Railways are now carrying highly explosive Bakken crude oil, making emergency managers' jobs even tougher.
Emergency managers have been asked in recent years to do a lot more with fewer resources. That job got even tougher with the advent of oil shipments from the Bakken shale region of North Dakota via rail around the country.
Bakken is obtained by hydraulic fracking and horizontal drilling, which has increased since 2000 and can be highly explosive. And there have been several train derailments recently, including one in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, in July 2013 that killed 47 people.
In the U.S., a train carrying Bakken crude oil derailed in West Virgina on Feb. 16, 2015, sending orange flames skyward for days. There have been other derailments, and there’s concern of a scene like the one in Quebec happening in a major U.S. city, including those in Pennsylvania. A report by public sources said 1.5 million people are potentially at risk if a train carrying crude oil derails and catches fire there.
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Saturday, April 4, 2015
How Prepared Are You?
A new survey shows the extent to which Americans around the country have taken measures to prepare for natural disasters or other emergencies.
New survey results suggest some communities are much better prepared for emergencies than others.The Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released data this week showing the extent to which Americans in different parts of the country have taken measures to prepare for natural disasters or other emergencies. Disaster preparedness questions were a new addition to the 2013 American Housing Survey, intended to assist policymakers and emergency responders with planning.
Nationwide, just over half of households had prepared an emergency evacuation kit. Only a third had communication plans in place, while 37 percent had established emergency meeting locations.
The Census Bureau published results for 25 metro areas participating in the survey, which is conducted biennially. For the most part, residents in coastal areas were more likely to have taken steps to prepare for emergencies, likely stemming from greater awareness and risks in those regions. About 70 percent of surveyed households, for example, reported having prepared emergency kits in the Tampa-St. Petersburg and Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood metro areas of Florida. By comparison, only 41 percent of households had kits in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
Similarly, communication plans — including contingencies for the disruption of cellphone service — were most prevalent in Miami area households (45 percent), followed by Baltimore and northern New Jersey. Only a quarter of households reported communication plans in Austin-Round Rock, Texas, and a few other metros.
Across larger regions, results suggest communities in the Midwest are less prepared. About 46 percent of Midwestern households surveyed reported having an emergency evacuation kit, compared to 52 percent for the Northeast and West and 55 percent for the South. Midwestern households were also slightly less likely to have an emergency water supply and communication plan in place.....
Five Quick Tips for Spring Hiking
PrepareNowStore.com 4/4/2015
Spring is a great time to get out a hike but it's also a time when preparation is especially important. Here are some things I've learned over the years.
1. Dress in Layers
Dress
in layers as you would for a mild winter hike and be prepared for a quick turn
in the weather. A light wool base layer under a light to mid-weight insulating
layer topped off with a water proof hard-shell outer layer works for me. Layering
gives you the flexibility to adjust to quickly changing spring weather. If you are hiking in a milder climate, you might try a soft-shell outer layer instead of
hard-shell, or sticking to a lightweight insulating layer. Always bring an
extra pair of dry socks. This is especially important in the spring when weather
can change so quickly. Check weather forecasts and plan for the worst. Always
go prepared!
2. Wear Waterproof Boots or Shoes
- Stick to waterproof boots or shoes unless you're really sure about the weather through your entire hike. The fastest way to ruin a potentially great spring hike is to spend half the day with wet feet.
- Were gaiters if you expect to hike through spring snow or mud. Gaiters bridge the gap between your boots and your pants legs and do a great job of keeping mud and snow out. Do the best you can to plan your hike around problem snow and mud.
- Carry ice grippers if you think there's any chance you might encounter ice or extremely hard-packed snow. Ice grippers are small, light, and easy to carry. Buying them and carrying them is much better than dealing with a broken bone from a fall. Hiking poles can help you maintain your balance, but they are not a substitute for ice grippers.
3. Use Plastic Bags If You Don’t
Have Waterproof Boots (Some experts say)
If
you don't have waterproof boots or gaiters (but you really should), you can try
plastic grocery bags as a very poor substitute to keep your feet dry. Honestly
it really doesn’t work.
4. Observe Avalanche Hazard
Like
always be aware of avalanche danger. Just because its spring doesn’t mean
avalanches can’t happen.
5. Carry Hiking Poles
If
you like hiking poles they are handy on spring hikes. You can probe the depth
of snow or mud. Get collapsible hiking poles if you can that way when you don't
need them, you can collapse them for hands-free hiking.
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PrepareNowStore.com for Backpacks and other out door gear.
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Choosing the Best Solar Charger
By Lyra Pierotti and Chris McNamara - Monday January 12, 2015Great article on choosing a solar charger.
... A 4 or 5 watt panel works great for small handheld devices, such as a simpler cell phone or mp3 player. However, many smart phones like the iPhone (especially the latest models) are extremely power hungry--nearly as much as an iPad or tablet. In general, you need at least a 7 watt panel to be sure you can charge most smart phones.
If you want to start charging more energy-hungry items like an iPad, or you want to charge multiple devices at once, things start to get more complicated (and expensive). In general, you will need a panel with at least 15 watts of power. If you want to start charging laptops, you will almost certainly need a battery and an inverter. And if you want to charge AC devices, you are now in a new category. You will now need a pretty heavy duty panel (25+ watts, a battery, and a DC-to-AC inverter). It used to be hard to make those three components work well together. But now Goal Zero has a number of kits like the Goal Zero Escape 150 Adventure Kit that make it pretty easy.
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