenza, Plague, SARS and smallpox. The Swine strain, H1N1, while a respiratory illness of pigs is something humans are not immune to. Most people don’t have a natural antibody for this and there is no known vaccine.
Some Recent History
In April 2009, 20 cases of Swine influenza hit citizens across the country from CA to KS, NY, OH and TX. It started in Mexico where over 1100 cases were documented. Both San Diego and Imperial Counties here in CA. reported presentations. This virus was of airborne transmission and I witnessed it personally. Symptoms vary as they will according to a person’s immunity, but mostly included: fever, cough, body aches, severe headaches that cause a deep flush, chills, fatigue, diarrhea and vomiting. The latter symptom draining one faster than anything else. Pandemics are of our greatest concern in our largest congested cities: Los Angeles and San Francisco. In Hollywood alone, 20,000 people are packed into one square mile according to the Mayor, as I’ve mentioned before. Each of us plays a vital role in controlling, containing and mitigating the effects of an outbreak no matter where it occurs.
It is essential that anyone whom suspects they are infected with anything stay at home in bed for the duration. When our household was hit with the H1N1 for three whole weeks in January and February 2012 (which had already been, again, airborne from Mexico the month before and deaths reported according to an alert), our recovery list included: an organic chicken soup, natural anti-virals: raw, freshly grated cold garlic butter on potatoes (when it could stay down) and Oil of Oregano; aspirin, 4G of Vit C, continuous cold water, electrolyte drinks and bananas and cup after cup of warmest possible herbal/antioxidant tea. Continuous ice packs were used on the neck and chest to bring down the flushing high fever and paralyzing headaches. Windows were open, the fans were running and face masks were donned.
One doctor on a quick break told me with smiling relief that he had stepped up his hand washing between patients to every 20 minutes with warm water and antibacterial soap, a technique he found was working and kept a bottle of hand sanitizer in his coat pocket.
Transmission can take place several ways there is no room to delineate here. The pathogen can pass person-to-person in close contact, from a doorknob, a telephone, a computer keyboard. A sneeze or cough can travel six feet or more and be instantly inhaled by a healthy person nearby as in a theater or shopping mall. Well illustrated by the movie “Outbreak” with Dustin Hoffman and not far from the truth.
Next Installment – “The Rest Of The Story, Part 2″
May 21
West Coast “Ring of Fire” Eclipse 2012
5:40 p.m. Here in Los Angeles, Hollywood, we are into the Annular Eclipse ( moon passing between earth and the sun.) Griffith Park is open to free viewing parties with special sun goggles. The last celestial event was in 1994. The eclipse followed an 8500 mile path across our planet.
5:58 p.m. Have noticed a steady and significant darkening, it really looks just like any other normal sunset in that respect. Monitoring ABC7.com live video and listening to the camera crew endeavoring to keep the live event in the middle of the frame and generally being excited. This is a treat the east coast isn’t personally experiencing.
6:22 p.m. Almost to the full “Ring of Fire” effect. This is a taste of what is expected to happen when the heavy mass object passes in front of our sun for three days most probably later this year.
6:28 p.m. It looks like the sun is behind a huge filter at this moment, remarkable.
6:32 p.m. Event height, this was not a true “Ring of Fire” sighting here for us and an astronomer explained why on television at the Griffith Park location, but I didn’t catch it. The path the moon is taking over the sun is not allowing for the full circle of the sun – the moon is passing over the edge. In effect, what we observe is a giant crescent.
6:39 p.m. Main event is over. Slightly disappointed but this was the only angle of safe viewing allowed. Lots of great pictures though…
May 19
The GEMProject.us
I received a rare email invitation from this Preppers training organization out of the blue, based in TX. I understand it is produced in a joint effort of the military and law enforcement. It’s called the “Global Emergency Mitigation Project,” it features a live web-based instructor, Saturday Orientations, a 5-week Wednesday training and a printable Manual with supplemental updates, new group training is encouraged. I appear to be only one of a few participants located on the West Coast in Los Angeles. I’m thoroughly enjoying their updated technology for 2012 in emergency management and their informative supplemental updates that has enhanced my own multi-faceted background.
Here is a brief description of how they represent themselves:
”If you research “Emergency Management” in Wikipedia, one of the specifications you will find is the following: Emergency Management is the generic name of an interdisciplinary field dealing with the strategic organizational management processes used to protect critical assets of an organization from hazard risks that can cause disasters or catastrophes and to ensure the continuance of the organization within their planned lifetime.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68H5Q8zcBUA
The strategy we embrace is to advocate for and provide the training required to establish a baseline of preparedness at the family and individual household level, as we consider these to be the primary organization that we would want to ensure the continuation of. GEMProject also considers emergencies to simply be expected or unexpected hazardous risks or events that can cause disasters if preparations are not in place and the event is not properly managed.”
The best approach to Prepping is to understand what really concerns you and what really does not and why. It’s personal research, so consider an issue or threat that you are concerned with and collect as much information as possible over a seven-day period, then think about what you learned and what it means to you. The two most common human reactions to most threat scenarios are: a) denial and try to ignore it OR b) obsess and over react, avoid these two psychological traps and you will probably have enough understanding to prepare for the event.
Many times it helps to address preparedness in a linear, focused and systematic manner and start with your mind, body and personal skill set. Then move on to your household preparations and readiness there for special circumstances that are unique to your geographical, demographic or financial situation.
Detailed preparations result in a solid baseline of skills and resources to establish a standard amongst neighbors or people who will need to rely on each other. Of all the things that could ever happen to anyone, the odds are that eventually something will and proper research and awareness will help you focus on what needs to be prioritized.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c44n49DQG0E
I’m halfway through the 5-week training, I have found this organization well worth the token cost and found the instructor to have a fine sense of humor, compassionate, intelligent and retired from L.A.P.D. 77th Division.
May 18
San Onofre – What IS The Problem?
On January 31, 2012 when the first alarms went off in the San Onofre Control Room indicating there was a radiated water glass tube leak, it led to an unprecedented shutdown of one of our two nuclear power plants. Federal nuclear regulators have yet to determine the problem’s root cause or when or if San Onofre will safely re-open. But the outlook for the future is very bleak.
1300 glass tubes have been taken out of service because of unexpected wear, why? Those tubes were only three years old. Why was the wear unexpected? Edison has said that even if or when Onofre re-opens it still can’t run at full capacity. A three month investigation has not yielded any better understanding about why the tubes were down. There is further potential danger because other tube failures can release more radiation. While tube wear is expected to happen over time, the rate and way in which it happened at San Onofre is an anomaly. There was very unusual behavior in the steam generators. The design of the support structures is meant to prevent excessive vibration and friction. What caused the excessive vibration?
The California PUC approved the price tag for replacing the steam generators and assumed that the plant would run at 88% capacity until it’s license expired in 2022, this now seems very unlikely. The plant powers 1.4 million homes and facilitates importation of electricity from elsewhere. CA. Senator Alex Padilla said state officials need to talk long-term energy scenarios for California minus nuclear energy. The Nuclear Information and Resource Service has put out several recent alerts asking subscribers to send their form letter to President Obama asking him to increase the current evacuation radius around S.O.N.G.S. indicating a real and imminent potential threat.
And let’s not forget the earthquake status here on the San Joaquin Hills Thrust Fault. This is of special concern to us here in Los Angeles even though the station is south of us. We WILL be impacted. One prevailing theory advanced is the very real possibility that the in-bound heavy mass object that entered our solar system in 2004 and is causing all sorts of noise and havoc in, around and above our earth is the anomaly responsible for the unusual vibrations, wear, friction and ultimate leakage of the glass tubing and that makes sense. It’s primarily due to the electromagnetic activity and the size of the in-bound object continuing on it’s elliptical path. We are still in the same situation as Japan, nothing has changed yet. One mega quake and…….. Is your emergency bag packed and ready to exit?
May 04
California’s Power Grid Awareness
There is a serious lack of awareness of the real-time conditions on the Western Power Grid and there are three different grids on the continent, that can go down during an Electromagnetic Pulse from an incoming solar storm, man-made nuclear event or a major earthquake. This power grid of which California is part of provides electricity for millions of different functions and covers the following states: OR, WA, CA, NV, ID, MT, WY, CO, UT, AZ and NM. A joint federal report recommended that transmission operators perform improvements of our western grid and the coordination of emergencies between utilities. This has not been accomplished.
One-seven-hour blackout forced flights to be cancelled at San Diego International Airport, snarled traffic across the entire region even longer and cut water supplies. Think what a large or mega earthquake would do. Are you ready to take care of yourself or assist some other deserving person for at least seven days? This September 8, 2011 event included the loss of 4300 megawatts of generation included the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Transmission operators were ignorant of how a neighbor’s grid would impact their own. Operators need more training and a better understanding of how even transmission lines UNDER 100 kilovolts can affect larger operations. Better knowledge of the western system might have empowered operators to take action to prevent this major blackout from cascading throughout southern California.
Real-time problems after a single electromagnetic attack on our aging grid can and will wipe out most if not all electronic devices not wrapped up in aluminum foil Faraday cages and within hours send us back to function as the early settlers in the 1800′s. The damage will be worse than 9/11/2001. Imagine a world where no one has electrical power, most vehicles will not start, no phone calls, no internet, all commerce comes to a complete and instant halt. You cannot purchase water, food, toilet paper, coffin nails or alcoholic beverages. And yes, it will really happen, the $64,000 question is when.
Cyber expert David Chalk says that a complete and catastrophic failure of the energy grid is definitely going to occur within the next three years if not sooner and few are aware of this. “We are in a state of crisis,” he says. Even “smart” technology is highly vulnerable to any attack or earthquake. Does the federal government know about all this? Most certainly and they are doing nothing for the masses. All monies are being diverted to planning World War III. My money is on a massive solar storm caused by the incoming heavy mass object before a human-oriented nuclear event takes place.
Seriously, does anyone have a two-room tent with flooring and tall enough for a 6′ 3″ husband to stand in to spare?
Apr 27
Protecting Your Sustainable California Living Environment From Present Fukushima Radiation
Thirteen months have passed since the Japan disaster and a U.S. Senator now says we’re in big trouble. The irony of course, is that we’ve been in big trouble since March 17, 2011 when the air currents brought the first plume of radioactive materials to our west coast.
The effects of radiation on health are tremendous and you should do everything you can right now to prevent those life-threatening issues and prepare to mitigate what you can’t. A nutritious, organic (not the same as natural) diet should help prevent personal health disaster later.
Raw food specialists have stated that radioactive fallout which includes cesium-137, iodine-131, strontium and other long lived by-products of an explosion will descend on North America by March 22nd, a date already past. Wash off your produce, fruits and vegetables with food grade hydrogen peroxide from a health food store, it’s safe and effective. Milk and rain water samples in California already show radioactive fallout contamination. Initial symptoms of radiation poisoning are nausea, deep fatigue, followed by vomiting, hair loss, diarrhea and skin lesions.
Unacceptable levels of radiation have already been found in the kelp beds off the seaside community of Santa Monica CA. The seaweed from Corona Del Mar contains 40,000,000 bcq/kg of radioactive iodine. Reports last week indicate radioactive pollen flying around Southern California and you are inhaling this! Wash your clothes frequently and change and shower the minute you walk in the door.
There are two types of radiation: non-ionizing and ionizing. The former are such as infrared like night vision. Cellphone radiation and microwave energy that some people use to heat or cook their food and water with and destroy all nutritive value. Ionizing radiation includes x-rays, gamma rays which travel great distances and goes through just about anything, instantly and effectively incinerating it and alpha or beta particles. The length of time you are exposed is critical in prevention or treatment of illness.
The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to increase official “safe” radiation levels by factors of thousands to accomodate the uncontrollable flow of radioactive fallout and not unduly frighten the public. This is a clear sign of how harmful the current allowances already are for our air, water and food. Mainstream media is failing to report that the radioactive iodine has a short half-life of eight days whereas cesium has a half-life of 30 years.
There are technologies available now that you can access that will protect your personally owned home. They are businesses in radiation shielding using lead or similiar nano technologies. It is the most cost-efficient radiation and shielding material available for use in countering the effects of x-ray and gamma rays. You have choices in lead paint, lead-lined drywall, lead-lined doors and house and window frames. There is lovely leaded glass for those solariums and greenhouse indoor gardens.
Keep on eye on that “Live Radiation Monitor” in West los Angeles, informative.
Apr 25
A New Look at The California San Joaquin Hills Fault
This little known fault apparently may have a much more historical and imminent impact on us here in Southern California than the well known and anxiety-producing San Andreas (that is said to begin unzipping from the Salton Sea when that over-due event occurs).
A very favorite website of mine that alerts me to much timely and accurate news not covered in the mainstream, explained why the April 23rd, 3.9 earthquake in Laguna Niguel in Orange County is of significance to us here in Los Angeles. In a nutshell, this fault line was discovered only 13 years ago and runs along the coast from Newport Beach and Costa Mesa to San Juan Capistrano, hideously close to the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station or S.O.N.G.S, which is still off-line and may cause black-outs if not properly repaired and functional by this summer. It’s called the San Joaquin Hills Thrust and while similiar to the fault that triggered the Northridge quake 18 years ago and unlike the San Andreas that can be seen from the surface, the fracture in the earth’s crust that makes up the Hills Thrust is entirely underground. Because it isn’t visible at ground level, it is perhaps more dangerous because it is unclear where the boundaries are. Scientists weren’t aware of the blind thrust faults that triggered the Northridge or Whittier Narrows quakes until after the ground began shaking.
The April 23rd temblor should serve as a “wake up” or “prepare” call to all Orange County residents whom mistakely believe that quakes are a Los Angeles problem…not so. The San Joaquin Hills Thrust fault is capable of generating a magnitude 7 or greater quake (this would be right in line with a dream warning my husband and I had on April 15 where a severe pre-dawn shaker woke us, destroyed our building and some new ones here in Hollywood. We were told to “stand ready” every morning now with extra water, food and the works for a month, no water, no electricity for the duration). Orange County’s last major destructive quake was in 1933 when the region was sparsley populated. The same situation does not exist now. Scientists discovered San Joaquin Hills Thrust Fault after noticing widespread evidence of old sea life indicating that this area had once been deep underwater. In Hollywood alone there are 20,000 people packed into one square mile that choose to be here for work, family, whatever and need to take steps to “be prepared, not scared”.
Apr 21
San Diego Preppers
Hello Preppers,
Next Saturday April 28 San Diego Preppers will be gathering in order to share ideas, tricks and trades. If you are in the area we would love to meet you and prep with you. For more information go to http://www.meetup.com/
Apr 20
What Is The City of Los Angeles Required To Do For It’s Residents In An Emergency Event ? (Part 2)
March 2011
CA v. City of Los Angeles
U. S. District Court of California
Legal Brief
The City of Los Angeles Emergency Preparedness Plan was challenged for it’s failure to accommodate disabled persons under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
California was the lead plaintiff representing over 800,000 individuals living within the City of Los Angeles. It claims that LA’s 200+ page Emergency Operations Plan fails to address how the City will meet the unique needs of disabled individuals in the event of a long emergency. For example, LA’s plan refers to over 200 shelter sites but only a few sites are ADA compliant. The other proposed sites have not even been assessed for compliance. The City has not acted on the recommendations by the ADA which made a number of remarks suggesting that the American Red Cross was responsible for all shelter and care of disabled individuals in event of an emergency despite the lack of official record of any such agreement.
California argued that it was entitled to summary judgement on all legal claims because the City admitted that as part of their emergency plans that it had NOT included any provisions for disabled individuals and as such placed those people at higher risk of mortality in a protracted emergency event. The City argued that it had not engaged in any discriminatory actions and there was no known evidence that a disabled person had requested or was refused reasonable accomodation by the City.
Following a brief discussion about the rationale behind the arguements, the court found that the lack of adopting the ADA recommendations placed unnecessary additional burdens on disabled individuals because the City failed to address their special needs. The court further stated that the City imperiled disabled individuals because they would not know which available shelters were: wheel-chair accessible, had a TTY / TDD available, was equipped with Braille, had breathing apparatus, a dialysis machine (as hospitals will be overwhelmed) or any other number of devices. Service animals go anywhere by state and federal law regardless of anyone’s fear, dirt or allergy factors. NOR was there any City plan to so much as notify those with impairments if they didn’t have / couldn’t afford those personalized assistive devices (no, they aren’t all free), to inform them of the need to evacuate or if there was no responsible caregiver supervising.
The very purpose of an Emergency Plan is to anticipate the future needs of ALL residents and failing to address those needs of disabled but otherwise productive individuals constituted unlawful discrimination. However unfortunate it was, the court did not detail how the City would rectify all the deficiencies. The ruling focused only on the absence of distinct plans to address the disabled needs.
February 11, 2012 – A landmark decision with national implications that the City violated federal law, the ADA, by failing to plan for and meet emergency needs of all it’s residents in planning for natural disasters. The ruling was the first such decision in the country. Further, Dr. Lucy Jones, “The Earthquake Lady”, as she is locally known, spoke at one of the Los Angeles City Council meeting that month to discuss the necessary but tedious subject of building codes. While she was well greeted, it is unknown what was actually accomplished. As Dr. Jones mentions, “We have a fear of earthquakes, partly because they create a feeling of being out of control and we’re afraid of dying in them. It’s the aftermath and our comfort that we need to prepare for. Denial costs not only lives but minds.”
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