Menu

bluetooth

Prepping

Protecting your DNA

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I have for a long time, or at least since its emergence, been against all varieties of DNA testing kits you can order at home. The Internet has already more than enough information on us as it is, why give them your DNA too?

If you\’re delusional to think that your DNA test won\’t be shared with any 3rd party or able to be accessed by the government or law enforcement agencies, your DEAD wrong. That\’s not to say any law biding citizen would generally worry about this information being out there but one can make the case for mistaken DNA.

Imagine your sitting at home, minding your everyday hum-drum life, and the door comes crashing down with officers to arrest you for something you weren\’t involved in. Could it be because there was a DNA match? A match that perhaps was tainted or labeled improperly?

Or, even more of an Orwellian thought, your DNA was tagged because it contains information about a possible disease outbreak that could be caused by hidden information in your DNA.

At some point, as citizens, have to say enough is enough when protecting our privacy and our own personal information or intellectual properties.

If you\’re not one of these people who are concerned, at least take some steps to keep your DNA as private as you possibly can get it.

Eric Ravenscraft helps with his article in the New York Times.

Consumer DNA testing kits like those from 23andMe, Ancestry.com and MyHeritage promise a road map to your genealogy and, in some cases, information about what diseases you’re most susceptible to. They also ask for a lot of trust with your DNA information — trust that, in some ways, may not be earned. Here’s how to protect and delete your data if you use any of these services.

Home DNA testing kits usually involve taking a cheek swab or saliva sample and mailing it off to the company. In that little sample is the most personal information you can share: your genetic code. Some companies share that data with law enforcement, and most sell your DNA data to third parties, after which it can become difficult to track. For some people who work for small companies or serve in the military, it can affect insurance premiums and even the ability to get insurance at all.

While DNA testing has been used in medical and scientific contexts for decades, direct-to-consumer testing kits are still relatively new and legal policies that govern the private use of consumer data are still being developed.

According to Dr. James Hazel, a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Genetic Privacy and Identity in Community Settings, there are fewer protections for your data with consumer DNA testing kits than there would be if you were taking a medical test. If a doctor takes a DNA sample, that sample is protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and there are limits on how it can be shared.

“In the United States, if you’re talking about genetic data that’s generated outside of the health care setting, there’s a relatively low baseline of protection,” Dr. Hazel said. “And that’s provided generally by the by the Federal Trade Commission. So the Federal Trade Commission, although it’s not specific to genetic data, has the ability to police unfair and deceptive business practices across all industries. Other than that, there are really no laws in the United States that apply specifically.”

In other words, if you want to make sure your data is safe, you’re going to have to do the unthinkable: read the company’s privacy policy. That policy will tell you what data the company collects, how it’s used and what control you have over it. If a company deceptively violates its own policy, the F.T.C. can step in. Beyond that, though, you’ll have to read a company’s policy carefully before signing up.

For most DNA testing companies, the best way to protect your data is to not hand it over in the first place. In 2017, Dr. Hazel’s team studied 90 DNA testing companies and found most of their privacy policies wanting. Some companies only had policies governing use of their website, while others failed to indicate whether they strip away personally identifiable information from a sample before sending it off for testing. A few of the larger companies may have acceptable policies, but Dr. Hazel said you probably shouldn’t trust smaller testing companies that you haven’t heard of.

“When we looked in 2017, we found that 40 percent of companies appear to have no written policy that specifically mentioned genetic data,” Dr. Hazel said. “We saw these smaller companies that you might not have heard of had privacy policies that were a paragraph long, a couple paragraphs long, and really didn’t provide any information whatsoever.”

The more well-known testing companies are safer bets — perhaps because they’re so well-known. “And so when we have larger companies that are constantly sort of in the public spotlight, I think the result has been that these companies are generally more accountable,” Dr. Hazel said. “And their privacy policies are generally much more comprehensive.”

Three of the biggest names in home DNA tests are 23andMe, Ancestry.com and MyHeritage. You can find their privacy policies and specific instructions on how to delete data from each of them below. Wirecutter, the product review website owned by The New York Times Company, evaluated 15 DNA testing kits and recommended AncestryDNA or 23andMe.

When you first set up a new smartphone, you might be asked to give a company permission to track your location or share data about how you use your phone. In the same way, once you’ve picked a DNA test to try, there are a few things to watch out for. DNA testing companies tend to ask a lot of questions that may strike you as boring, but if you want to protect your data, you’ll want to read them all carefully.

Consumers “want to look at what choices they have, in terms of the activities that they can opt into, or opt out of,” Dr. Hazel said. Some companies like 23andMe have a separate agreement asking permission to use your DNA data in research studies. This data is stripped of identifying labels like your name or address that tie it to you specifically, but that’s not always guaranteed to protect your privacy.

In some cases, Dr. Hazel said, companies use what’s called “de-identified aggregate data,” which is relatively safe. This kind of data might include summaries that don’t specifically call out individuals, like what percentage of people have a certain ancestry.

“But these companies also use what’s called de-identified individual-level data, where there is, you know, always a risk that a person can be re-identified from that data,” Dr. Hazel said. This kind of data might describe your unique genetic makeup without using your name. While it may be unlikely that this information could be linked back to you, researchers have shown it is possible. Law enforcement famously used crime-scene DNA that was shared with a genealogical research site to track down a suspect in the Golden State killer case, even though he never used a DNA test himself, demonstrating that even anonymized data can be used to identify people.

If you give a company permission to share your data with another research organization, you can revoke that permission later. However, it will be difficult or impossible to delete your data from third parties that have already received it. It’s also hard to guarantee that those third parties won’t also share your data with yet another company or research organization down the road. “Once that data has been shared with a third party, it’s really difficult to control further sharing,” Dr. Hazel said. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t share data with researchers, but you should know the risks going in.

You may also be asked for permission to allow the DNA testing company to store your sample, meaning that it can go back and test it again if more advanced techniques are developed in the future. Some sites also offer a family finder feature that lets potential relatives contact you if your DNA matches. All of these can be very personal permissions to give. Reputable companies will make sure to inform you as much as possible, but be sure to read everything you’re presented with before you click “Agree.”

Each company has its own steps for deleting your data. We’ll cover the steps for each of the Big Three companies below, as well as what deleting your data with that company entails.

To delete your 23andMe data, head to your account settings page and find the “Delete Your Data” option under “23andMe Data.” You can download any or all of your data before you destroy it. If you agreed to have your sample saved, it will also be physically destroyed.

However, 23andMe uses a laboratory that must follow regulations under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, or CLIA. This means that some data, including your DNA, sex and date of birth will be retained in order to comply with these regulations. The company will no longer use that information, though. You can read more about the company’s deletion process here.

To delete data from Ancestry, sign into your account, click the “DNA” tab and choose “Your DNA Results Summary.” From there, click “Settings” and choose “Delete Test Results.” You’ll have to enter your password again to confirm that you want to delete your information.

This process will delete your DNA data, as well as prevent you from appearing in any family finder results. You can also delete your entire Ancestry account. As with 23andMe (and any federally compliant DNA-testing company), your DNA information will be retained for regulatory compliance purposes, but nothing else, according to Ancestry’s privacy policy.

To delete data from MyHeritage, log into your account, click your name in the upper-right corner, and choose “Account Settings.” From there, scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Delete Account.” You can also choose to delete your Family Tree Builder projects or sites without deleting your entire account, but this will not necessarily delete your data. Since MyHeritage labs are CLIA-certified, they will also retain some information about you.

DNA testing companies have improved their methods for deleting your data over the years. However, since the United States government requires these companies to retain DNA information in order to comply with quality control guidelines, it’s never really possible to delete it forever. Before you sign up for a testing kit, always make sure you know what you’re agreeing to and that you’re comfortable signing that permission away.

 

Electric powerlines

China Testing EMP Weapons

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Written by: Daniel Jennings – Off The Grid News

China’s EMP threat to America and other nations is far greater than most people believe. Significantly, China’s EMP threat could reduce America to an early 19th Century level of existence.

To elaborate, an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapon could destroy most electronics along with the electric power grid. An EMP weapon releases an electromagnetic pulse or radiation that fries a wide variety of technology.

Notably, EMP weapons have been around for a long time. For instance, Operation Fishbowl, a 1961 U.S. Air Force study, claims that an electromagnetic pulse from a high-altitude nuclear blast could shut down the United States.

China’s EMP Threat Is Real

In addition, an EMP from Starfish Prime, a 1962 nuclear test, knocked out electrical service in Hawaii, The Hill claims. Amazingly, Hawaii is 1,000 miles from the Starfish Prime test site.

This operation demonstrates that no new technology is even required for a deadly EMP attack. So, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China can conceivably send America back to the stone age with proven off-the-shelf technology.

Moreover, the Air Force had classified details of Operation Fishbowl until 2007, The Hill states. This action may indicate that the Pentagon has been afraid of an EMP threat for decades.

“Nuclear EMP attack is part of the military doctrines, plans, and exercises of Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran for a revolutionary new way of warfare against military forces and civilian critical infrastructures by cyber, sabotage, and EMP,” the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from EMP Attack asserts.

To explain, the Commission is examining the EMP threat for Congress, Investor’s Business Daily notes. In particular, the Commission warns that China’s EMP threat could send America back to the stone age.

China’s EMP Threat Can Send America Back To The Stone Age

“The effects of an EMP would be catastrophic and could plunge a nation into indefinite darkness,” blogger Daniel Ashman explains. Specifically, Ashman fears a surprise attack with a nuclear EMP.

An EMP weapon could instantly shut down America’s infrastructure and make most technology useless. Consequently, Investor’s Business Daily warns that “Modern life would simply disappear” after an EMP attack.

To illustrate, vehicles, mass-transit systems, power plants, airports, telephones, electronics, aircraft, railroads, pipelines, sewer systems, water systems, the internet, and hospitals could instantly shut down. As a result, Americans will find themselves in the Stone Age without modern technology.

Moreover, only a small percentage of America’s modern population possesses the skills and resources to survive in such an environment. For example, most Americans don’t even know how to fish, hunt, trap, plant a garden, or use hand tools.

Those With Guns Could Survive China’s EMP Threat

Under these circumstances, most Americans will starve to death. In addition, firearms will be among the few pieces of modern technology that will work after an EMP attack.

To elaborate, chemical explosions rather than electricity power firearms. As a consequence, most guns will still function after an EMP attack.

Those with guns may survive simply because they can force others to give them food. Furthermore, people with guns can create a comfortable lifestyle by forcing those without guns to perform manual labor. So, there’s a good chance that only people with guns will remain free after an EMP attack.

Significantly, The Investor’s Business Daily claims an EMP weapon will drive America back to the early 19th Century. Importantly, slavery was one of the defining features of early 19th Century U.S. society. Is it possible that slavery could make its return in a post-EMP America?

Are America And China Heading To War?

You should fear China’s EMP threat because there are those in Washington who want a conflict with the People’s Republic.

In fact, writer Harry J. Kazianis claims Trump administration officials want to “crush China” in an American Conservative column. Unfortunately, Kazianis presents no proof of his claims and quotes only an “anonymous source.” Furthermore, Kazianis offers no tangible evidence that President Donald J. Trump himself shares those desires.

However, Kazianis claims that an unidentified official says, “America’s strategy when it comes to China is easy to understand: crush them.” For this reason, some in Washington could give the Chinese a reason for launching an EMP attack.

Will A Trade War Unleash China’s EMP Threat?

Notably, some officials believe they can use sanctions and a trade war to crush China. Nonetheless, history proves such sanctions lead to war. Similar sanctions ended up driving the Japanese to attack Pearl Harbor in 1941.

To explain further, President Franklin D. Roosevelt thought he could end Japanese aggression in Asia by blocking sales of raw materials to Japan. Instead of ending the aggression, the sanctions gave Japanese militarists a reason to attack the United States.

On balance, a conflict between the United States and China is more likely than many people believe. Because of this, everyone should take China’s EMP threat seriously.

cashless

Cashless Society Chaos

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Written by: Daniel Jennings on Off The Grid News

The cashless society is almost here and it could lead to chaos and violence. Furthermore, many Americans could soon have no way to pay for necessities like food.

Poor people could have no way to buy food because they have no credit cards or smartphones. To elaborate, Big Retail is planning to get rid of cash registers and cashiers to save money.

In fact, Amazon is already operating 10 Go automated convenience stores that have no cash registers or cashiers, Grocery Business reports. Instead of cash, customers pay with digital wallets such as Apple Pay or Google Pay at Amazon Go. Moreover, Amazon plans to open up to 3,000 go stores by 2021, Bloomberg claims.

Big Retail Wants The Cashless Society

Big Retail wants the cashless society because it reduces expenses. For instance, Amazon does not pay cashiers at their Go stores.

In addition, Amazon needs less security at Go because there is no cash for armed robbers to take. Big Retail can also eliminate the expense of counting, storing, and hauling cash. After all, no safe, armored car, or armed guards are necessary when a store refuses to accept cash.

All in all, most of us are already living in a cashless society. For example, Americans used cash for only 30% of their transactions in 2018, The Federal Reserve estimates.

Additionally, people who do not use cash spend more. In particular, the average cash transaction was under $25 while the average credit card transaction was $67 in 2018, The Federal Reserve calculates. As a result, big retailers are readily embracing the cashless society because it increases their income while lowering their expenses.

We Are Not Prepared For The Cashless Society

Even though the cashless society is nearly here, most of us are still not ready for it.

Notably, the British government has no plan to cope with a cashless economy, Quartz reports. However, cash use is falling faster in the United Kingdom than in other countries. Specifically, the level of cash transactions in the UK could fall to 10% within 15 years.

The number of places where Britons can get cash is dwindling fast. Particularly, 70 bank branches are closing each month in the UK. Likewise, banks remove up to 300 ATMs each month in Britain.

How Cyberwarfare Threatens The Cashless Society

Ultimately, Britons could have no way to get cash if cyberwarfare or an electromagnetic pulse destroys electronic payment systems. So, most of Britain’s population would have no way to buy food after a cyber attack.

Notably, U.S. banks are already preparing for an apocalyptic cyber attack, PYMNTs.com claims. In fact, bank executives fear a cyber attack could wipe out up to 400 million bank accounts. For this reason, a cyber attack may devastate America’s cashless society.

Desperate mobs could roam cities and the countryside looking for food or gasoline. Furthermore, businesses and the government would shut down if employees are unpaid.

Get Ready For The Cashless Society And Chaos

Everybody needs to prepare for the cashless society because it is coming fast. Moreover, events overseas show that you will have no choice but to go cashless.

For example, most banks and many businesses in Sweden no longer even accept cash. In addition, parking lots and vending machines no longer accept cash in Sweden either.

Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) plans to punish businesses that refuse to accept cash payments. A PBOC press release warned merchants that it is illegal not to accept cash.

The PBOC is threatening merchants because of complaints about businesses forcing customers to pay electronically, The South China Morning Post states. In detail, the PBOC is China’s central bank and the equivalent of America’s Federal Reserve.

In the final analysis, a cashless society is almost here and everybody must prepare for it regardless of current circumstances.

globalwarming

12 Years Left!!!

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

\"\"By Andrew Winston – Harvard Business Review

Every year, I look for important themes in sustainability that will have lasting impact on society, from glaring evidence of global megatrends to inspiring stories of corporate action. The year 2018 brought extreme change — in weather and environmental ecosystems, in political winds and power, and in the expectations of business. It also brought incredible clarity about the scale of our challenges and opportunities.

So let’s start with the big picture before moving to some corporate success stories.

The world’s scientists sound a final alarm on climate

We have about 12 years left. That’s the clear message from a monumental study from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). To avoid some of the most devastating impacts of climate change, the world must slash carbon emissions by 45% by 2030, and completely decarbonize by 2050 (while, in the meantime, emissions are still rising).

The IPCC looked at the difference between the world “only” warming two degrees Celsius (3.8°F) — the agreed upon goal at global climate summits in Copenhagen and Paris — or holding warming to just 1.5 degrees. Even the latter, they say, will require a monumental effort “unprecedented in terms of scale.” We face serious problems either way, but every half degree matters a great deal in human, planetary, and economic losses.

It wasn’t just the IPCC that told a stark story. Thirteen U.S. government agencies issued the U.S. National Climate Assessment, which concluded that climate change could knock at least 10% off of GDP. Other studies tell us that sea level rise is going to be worse than we thought, Antarctica is melting three times faster than a decade ago, and Greenland is losing ice quickly as well. If both those ice sheets go, sea level rise could reach 200-plus feet, resulting in utter devastation, including the loss of the entire Atlantic seaboard (Boston, New York, D.C., etc.), all of Florida, London, Stockholm, Denmark, Paraguay, and land now inhabited by more than 1 billion Asians).

All of this suggests that business must dramatically change how it operates: companies will need to push well past their comfort zones from areas like politics and policy to engaging consumers to how they make investment decisions.

Entire towns are wiped off the map by extreme weather

This year the weather devastation around the world got, in the words of one colleague, “biblical.” The town of Paradise, California, was effectively eliminated by wildfires (that, yes, are made worse by climate change), killing at least 85 people. Most houses in Mexico Beach, Florida, were destroyed by Hurricane Michael. Unprecedented rains and damage from Hurricane Florence slammed North Carolina and temporarily turned a major highway into a river. Typhoon Mangkhut ravaged the Philippines and parts of China, killing dozens of people. Incredible heat blanketed four continents this summer, with records falling across Europe and Asia. Venezuela’s last glacier is disappearing. Finally, Capetown, South Africa, is essentially out of water due in part to drought — the city nearly shut off all the taps this year, but has held off “Day Zero” through ongoing restrictions and aggressive citizen action.

The consequences of these extremes are not theoretical. What is the economic cost to an area with no water, or one that’s under water, or burned to the ground? In the U.S. alone, it was $306 billion in 2017, shattering records.

Coral is dying, insects are disappearing, and the fate of major ecosystems looks dim

The world’s top coral expert confirms that at 2 degrees of warming, all coral will die. This will destroy a critical part of an ocean system that provides protein to hundreds of millions of people, helps blunt coastal storm surges, and supports the livelihoods of people working in fishing and tourism.

And it’s not just coral: there’s the death of pacific kelp forests, radical declines in insect populations, and continuing population drops in all mammals and bees.

How does this all connect to business? For some sectors, it’s obvious: the food and agriculture industry will have trouble feeding us without pollinators, and tourism takes a big hit without coral and other wildlife. But more broadly, society will not thrive in a world where entire pillars of planetary support are collapsing. And if society can’t thrive, neither can business.

The U.S. environmental protection system continues being dismantled … from within

The EPA and Department of Interior are reversing years of protections for air, water, and land. In 2018, the Trump administration has opened up offshore waters and rolled back safety rules for drilling, greatly weakened the voice of science in policy, reduced focus on children’s health, and moved to make it easier to build dirty coal plants.

 

The big question now is whether businesses will push back and go down a cleaner path on their own. It’s easy to see why multinationals might as they face pressure from sub-national regions — California Gov. Jerry Brown held a Global Climate Action Summit which produced many aggressive climate goes from cities and state, for example. Gov. Brown also signed aggressive new laws committing to carbon-free electricity statewide by 2045 and requiring solar on all new homes. So even if U.S. action sputters, governors and mayors who influence local and regional business conditions will be pushing the clean economy and pro-climate agendas.

In pointed contrast to the U.S., the EU backed a proposal to strike no new trade deals with countries not in the Paris climate accord (i.e., only the U.S.), France will shut coal plants by 2021, India just cancelled plans for big coal plants, and China banned 500 inefficient models of cars.

A prominent leader retires, but new leaders step up

For nearly a decade, no business leader has done more to bring sustainability into the business mainstream than Paul Polman, Unilever’s outgoing CEO (Full disclosure: I’ve worked with Unilever). His depth of understanding of our biggest global, social, and environmental challenges, and his commitment to use business as a way to tackle them, has been unparalleled. But it wasn’t just talk. The company also grew throughout Polman’s tenure and the stock outperformed peers and the FTSE index. Luckily, there are other corporate leaders who are stepping up, including Danone’s Emmanuel Faber (see below for more).

But climate isn’t the only area where we’re seeing bold stances. Societal issues more broadly made headlines, too. The New York Times declared 2018 year that “CEO activism has become the new normal,” with prominent voices like Salesforce’s Marc Benioff leading the way. Other notable moments include Nike making Colin Kaepernick — the man who led NFL player protests about police violence against African Americans — the face of its 30th anniversary “Just Do It” campaign (sales rose quickly). Under pressure from survivors of school mass shootings, Dick’s Sporting Goods stopped selling assault weapons, and other companies cut ties to the powerful National Rifle Association. Kroger celebrated a year of its “End Hunger” initiative. Unilever threatened to pull its substantial ad dollars from Facebook and Google if they didn’t police “fake news and toxic content.” One hundred U.S. CEOs urged action on controversial immigration issues. And more than 100 U.S. companies gave employees time off to vote.

Danone becomes the world’s largest B Corporation

A “B Corp” certification requires answering an intensive set of questions on environmental, social, and governance issues. But most importantly, it commits a company to create value for all stakeholders (customers, employees, communities, and so on), not just shareholders.

French consumer products giant Danone has now put 30% of its brands and businesses through the certification process and says that “companies are fundamentally challenged as to whose interests they really serve.” Becoming a B Corp is arguably is a direct statement about whose interests it values most, and it’s and fascinating frontal attack on the dominance of shareholder capitalism.

More investors are viewing climate and sustainability as core value issues

Something is shifting in finance. Vanguard wants CEOs to be a force for good. Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, said that “70% of [UK] banks, who normally have a shorter horizon, are viewing climate as a financial risk—not a CSR one.” Larry Fink, CEO of Blackrock, the world’s largest asset owner, encouraged longer-term thinking about environmental, social, and governance issues in a strongly-worded letter to large-company CEOs.

Anecdotally, I’ve talked to leaders at big banks who are now thinking differently about purpose and systemic risk. And in a quieter move, a major real estate investor in Miami began pulling money out of coastal assets to avoid risk of sea level rise. Watch this space.

The clean technology explosion continues and accelerates

Three big clean tech themes wowed me this year.

1) Renewables keep getting cheaper. According to Lazard’s annual analysis of the cost of building new power plants, renewables are now the cheapest. And another global analysis showed that new wind and solar are cheaper than one-third of the coal already on the grid — and will be cheaper than 96% of existing plants by 2030).

2) Corporate buying of clean energy keeps rising. By the end of just the first half of 2018, businesses bought more clean energy than they did in 2017. Companies like Owens Corning (disclosure: a client of mine) are buying enough green energy to pitch their products as cleanly manufactured (which they started doing in late 2017).

3) Electric vehicles are exploding, and it’s not just small vehicles: even container ships are going electric. UPS bought its first EV delivery vehicles at price parity to combustion engines, and China is adding nearly 10,000 electric buses to the roads — equal to the size of London’s entire bus fleet – every five weeks.

China rejects the world’s trash

For years, the U.S. had a great deal: When container ships arrived from China with goods, we sent them back filled with our recyclable paper and glass. But starting January 1, 2018, China stopped accepting our trash. The ripples of this move are unpredictable and still moving through the system, but in some regions, materials piled up and prices for recycled content plummeted. In a business world trying to go “circular” (i.e., find a use for everything and eliminate waste), it was a wake-up call about how much waste we still produce.

 

The battle against single-use plastic heats up, starting (somewhat oddly) with straws

Sometimes weird things hit a tipping point. For a combination of reasons, including a viral video showing a turtle with a straw stuck in its nose, companies waged war on straws this year. Marriott, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Burger King, and the city of Seattle, among others, all banned or are phasing out straws. It was a very small part of a larger conversation about “single-use plastics,” most notably plastic bags, which IKEA and Taiwan are banning as well.

Raising the bar for suppliers

The greening of the supply chain is a perennial story, but there are some noteworthy recent actions. Apple created a $300 million fund to help suppliers in China build more solar, and also partnered with Alcoa and Rio Tinto to develop a better smelting process to make carbon-free aluminum. On the labor side of the supply chain equation, PepsiCo and Nestle cut ties with a palm oil supplier over human rights abuses and Coca-Cola said it would work with the U.S. State Department to use blockchain to fight forced labor.

Meatless options grow plentiful

Given the way most cattle is currently raised, one of the most effective things an individual can do to reduce her carbon footprint is eat less meat. The options to do so are growing, and the rise of products made from non-animal proteins has been remarkable. The Impossible Burger, Beyond Meat, and other brands have made believers out of skeptics (they taste great) and are, as the Wall Street Journal put it, “overrunning grocery meat cases.” In another fascinating move, tech company WeWork went meat-free in its offices and even stopped reimbursing employees on business trips for meat meals.

What comes next…

I’m sure I missed many stories, especially globally (my view is from the U.S.). Predictions are hard, but I’m safe in assuming 2019 will be a bumpy ride again. Ultimately, today’s global political situation is, at best, unpredictable. Brazil now has a strongman-style leader who talks about cutting down the Amazon, but the U.S. just swung its House of Representatives back the other way, giving power to Democrats who want more focus on climate change, inequality, and other sustainability agenda items. No matter what happens politically, it seems clear that companies will continue to feel pressure, internally and externally, to do more on social and environmental issues. While the problems we are extremely serious, I remain optimistic that companies will be doing more in 2019 than ever before.

 

grocery-store-snacks

Stockpiling on the Cheap

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Building up a stockpile from scratch can be expensive and financially demanding, but if you’re serious about prepping, it’s a financial burden that will have to be overcome. Fortunately, there are quite a few things you can do to lessen the blow to your wallet, even if you’re on a tight budget.

Treat Your Stockpile Like an Investment

Don’t like eating dried fruit? Don’t stock up on it! Prefer pasta over rice? Buy more of the pasta. Only like one type of shampoo? Don’t bother buying any other kind. When stockpiling, buy items that you would like to eat, drink, or use, and don’t be afraid to start going through your stockpile as you add to it. Rotating items in your stockpile is good. Eating through older food and continually replacing it with new food keeps your stock fresh and helps you keep track of any potential expiry dates (no matter how long into the future you think they may be).

You shouldn’t be picturing your stockpile as a large closet or room where you simply dump food and other products because you might need them one day. A stockpile should be a regularly used thing, accessed and utilized daily or weekly. A stockpile shouldn’t just be there in case doomsday arrives and the shit hits the fan so hard that everyone but you is starving. It should be a back up in case you just can’t go to the grocery store this week, in case you want to try saving gas money by taking less trips to the mall, or even, heaven forbid, in case you have some sort of emergency or have financially difficult times and can’t afford to pay for expensive grocery bills. A stockpile ensures you’re okay and well fed even if you hit your own personal rock bottom. It ensures you peace of mind – that even if all else goes wrong, at least you’ll never starve. You’ll always have food on the table, some medicine in case you get sick, and of course some extra toilet paper: because we all know living without that would suck.

So don’t think about your stockpile as though it’s an expensive tool you bought and stuffed in the back of the garage to gather dust simply because it “might come in handy one day.” Think of it as your own personal convenience store, combined with a small emergency scenario insurance plan.

Stockpile Gradually

There’s no rule that says you have to have a reasonably sized stockpile overnight. If you’re on a budget and can’t afford to spend a lot on stockpiling goods, or even if you would rather be a little more frugal at the moment, say because you have quite a few big payments this month, don’t hesitate to take small steps instead of big ones toward building up your stockpile.

For growing your non-perishable food stockpile, I’d recommend trying to cover one type of food or household item per week: say buying an extra bag or two of rice per person the first week, an extra 5 or 10 cans of beans the next, etc. Try to circle around the food groups as much as possible, so that you don’t end up with too many carbs and not enough proteins, for instance.

\"\"

Keep an Eye Out for Deals and Specials

This is by far the best way to make sure you get the most bang for your buck when working on your stockpile. It also goes well in line with the previous tip. Week by week, scan flyers and discount sites for any deals they may be having. Comparison shop if you have the time. If one or more items looks good to you, get a reasonable supply of those products. Wait for other items you may be interested in to go on sale, and in the meantime, spare your wallet the extra loss.

If you live in countries like the United States or Canada, sales can make a big difference, especially when buying in bulk, since products at times regularly drop to around 50 or 75% of their original price.

For household items like shampoo, bleach, soap, tissue paper, paper towels, and toilet paper, buy in huge bulk when there is a substantial sale, so that you don’t have to worry about purchasing these products between sales when they are more costly. Ideally, try keeping at least 3 months to a year’s worth of household products, and check your stock at least once a month to make sure it isn’t depleting faster than you expected. Buying in large bulk when an item is on sale not only reduces cost, but it also gives you time to wait for another good sale, in case sales are more spaced out with the product you want to buy.

Buy Quality Items

If you go through one-ply toilet paper about three times faster than two-ply toilet paper, you should really be spending the extra dollar to buy two-ply. Same goes for quality medical supplies or clothes. If you have to replace your Band-Aid once a day, but buying Elastoplast will keep your cut covered up until it’s healed, you might as well spend a bit more to get the box of Elastoplast. If your cotton socks are getting worn after two weeks of wear, but the expensive wool socks you bought have lasted a year and a half, splurge just the once and get the expensive wool socks. Saving in the short run isn’t wise when you can have bigger savings in the long run.

Don’t (Always) Buy Brand Name

Just because it’s brand name doesn’t mean it’s better. Of course, many times we will like a certain brand of food better than another, or find that a certain type of medicine is much more effective than the non-brand name alternative, but this isn’t necessarily always the case. The next time you’re in a grocery store, if you haven’t pledged your unwavering loyalty to Heinz Ketchup, try a cheaper brand, or a no-name alternative. If you don’t like it better, you can cut your losses and continue buying Heinz. Otherwise, you’ve made a decision that will make the rest of your ketchup-buying days cheaper.

With medicine, it’s relatively easy to find out which brands are important to the product, and which are equivalent if not better bought as non-brand name items.

If you really like buying brand name or you find that a certain brand name product is much more effective, keep an eye out for coupons online, in store, or in the mail. Many brands will give out coupons that heavily discount the price of brand name products, which can be very advantageous for a person looking to stockpile said items.

\"\"

Prioritize Stockpile Purchases

If you’re just starting out and you want to eventually have a stockpile for food, household items, medicine, and tradable goods, note that not all of these categories should be set at the highest priority. Food should probably be the highest on the list, though household items, because they are relatively inexpensive and go on sale quite frequently, should probably be stockpiled at the same time as food items are.

Once you have a good amount of household items stockpiled, you will likely be able to neglect this category for extended periods of time (months or even years), as these items never expire and so can be stored without any consideration unlike most long expiry date food. After having acquired a good amount of food and household items for your stockpile (maybe about a month’s worth), you should start to look into buying medicine.

Unlike the other two categories, medicine will need to be replenished much less often, yet at the same time, it often expires much more quickly. You might find it better to begin to stockpile medicine as you need it, i.e., when you get sick. This will make sure that the expiry date is the latest it can possibly be. That being said, not all medicines should be thrown out as soon as they expire. Most medicines are fine to take after their expiry date, and simply get weaker (rather than more dangerous to take) with age. Do a quick check online if you aren’t sure whether or not it is fine to take a certain medicine after it’s expiry date has passed.

The last thing you will want to stockpile are tradable goods. Sure, you might feel like you’re investing if you buy a brick of gold once a month, but if you’re on a tight budget, that money would be better kept in a separate savings account as an emergency fund. What happens if the roof leaks and you need to fix it? That brick of gold is going to take a while to sell and trying to sell in a hurry will likely mean you’ll get less for it than you otherwise would have. Thus, until you’re completely happy with all of your other stockpiles (you have enough food, household items, and medicine to last you however long you want your stockpile to allow you to last), you should probably veer away from working on your tradable goods stockpile.

family

The Friends & Family Plan

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

There are a lot of agencies out there that suggest that you make a sound Emergency Communication\"\" plan for your family in case disaster strikes but unbelievably, a lot of them don’t tell you how to actually do this, and the ones that do are woefully inadequate. Ready.gov at least gives some information by suggesting that you use the acronym COMMUNICATE:

  • Create a family communication plan so you can get in touch with family members. Give copies of contact information and meeting locations to everyone in your family
  • Options are available: telephones, cell phones and e-mail are all great ways to get in touch with family members.
  • Make sure you know the emergency plan at your child’s school.
  • Make a decision about where you will meet in case you can’t get home during an emergency.
  • Understand that it may take time to get through to everyone. Try to be patient.
  • Needs of your pets should be kept in mind. Keep a pet carrier for easy transport.
  • Inform yourself. Watch news broadcasts, read online news updates or listen to a battery-operated radio for official guidance during an emergency, but also prepare in advance.
  • Copies of your emergency plan should be in your emergency supply kit in case you need to leave in a hurry.
  • Ask kids to discuss their concerns and feelings. Do they understand the family plan?
  • Take the kids to visit the “meeting spots” so that they are familiar and feel comfortable finding them on their own if necessary.
  • Emergencies take many forms. Categorize different types of emergencies and discuss the level of concern related to each and how that is reflected in your family plan.

That’s better than most but it’s still pretty dumb. You can tell they tried to come up with tenuous connections to each letter to make the acronym fit. It’s better than nothing, but it still doesn’t tell you effective ways of how you can communicate with your family during and after an emergency; it just tells you a few things to consider.

There are three main purposes to communicating with someone as part of your Emergency Communication\"\" plan:

  • To order the initiation or change to a phase of your emergency plan
  • To acknowledge or communicate that a phase has begun or changed
  • To pass on information as to your status or requirements – a situation report

That should be it. If there’s any other reason you’re communicating, you didn’t prepare your plan well enough. Expect that you haven’t prepared your plan well enough. Your plan needs to be adaptable. Go with the flow, dude. The goal is to plan for everything but you also have to make your plan simple and easy to remember and follow.

If you’re planning for some eventual SHTF scenario such as a natural disaster, emergency event or the collapse of society, your communication plan should be an intimate part of your plan. If you’re just planning for how to communicate with your family in case of something like a fire or car accident or something, your communication plan will look different, but it should fit into any scenario.

bristol

Bristol Airport in Chaos

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bristol Airport has blamed a ransomware attack for causing a blackout of flight information screens for two days over the weekend.

The airport said that the attack started Friday morning, taking out several computers over the airport network, including its in-house display screens which provide details about the arrival and departure information of flights.

The attack forced the airport officials to take down its systems and use whiteboards and paper posters to announce check-in and arrival information for flights going through the airport and luggage pickup points for all Friday, Saturday, and the subsequent night.

The airport also urged passengers to arrive early and \”allow extra time for check-in and boarding processes,\” though this two days technical meltdown caused delays in baggage handling, with customers needed to wait longer than one hour for their bags.

However, no flight delays were reportedly caused due to the cyber attack.

An airport spokesman said that the information screens went offline due to a so-called \”ransomware\” attack, though he confirmed that no \”ransom\” had been paid to get the airport systems working again.

Affected systems and flight information screens were finally restored on Sunday, officials said.

At the moment, it is not clear how the ransomware got into the airport systems. Bristol is carrying out an investigation to find out what happened.

Another Airport Attack

\”We are grateful to passengers for their patience while we have been working to resolve issues with flight information this weekend. Digital screens are now live in arrivals and departures. Work will continue to restore complete site-wide coverage as soon as possible,\” the airport tweeted on Sunday.

storage

Improve your supply line

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Non-Food Items:

  • A note to remind you what you still need to take care of (e.g., get medical equipment; charge cell phones)
  • Cell phone charger
  • Crank or battery-powered radio, flashlights
  • Extra batteries
  • First aid kit (include acetaminophen or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug NSAID, antibiotic cream and antacids) and manual.
  • Prescription medications (month\’s supply recommended).
    • Medicine should be clearly labeled and kept separate from other supplies. Always have one refill left on prescription medicine, especially for chronic conditions such as diabetes.
  • Photocopies of prescriptions (pharmacy records may not be available right away)
  • Credit card and cash
  • Personal identification and current family identification photos
  • Spare set of car keys
  • Extra pair of eyeglasses or contact lenses
  • Matches in a waterproof container
  • Whistle
  • Map of the area
  • List of important phone numbers
  • Special items for babies/young children/elderly.
  • Three-day supply of water (one gallon per day per person)
  • Toiletries (e.g., toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, hand sanitizer) and toilet paper
  • Paper and pencils
  • Masking or duct tape
  • Water purification method (e.g., bleach or tablets)
  • Plastic bucket with a tight lid
  • Plastic garbage bags
  • Non-electric can opener and utility knife (like a Swiss Army knife)
  • Paper cups, plates, and plastic utensils
  • Blankets or sleeping bags
  • A change of clothing, rain gear, and sturdy shoes for each family member.
    • In warm weather climates, you may also want to include sunscreen and insect repellant
  • Disposable gloves
  • Rope
  • Sensory toys or calming devices (e.g., weighted vests, chew toys, fidget toys, white noise or sound machines, blankets)
  • Baby supplies such as diapers, formula, baby food, and wipes

Food Items:

  • Peanut butter and jelly
  • Ready-to-eat canned soup, canned meat, milk, fish, fruit and vegetables (three day supply, including pet food)
  • Bread/crackers stored in waterproof bag or container
  • Powdered or single serve drinks
  • Cereal/granola bars
  • Protein bars
  • Packaged condiments

For Pets:

  • A two-week supply of dry and canned food
  • Water (1/2 gallon per day)
  • Litter box supplies
  • Traveling cage

More supplies are located in our SHOP! Join now to get access to everything GDI can provide you to prep for the unexpected.

home copy

The Backup Plan

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

When the unexpected happens, would you and your family need another location to seek refuge from whatever may be happening around you?

Alernate Location Must-Haves

The location of your getaway is one of the most critical factors to consider. Choosing it is also a great balancing act. The following are the most important considerations when it comes to choosing where to bug out. Remember, that each of the items on this list takes into account what you need to ensure you and your family are safe.

1) Distance

First off, you want it to be far enough away from the city that you don’t have to worry about dealing with the mass exodus that may eventually come. Yet, you want it to be close enough that you aren’t driving for many hours (or days) to get there. When it comes to distance, you will need to factor in your mode of transportation.

If you are on foot, then your bug out location should be no farther than 60 miles from your urban center. You also want to be sure you have a bug out bag for your journey.

If you are driving, then you shouldn’t have to travel more than the distance one full tank of gas will take you. If you have to drive farther than that, then you should have enough spare fuel with you to get where you are going. Don’t count on gas stations as a reliable means of refueling.

Ultimately, you need to choose your bug out location such that you can get there safely, while ensuring it is far enough away from a major center.

2) Seclusion

Choose a location that is secluded and not easily visible from travel routes.

You do not want your bug out location to be easy to find. You should be off the main roads and have good tree cover. There should be enough concealment that anyone walking along any roads, paths, or railway tracks in the vicinity would not be able to see your place in the day or night. This means your lights should not be visible.

They key is to be concealed from all the senses. You will need to take special care when it comes to having a fire. The smoke from a fire can be visible from a long way off, so it is best to do this at night. As for cooking smells, they can travel for up to half a mile, so do your best to conceal these by cooking at night, when there is less of a chance of people traveling and keeping the use of spices to a minimum.

3) How to Get there

I’m not talking about your wheels here, although I assume you have already considered your. Here I am talking about your route to get to your bug out location. You need to plan at least three different routes that will ensure you arrive at your hideaway safely.

Your main route can include major roadways, which you can use if you get out quickly enough and these are still accessible, but you also need to have backup routes that take you off the main roads. Main roads are often closed down in an emergency situation, or patrolled by law enforcement. You want to avoid anyone who might want to turn you back and any route that will get clogged.

4) Shelter

What are you going to live in? If you can buy a remote property that has a house or cabin on it, that is great. However, to get something as remote as you would like, you might have to purchase the land and then build on it.

Will you live in a tent or trailer (if you can get one into your property) indefinitely, or until you build a permanent structure? These are important considerations, especially if you live in a climate that experiences winter.

Also keep in mind that you might take more than one day to get to your bug out property. You should be prepared for camping, regardless of the season. Ensure you have a shelter, warm clothes, and a sleeping bag if it’s cold.

5) Water

Make sure there is a year-round source of fresh water on your property.

While having availability of water might seem obvious, it is important enough to be mentioned here. There is no way of knowing how long you will need to stay put at your bug out location. You might be there for weeks or months and bottled water will only take you so far.

Be sure to choose a location that has a good source of water. That might be well water, a natural spring, or a clean lake or river. Make sure the water is easily accessible and that is has year-round availability.

Remember that you won’t just need this water for drinking. You will also need it for washing, cooking, cleaning, and watering crops and livestock (if you have them). Plus, if you have running water onsite, you can use it to generate electricity.

6) Self-Sufficiency

As I mentioned above, you might be at your bug out location for an indeterminate amount of time. You won’t be able to run to the store every time you need to restock your pantry and you won’t be relying on the electrical grid.

You must have everything on your property that you will need or be able to produce what you need. This means that aside from water, which we discussed above, you need to have:

  • A food garden
  • Plentiful fish and game
  • A source of electricity (solar, wind, and/or water)
  • A source of firewood
  • Space and resources for livestock

7) Security

Sentry Alarm Mines are a great security measure.

You must consider how easy your bug out location is to defend. If it is concealed as I discussed above, you are well on your way to having a secure place. However, you need to be sure it is not only concealed, but difficult to access.

No one should be able to approach your bug out location without you knowing about it. Be sure you know what roads or paths lead into your property and that they are watched at all times. Is there a waterway that will lead people past your place? This can be cause for concern so use caution.

Make sure you have an intimate understanding of all the strengths and weaknesses of your property. This way you can plan an offensive that will help you keep concealed and defend what’s yours if the need arises.

PRO TIP: Consider getting some Sentry Alarm Mines. You load them with .22 blank ammo and attach them to trip wire.

8) Natural Threats

When it comes to the location of your retreat, be sure you understand the potential natural threats you might be up against. Is the area prone to earthquakes, flooding, forest fires, tornadoes, or hurricanes? It is in your best interests to try to find a location that is as safe from natural disasters as possible. This includes avoiding the floodplain of a stream or river.

However, not all of us have access to regions that are free from threat, so you need to assess the threats in your area and prepare your property ahead of time. For instance, you should clear an area around your structures so that a forest fire cannot easily burn them down.

9) Red Tape

Finally, be sure you know what the requirements are in terms of government regulations. Is there any specific zoning for your property? If you want to build on or alter the property, what kinds of permits will you need? This might not be an issue after the SHTF, but to get prepared for that eventuality, you will have to deal with the red tape.

(BONUS #1) How to Find a alternate Location

Now that you know what you need to consider when choosing your bug out location, it is time to learn how to search for and find your property. There are a number of ways to do this. The first of which is to check out some rural land websites. You can choose the state and county in which you live and see what’s available. You can also check real estate listings and Craigslist.

Be sure that you always go and see any potential property personally. Take a real estate agent with you, someone you trust. You need to lay eyes on it and make sure it is what you expect. Plus, if someone is selling it for a good price, then you need to know why. There might be something about it that is a major negative.

And remember, there are real estate experts that deal specifically with bug out properties. They will know precisely what to look for and what to avoid. We have affiliations with some great real estate companies, so please contact us if you are in need of assistance.

Of course, being able to afford property is the major kink in most people’s dreams for their very own bug out location. It can be difficult to shell out $15,000 or more all at once. But if you have family members and friends you can trust or who are part of your survival group, and they can pitch in, it will make it more affordable.

You can also check out public land. National forests are a better choice than national parks. Get some topographical maps and search them for some great, secluded locations that have good access to water.

You can always plan a camping trip to check it out. Plus, this land is free. You will have to plan ahead to make sure you can cache food and supplies and put up some kind of shelter without drawing attention to yourself.

(BONUS #2) Best alternate Locations in the U.S.

Before we wrap up, let’s take a look at some specific bug out locations that are ideal. These regions offer land that is remote, relatively affordable, and offer plentiful resources. Take a look:

Appalachians

The climate in the Appalachians is relatively temperate and the land is fairly cheap. There are plenty of resources, including game and water, and hunting is a way of life in these parts. There is also plenty of fertile ground for growing crops.

Mountainous areas make great bug out locations.

The key is to get to know the back roads prior to any significant event. There are plenty of major highways going through the Appalachians, which will get clogged in a hurry. You will need to be familiar with the back ways into your property.

Rocky Mountains

Very similar to the Appalachians, if a little more snowy and colder during the winter. In Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming offer affordable land, plenty of resources, a hunting culture, and easily obtainable building permits.

Pacific Northwest

It is a little more expensive to purchase property in Washington and Oregon states, but it’s worth it if you can. These states are full of fertile land, natural resources, a hunting culture, less populated areas, and an anti-government sentiment. You must be prepared for a lot of rain and potential volcanic and earthquake activity.

The Dakotas

North and South Dakota are great places for a bug out location. They have a less dense population than many other states, with a lot of unoccupied land and fewer major cities. They also have a solid hunting culture, lots of resources, and fertile land for growing food.

However, you need to be prepared to deal with a winter climate and the potential for tornadoes. It’s wise to choose a county that is less prone to tornado activity.

Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi

These southern states eliminate the concern about winter. They have plenty of secluded locations where you can set up, and lots of game, water and other resources. There are quite a few larger cities and a denser population that the Dakotas, so you will have a higher chance of having to defend your bug out location. However, with hot summers and temperate winters, you will be comfortable.

Austin Texas Hill Country

Finally, the hill country around Austin, Texas is ideal when choosing a bug out property. There are so many reasons for this, including:

  • Hilly area that’s less prone to tornadoes
  • It’s in Central TX so rising sea levels wouldn’t be of immediate concern
  • There is less of a chance of getting flooded by rain due to higher elevation
  • Rocky ground so not prone to mudslides
  • Far from major fault lines so less prone to earthquakes
  • Not as populated as other major metropolitan areas
  • Close water source with lots of rivers and lakes and very little risk of drought
  • Strong on 2nd amendment rights in case the change in climate leads to social instability, looting, rioting, etc.
  • Still a major hub for business with many different industries so you’ll be able to find work even in hard economic times
  • Strong culture of self-sufficiency
  • Many farms surrounding the region

Take time to consider all the above information. Most of us won\’t have time to make long distance trips to escape any urban or rural situations of distress. It\’s always best to locate a place close, within quick distance, to get to yet still out of the way.

storm

The World Around You

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Globally, according to the new data, the number of floods and other hydrological events have quadrupled since 1980 and have doubled since 2004, highlighting the urgency of adaptation to climate change. Climatological events, such as extreme temperatures, droughts, and forest fires, have more than doubled since 1980. Meteorological events, such as storms, have doubled since 1980.

These extreme weather events carry substantial economic costs. In the updated data, thunderstorm losses in North America have doubled — from under US$10 billion in 1980 to almost $20 billion in 2015. On a more positive note, river flood losses in Europe show a near-static trend (despite their increased frequency), indicating that protection measures that have been implemented may have stemmed flood losses.

Professor Michael Norton, EASAC\’s Environment Programme Director states, \”Our 2013 Extreme Weather Events report — which was based on the findings of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute — has been updated and the latest data supports our original conclusions: there has been and continues to be a significant increase in the frequency of extreme weather events, making climate proofing all the more urgent. Adaptation and mitigation must remain the cornerstones of tackling climate change. This update is most timely since the European Commission is due to release its evaluation of its climate strategy this year.\”

Is a contemporary shutdown of the Gulf Stream (AMOC) possible?

The update also reviews evidence on key drivers of extreme events. A major point of debate remains whether the Gulf Stream, or Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), will just decline or could \’switch off\’ entirely with substantial implications for Northwest Europe\’s climate. Recent monitoring does suggest a significant weakening but debate continues over whether the gulf stream may \”switch off\” as a result of the increased flows of fresh water from northern latitude rainfall and melting of the Greenland icecap. EASAC notes the importance of continuing to use emerging oceanographic monitoring data to provide a more reliable forecast of impacts of global warming on the AMOC. The update also notes the recent evidence which suggests an association between the rapid rate of Arctic warming and extreme cold events further south (including in Europe and the Eastern USA) due to a weakened and meandering jet stream.

groceries

Most people look at the world through rose colored glasses. Understanding that our world will likely not be rocked by old fears such as nuclear war, invasions, or mass terrorist events. 

If you have paid attention at any point in the past few years, it is hard to ignore the potential impact of increasing storms and disasters of our communities and how quickly desperate scenes have played out in our grocery stores, hardware stores, and other big box stores as people scramble to grab whatever they can to survive during these extreme situations.

Realize it is only going to get worse!

The Global Defense Initiative is here to help people and members prepare for the worst possible circumstances. Days without power or water, days being evacuated from your home, and days that would test your resolve on protecting yourself and your family are here and will come more. Let us help you get ready for it all. 

Load More