The 9 Best Essential Oils For Your Survival Kit

There are many reasons why learning about essential oils is useful for preppers.  Not the least of those reasons is to lessen the reliance on expensive and often ineffective and toxic pharmaceuticals.  How often have you filled an expensive prescription only to have side effects or find that the drug simply did not work.  Other than add these meds to your SHTF barter kit, you are out of luck.

On the other hand, most essential oils are quite inexpensive and have the added bonus that a prescription is not required.  With essential oils you have the freedom of where to shop, how much to pay, and how to use them.  You can dilute essential oils in a carrier oil or salve, use them in a compress, or diffuse them, or use them in a myriad of other ways suitable to your situation.

With that in mind, today I want to answer one of the most frequently asked questions I get regarding essential oils: what are the best essential oils to set aside for my survival kit?   In other words, what are the specific “set it and forget it” oils that are on par with emergency food and water storage?

Nine Essential Oils for the Long Term Survival Kit

There are many factors that have gone into my choices, including an oil’s versatility and its ability to resolve multiple woes.  I have also taken into consideration price and shelf life.  More about that in bit, but first, here my own list of the nine best essential oils for the long term survival kit along with my top 4 uses for each of them.

1.  Lavender

Treats cuts, scrapes, and burns and works to promote healing

Induces calm, relieves anxiety and stress, promotes sleep

Eliminates the sting of bug bites

Relieves pain and soreness caused by sprains and muscle aches

For more uses: The Miracle of Lavender Oil: 25 Amazing Uses for Survival

Resource:  Lavender Essential Oil

2.  Peppermint

Relieves headache pain

Topical treatment of allergies

Repels ants, spiders, mice and other pests from home and garden

Treats digestive disorders such as heartburn, bloating, indigestion, and constipation

For more uses:  The Miracle of Peppermint Oil: 20 Practical Uses for Survival

Resource:  Peppermint Essential Oil

3.  Melaleuca (Tea Tree)

Use as an antiseptic, antiviral, antibacterial and fungicide.  Kills germs and prevents infection!

Eliminate mold and mildew

Fights colds, sinus infections, respiratory ailments and bronchitis

Treats wounds

For more uses:  The Miracle of Tea Tree Oil: 80 Amazing Uses for Survival

Resource: Melaleuca (Tea Tree) Essential Oil

4.  Rosemary

Improve concentration and memory plus provide increased mental and physical stimulation

Relive anxiety and stress by calming and relaxing the nerves

Sooth and heal skin disorders by reduce itching, dryness and irritation

Treat respiratory problems and congestion through inhalation

For more uses: The Powerful Healing Qualities of Rosemary Essential Oil

Resource:  Rosemary Essential Oil

5. Frankincense

Reduce inflammation and relieve conditions where pain and inflammation are present

Heal wounds from cuts, scrapes, and burns

Mitigate depression and feelings of helplessness

Boost and supercharge the effectiveness of other essential oils when used in tandem or layered on top of other oils

For more uses:  22 Powerful Uses of Frankincense Essential Oil

Resource:  Frankincense Essential Oil

6. Clove

Relieve toothaches and reduce the pain of canker sores and gum irritation

Disinfect hard surfaces and utensils

Freshen foul or stale air

Treat wounds, cuts, scabies, athlete’s foot, fungal infections, bruises, prickly heat, insect bites and stings.

For more uses:  20 Ways To Benefit from Clove Essential Oil

Resource:  Clove Bud Essential Oil

7. Lemongrass

Provide immediate relief to “clenched” and knotted tendons and muscles

Reduce fevers

Eliminate body odor and other foul smells

Reduce bacterial around the home by using it in DIY cleaning products

For more uses:  23 Awesome Uses for Lemongrass Essential Oil

Resource:  Lemongrass Essential Oil

8. Roman Chamomile

Promote sound sleep (especially when nothing else works!)

Create a sense of well-being by reducing stress, anxiety, and fearfulness

Heal skin conditions such as dermatitis and eczema

Treat nausea, vomiting, heartburn, and gas

Resource:  Roman Chamomile Essential Oil

9. Shield Protective Blend or other “Robber’s Blend”

Use as an effective hand sanitizer

Blend into DIY cleaning products for extra disinfecting power

Create an anti-viral spray to eliminate both airborne and surface micro-organisms

Prevent or relieve the symptoms of colds and flu

Note:  “Robber’s Blend” can go by many names, including Shield, Thieves or simply “Protective Blend”.  The components are similar and include various amounts of clove bug, lemon, cinnamon, eucalyptus, and rosemary oil.  Although you could make it yourself, having it ready-to-go in your survival kit will save you time and eliminate the need to store the variety of oils needed.

Resource:  Shield Protective Blend

What About Shelf Life?

Something that preppers struggle with is shelf life, especially under climate conditions that are widely variable.  This not only applies to food storage, but also to essential oils.  That being said, essential oils have been known to stay viable for years, even when kept at room temperatures.

The issue, so it seems, is that once opened, if not tightly sealed, they may evaporate or oxidize.  Certain oils, and especially citrus oils and some coniferous essential oils, are rich in a hydrocarbon class called “terpenes” tend to deteriorate more quickly.

The thing to remember is that in a survival situation, storage conditions will not be optimal.  Besides evaporation, signs that your oils have degraded include a drastic change in aroma, intense thickening, and cloudiness.  I personally have not had this occur with any of my oils, many of which are over five years old.  In addition, I keep a bottle of lavender oil in my vehicle and even after sitting outside in the sun for the past six months, it smells as fresh as the day it was initially opened.

For more information on the shelf life of essential oils, there is a balanced discussion in this article on the AromaWeb website:  Essential Oil Shelf Life.

A Word About Essential Oils

After a significant amount of research, for health, first-aid, and wellness purposes I use essential oils from Spark Naturals.  There are a lot reasons, the most important being their commitment to both quality and value.  I am satisfied that the raw materials used in Spark Naturals products are tested and authenticated to be of pharmaceutical grade purity.

In addition, the Spark Naturals commitment to customer service is unsurpassed.  They take care of their customers, period.  If you decide to make a purchase from Spark Naturals, please know that you will enjoy a 10% discount on your order when you use the code BACKDOORSURVIVAL at checkout. (Note:  I do receive a small commission on your purchase and for that I extremely appreciative.)  

The Final Word

This article is in response to the many comments and emails I have received asking which oils I personally stockpile for the long term.  This is that list; a list I like to call my “ultimate essential oil survival kit”.  In my experience, all of these oils have proven themselves over and over again in my own use, and, with the exception of Frankincense, are reasonably priced if not downright cheap.

My recommendation?  When one of these oils goes on sale, purchase two or three and set them aside for the long term.  If the stuff hits the fan, not only will food become scarce, so will medications and essential oils.  In my own household, we are stockpiling both, with a heavy emphasis on essential oils.  We do this with the blessing of our personal health care provider who is tracking our progress and weaning us from pharmaceuticals when practical.

As with all things related to survival first aid and healthcare, your mileage may vary.  The best you can do is learn is much as you can now to determine what works best for you and your family.  Something that works well on one person, may work differently on someone else.  Use essential oils neat, in a diffuser, or diluted with a carrier oil or simple salve.  Have fun with them and embrace the use of plant-based oils to foster good health!

Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!

The post The 9 Best Essential Oils For Your Survival Kit appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

The Psychology Of Desperate People: 15 Dead, 40 Injured In Food Stampede In Morocco

Authored by Daisy Luther via The Organic Prepper blog,

In prepper lore, there is a theory about how badly desperate people are likely to behave.

Many folks outside the community scoff at this theory. They believe that we have become more civilized than to utilize violent measures when hunger strikes.

But an incident in Morocco the other day showed us exactly how hungry people behave.

And it isn’t pretty.

Food was being distributed in a rural market in Sidi Boulaalam, a poor village. Women had come to the market with baskets to get food for their families, when suddenly, what could only be described as a stampede erupted.

 

At least 15 women died and five were wounded in a stampede during a food distribution operation on Sunday morning in rural Morocco, government officials said.

 

The victims were crushed as hundreds of people, mostly women, gathered to collect baskets of food at the market…

 

…In the aftermath of the stampede, clothes and other personal items were left scattered across the ground. (source)

That number was later updated to 40 people who were injured in the crush.

Witnesses told local media that this year’s annual food aid distribution at a local market in Sidi Boulaalam, an impoverished town with just over 8,000 inhabitants, attracted a larger crowd than usual.

 

“This year there were lots of people, several hundred people,” a witness who asked to remain anonymous told AFP news agency.

 

“People shoved, they broke down the barriers,” he said, adding that the injured had been evacuated to a hospital in Marrakesh. (source)

Here’s a video of the aftermath in this Tweet. (If it won’t play for you, go here.)

Food delivery was supposed to bring relief. Instead, it caused a deadly stampede in drought-stricken Morocco. pic.twitter.com/QslXgLZEfu

— AJ+ (@ajplus) November 21, 2017

The value of the food being handed out? $16

15 families were left without mothers over $16 of food. To be fair, villagers in that part of the world live on about $3 per day, but still – this shows what desperation can do.

It’s not just Morocco.

It happens somewhere in the world every day. Here are some acts of desperation that have happened just in recent months.

• A North Korean soldier got shot 7 times and still kept running to get to freedom.


• Venezuelan women are becoming prostitutes in exchange for food.


• People with the plague are fleeing the hospital (and life-saving treatment) because of fear.


• Roving gangs were fighting for food and water in storm-ravaged Puerto Rico.


• On St. Martin, people were “fighting on the streets” for what food was left after Hurricane Irma.

When you are desperate, the normal rules do not apply.

Every year, we get a glimpse of this kind of insanity in America

Every year, on “Black Friday” we get a glimpse of the kind of behavior that causes people to be crushed to death and assaulted. The day after Thanksgiving (ironically) people get up before daylight, stand in line, and shove their way through a crowd to get the best deals. (Stay tuned this weekend for the 2017 Black Friday Hall of Shame.)

And they aren’t even hungry.

People climb all over each other for cheap electronics. Fistfights erupt over vegetable steamers. People are ready to throw down and do battle for sale priced bath towels and televisions.

I’d hazard a guess that folks who spend time and money fighting over electronics are not the kind of people who prep. That means that these are the people who will be hungry in a long-term disaster.  Look at those people, stampeding to get to a sale on things that they don’t actually need to survive. Their inhibitions are loosened because those around them are behaving in the same way.

You have to look at the psychology of this.

People can justify pretty much anything when they or their children are starving. And I can understand that to a large degree – who could stand to watch their babies suffering?  But if someone can devolve to the above degree just to because everyone else is doing it, the chaos we saw above is only a tiny sample of what could come if people were truly hungry.

The line between civilization and THIS is very thin.

Desperate people do desperate things.

We need to be prepared by having the essential supplies on hand to keep us from becoming one of those desperate people in the middle of a stampede for a few days’ worth of food, but what’s more, we need to be prepared for the prospect of those desperate people. Keeping a low profile is the best defense but sometimes it’s not enough.

In a desperate situation, you have to be ready for desperate people to behave in a desperate manner. It happens in real life all the time. Somewhere on this planet, someone is desperate and they will do anything to meet their needs.

It only takes one person to start the charge in a tense scenario, and when that happens, the others will follow.

Don’t count on the rules of “civilization” to save you.

What To Do If All Hell Breaks Loose During Tomorrow"s "Antifa Uprising"

Authored by Daisy Luther via The Organic Prepper blog,

Tomorrow is November 4th, the date that has been bandied about by wannabe Communists and people who hate the President since last summer as the starting date of their uprising.

Cities across the country have planned events (find the list of locations here) and I’ve gotten photos from people in small towns all over the place of signs with the ominous warning, “November 4th It Begins.”

Now, before we delve into prepping for this, please know that there is every chance this is a tempest in a teapot. It’s most likely that anywhere from 20 to 200 people will show up with their signs, chant mean things about the President, maybe throw a rock through a window, and go home. If you aren’t near these locations, you probably won’t even know it’s going on unless you check the news. So, while you should be prepared for anything (as usual), you shouldn’t be afraid.

But…considering the fact that this is on every media outlet everywhere (the NY Times actually allowed it to be promoted with a full-page ad on November 1), the possibilities of all hell breaking loose should at least be considered.

I’ve cited before Newton’s Third Law of Physics which states “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” From Antifa, the threats of violence are becoming more extreme. And if this gets crazy, there WILL be a reaction. 

A lot of folks are sick and tired of being pushed around, threatened, and censored by these ironically named Anti-Fascists. You need only check out the comments section on any article about the potential event to know that some fed-up Americans intend to push back and counter-protest. Hard. I  have talked to more than one member of the military who says, “Bring it on.” Tensions have the potential to boil over.

If your goal is to be out there in the thick of things because you believe it is your obligation to do so, this article probably isn’t for you and I offer you my very best wishes for your safety.

If you are planning to avoid any conflict and focus on keeping your family away from trouble, you can be prepared for the possibility that civil unrest erupts. By planning ahead, we can avoid the fear, panic, and confusion that leads people to rush to the store and clear the shelves like a horde of hungry locusts.  We can stay away from the angry masses, the rioters who will use any excuse to steal, and the hungry people who are determined to feed their kids no matter who stands in their way.

Whether the next few days lead to pandemonium or even martial law to crack down on unrest, a prepared mindset, a defense plan, and a well-stocked home can help to keep you and your family out of harm’s way. My personal goal is the safety and security of my family. This is my primary responsibility.

In her article Anatomy of a Breakdown, Tess Pennington wrote:

“When you take the time to understand how a breakdown behaves and how it progresses, only then can you truly prepare for it.

 

This glimpse into a systemic breakdown is based on an isolated, limited disaster or event where emergency responders have been deployed. I must emphasize that all bets are off if the event is wide spread, affecting multiple tens of millions of people simultaneously.”

Spend today getting ready, just in case. Here are the most vital things that you can do to be prepared for civil unrest.

Get home

In a perfect world, we’d all be home, watching the chaos erupt on TV from the safety of our living rooms.  However, reality says that some of us will be at work, at school, or in the car when unrest occurs.  You need to develop a “get-home” plan for all of the members of your family, based on the most likely places that they will be.

• Devise an efficient route for picking up the kids from school.  Be sure that anyone who might be picking up the children already has permission to do so in the school office.


• Keep a get-home bag in the trunk of your car in case you have to set out on foot.


• Stash some supplies in the bottom of your child’s backpack – water, a snack, any tools that might be useful, and a map.  Be sure your children understand the importance of OPSEC. (Here’s a school kit that won’t get your kid expelled, but in this situation, your children should NOT be encouraged to set off on their own.)


• Find multiple routes home – map out alternative backroad ways to get home as well as directions if you must go home on foot.


• Find hiding places along the way.  If you work or go to school a substantial distance from your home, figure out some places to lay low now, before a crisis situation.  Sometimes staying out of sight is the best way to stay safe.


• Avoid groups of people.  It seems that the mob mentality strikes when large groups of people get together.  Often folks who would never ordinarily riot in the streets get swept up by the mass of people who are doing so.


• Keep in mind that in many civil disorder situations the authorities are to be avoided every bit as diligently as the angry mobs of looters. Who can forget the scenes of innocent people being pepper sprayed by uniformed thugs in body armor just because they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Stay home

Once you make your way home or to your bug-out location … STAY THERE.

By staying home, you are minimizing your risk of being caught in the midst of an angry mob or of sitting in stalled traffic while looters run amok.  In most scenarios, you will be far safer at home than you will be in any type of shelter or refugee situation. (Obviously, this isn’t true in all cases – you must use common sense before hunkering down.)

This is when your preparedness supplies will really pay off. If you are ready for minor medical emergencies and illnesses, a grid down scenario, and a no-comm situation, you will be able to stay safely at home with your family and ride out the crisis in moderate comfort.

Be sure you have a supply of the following:

• Water


• Necessary prescription medications


• Food and an off-grid way to cook it (Do NOT rely on mail order stuff for an event starting tomorrow – get your supplies locally)


• Or food that requires no cooking


• First aid supplies


• Lighting in the event of a power outage


• Sanitation supplies (in the event that the municipal water system is unusable, this would include cleaning supplies and toilet supplies)


• A way to stay warm in harsh winter weather


• Over-the-counter medications and/or herbal remedies to treat illnesses at home


• Survival and first aid manuals (hard copies in case the internet and power grid are down)


• Alternative communications devices (such as a hand-crank radio or a ham radio) so that you can get updates about the outside world


• Off-grid entertainment:  arts and craft supplies, puzzles, games, books, crossword or word search puzzles, needlework, journals

Be prepared to defend your home

Sometimes despite our best intentions, the fight comes to us.  Even though we stay home, something about our place draws the attention of an unsavory person or group.  Defense is two-fold.  Your best defense is avoiding the fight altogether. You want to stay under the radar and not draw attention to yourself.

The extent to which you strive to do this should be based on the severity of the unrest in your area. Some of the following recommendations are not necessary for an everyday grid-down scenario but could save your life in a more extreme civil unrest scenario.

• Keep all the doors and windows locked.  Secure sliding doors with a metal bar.  Consider installing decorative gridwork over a door with a large window so that it becomes difficult for someone to smash the glass and reach in to unlock the door.


• Put dark plastic over the windows. (Heavy duty garbage bags work well.)  If it’s safe to do so, go outside and check to see if any light escapes from the windows. If your home is the only one on the block that is well-lit, it is a beacon to others.


• Don’t answer the door.  Many home invasions start with an innocent-seeming knock at the door to gain access to your house.


• Keep cooking smells to a minimum.  If everyone else in the neighborhood is hungry, the meat on your grill will draw people like moths to a flame.


• Keep pets indoors. Sometimes criminals use an animal in distress to get a homeowner to open the door for them. Sometimes people are just mean and hurt animals for “fun”.  Either way, it’s safer for your furry friends to be inside with you.


• Remember that first responders may be tied up.  If the disorder is widespread, don’t depend on a call to 911 to save you – you must be prepared to save yourself.  Also keep in mind, as mentioned earlier in the article – the cops are not always your friends in these situations.


• Don’t be drawn outside. Sometimes, thugs will try to engage people by damaging their car or property outside.  Going outside, you will likely be outnumbered.  In most cases, you’ll be better off just calling the insurance company the next day.

If, despite your best efforts, your property draws the attention of people with ill intent, you must be ready to defend your family.

• Many preppers stockpile weapons and ammunition for just such an event.  When the door of your home is breached, you can be pretty sure the people coming in are not there to make friendly conversation.  Make a plan to greet them with a deterring amount of force.


• Have a safe room established for children or other vulnerable family members.(Here are instructions – you may be able to put something together quickly, depending on your home.)


• Plan an escape route.  If the odds are against you, devise a way to get your family to safety.


• Have a plan to deal with a fire. Fire is often used in situations like this. Be sure to have well-maintained fire extinguishers in case of a small blaze.

What about a martial law event?

While many of the officers involved most likely just want to resolve the situation and go home to their families, the methods that are often used are not methods most of us wish to encounter.

In a highly charged situation like this, police and military are trained to use the most efficient methods to speedily shut down a conflict. These methods can include tear gas, sound cannons, and outright physical assaults on citizens. It’s important to note that fear can be a powerful motivator when deciding how much force is appropriate when addressing a threat. Cops are just as subject to fear as the rest of us. 20 cops with shields and batons would be quite reasonable to fear an angry mob of hundreds of shouting people.

Your safety when interacting with officials during a martial law situation does not rely on the intentions of police officers and military. It really doesn’t matter if they are trying to crush your rights under a jack-booted heel, or whether they are trying to benevolently keep people safe and re-establish peace and harmony.

Here are some suggestions to help keep you safe when dealing with cops and soldiers.

• Avoid crowds. If you are in the midst of a crowd, you’ll be considered part of the crowd and treated exactly like everyone else in that group. If they get tear-gassed, so will you. It’s guilt by association. If the crowd is violent, and you are part of the crowd, you will also be considered violent, and you’ll be dealt with accordingly. Legally, you are actually guilty if you are part of a group that is violent.


• Be polite. If you have to interact with officers, be courteous. You won’t restore the Constitution by arguing with them or threatening them. It’s fine to assert your rights – you don’t have to allow them to search your house without cause, for example, but do so civilly. Belligerence will get you nothing but a beat-down.


• You don’t get to explain. In a highly charged situation, the cops probably aren’t going to listen to you when you try to explain that you’re just taking that baseball bat in your hand over to your nephew’s house so he can hit some balls in the backyard. No matter how innocent your intentions are, if you’re walking like a duck, you’re going to be treated like a duck. Training will kick in, and perceived threats will be immediately neutralized by whatever means the cops find necessary.


• Stay home. It really isn’t worth risking your physical safety to go see what’s going on.

Underneath the uniform, cops are human.  I’m not justifying the brutality, the methods they sometimes use, or the assaults on journalists. Cops are just as likely to be swept up in a herd mentality as protesters and rioters are during a high-stress situation. By understanding this, you can be better prepared.

*  *  *

Every civil unrest scenario is different.  You must make a personal plan based on your environment, your neighbors, and the type of situation that is occurring in your area.  By thinking ahead, you’ve already improved your family’s chances of surviving unscathed.

Sales To "Common Sense Preppers" Soar Amid Nukes, Quakes, Floods, & Storms

With North Korea threatening to detonate a nuclear weapon over the Pacific Ocean as its leader and President Donald Trump casually bandy about threats of thermonuclear annihilation, people in the US and Japan are understandably starting to worry.

After all, US intelligence agencies revealed during the summer that they believe the North will soon possess a nuclear warhead-tipped ballistic missile capable of striking most of the continental US. In fact, chances are good that, with a little luck, the North already has missiles in its arsenal that could probably strike a large area of the western US.

But, aside from nuclear threats looming in North Korea and Iran, the worst hurricane season in the Atlantic in more than a decade, and the continuing rumblings underneath the Yellowstone caldera, which could signal a potentially humanity-extinguishing eruption, it’s understandable that Americans and Japanese are increasingly worrying about their safety, and have begun purchasing more “doomsday preparation” gear to help assuage those fears.

Now, Reuters is reporting that survivalists across the US are clearing store shelves to stock bunkers in anticipation of Earth’s final chapter. A few survivalists who spoke with Reuters said that North Korea’s threats, and the images of the destruction caused by Hurricanes Harvey, Maria and Irma, have inspired them to stock up.

“It’s been a very busy six or seven weeks here - sales tripled practically overnight,” said Keith Bansemer, vice president for marketing for Idaho-based My Patriot Supply, an online store catering to preppper needs.

“It all started when North Korea shot the missile that was capable of reaching the U.S. Then the hurricanes and two Mexican earthquakes increased sales from California and Cascadia in the Northwest,” he said, referring to the corner of the country where many survivalists have settled because of its relative isolation.

One guy on the west coast said he’s worried about a catastrophic earthquake. He has piled enough survival supplies in a closet that could last he, his wife and their dogs for a month, if necessary.

David Yellin, a self-described prepper who lives in California’s San Diego County, said his main concern was the long-expected “big earthquake” along the West Coast.

The 31-year-old police officer has piled enough survival supplies in a closet of the apartment he shares with his fiance and their two dogs to allow them to hunker down for a month.

“I‘m more of what I consider a common sense prepper,” Yellin said. “Because at the end of the day, we are responsible for our own safety.”

Both he and his wife have “bug out bags” prepared should disaster strike.

If disaster forces the couple to flee, each has a “bug-out bag” stuffed with three days of food, water, first aid and water purification supplies, fire-starting materials, a tent and sleeping bag, change of clothes and important documents.

One purveyor of survivalist gear said sales on items like gas masks have spiked over the last two months, a period which notably featured the US’s escalating war of words with North Korea and the catastrophic hurricanes.

At Ready To Go Survival, founder and chief executive Roman Zrazhevskiy said gas masks were quickly moving off the shelves and overall sales “are up like 700 percent over the last two months.”

A prepper himself, he said his greatest fear was a U.S. economic collapse as a result of the country’s unsustainable debt.

“Once people go hungry, they are going to get to the streets and look for food,” said Zrazhevskiy, 31, who grew up in New York City’s borough of Brooklyn and now lives in Texas.

Customers were snapping up $500 CBRN suits to withstand chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attack and $200 gas masks in sizes that fit children as young as 5.

Another prepper who has spent thousands of dollars on gear said he fears political and economic collapses as much or more than North Korea.

“Gas masks? I’ve got tons of those,” said prepper Jerry McMullin, 62, a retired risk assessment analyst whose bunker-like home in Yellow Jacket, Colorado, was built to withstand nuclear attack, biological warfare and a range of natural cataclysms.

Although North Korea is one of his biggest concerns, McMullin is also worried about political instability in Washington leading to riots and mayhem in the cities, he said.

“I‘m not a paranoid guy. I just want to be in a position that when it does go to Hell, I‘m in a good location to get whatever I need,” said McMullin, who has his own water filtration system and burns his own trash in his solar-powered home.

In addition to the obvious threats, many continue to believe in “doomsday" hoaxes like 7/7/2007 and end of the Mayan calendar on Dec. 21, 2012.

Now, some Christians are touting a Bible prophecy that marks September 23, 2017 as the beginning of a seven-year period of catastrophic events that will bring humanity to its knees.

David Meade, a Christian numerologist and author, has said that, based on the Book of Revelations, a constellation would appear over Jerusalem on Saturday that would start the seven years of mayhem.

But McMullin said his own respect for Bible prophesy assures him that disaster is not around the corner.

“As far as getting wiped out this weekend, I‘m not too worried about that,” McMullin said.

“Maybe it’s a timeline marker and things are going to start getting really ramped up. We are not about to go through mass destruction and fatality. I think people are a little more stable - except for Kim,” he said, referring to North Korea’s President Kim Jong Un.

After spending thousands on gear, some preppers told Reuters that the flooding in Houston, Florida and Puerto Rico have left them feeling vindicated.

We imagine that feeling will persist as economic and political tensions, coupled with the impending economic disenfranchisement of much of America’s working and middle classes, continue to simmer, while the US’s leaders continue to risk an unparalleled disaster by trading threats with unstable North Korea.
 

Bomb Shelter Sales "Skyrocket" In California As Nuclear Fears Spike

Equity investors today failed to follow through on initial efforts to "Buy The Fucking Fire and Fury Dip" but they are apparently rushing out to buy their very own doomsday bunkers on the off chance that President Trump wasn"t joking yesterday when he offered the following warning to North Korea:

President Trump: If North Korea makes any more threats to the U.S., "they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen" pic.twitter.com/8dQed79L1W

— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 8, 2017

Apparently the comments have spooked some folks on America"s west coast who are thought to be within Kim Jong Un"s nuclear strike radius. And while a global nuclear confrontation is generally viewed as a bad thing, for Ron Hubbard, President of Atlas Survival Shelters in Los Angeles, it has resulted in an economic windfall.  Here"s more from The Sacramento Bee:

“It’s crazy, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Ron Hubbard, president of Atlas Survival Shelters, told Fox11. “It’s all over the country. I sold shelters today in North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, California.”

The company, based in Montebello in eastern Los Angeles, sells shelters priced from $10,000 to $100,000. Hubbard told the station that the shelters are designed to be buried 20 feet below ground and can sustain survivors for up to one year, depending on the size and model.

He told the station he had sold more than 30 units in recent days, including to customers in Japan.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that Vivos, another shelter manufacturer in Del Mar, Calif., near San Diego, also has experienced a spike in business.

“Japan’s going hog wild right now,” said Ron Hubbard, owner of Atlas Survival. The Montebello, California-based company makes about a dozen different underground refuge models intended to be inhabitable for six months to a year, some outfitted with escape tunnels, decontamination rooms and bulletproof hatches.

“People are getting off the fence – we’ve got thousands and thousands of applications,” said Robert Vicino, founder and chief executive officer of Vivos, Spanish for “alive.”

Vivos sells models for individual and communal use, and the company has built subterranean survival communities in the U.S. and Europe. The latest, xPoint, covers 9,000 acres in South Dakota with 575 off-grid dugouts. Planned amenities include a community theater, hydroponic gardens, shooting ranges, restaurant and bar. Shelters in the community are available for lease with an up-front cost of $25,000. Vicino told Bloomberg about 50 units have been leased or reserved.

Of course, for now we can only speculate that Trump and Putin must have colluded in efforts to spark a global nuclear confrontation while quietly buying up bunker manufacturers behind the scenes to make a little extra cash.  We demand that Special Counsel Mueller expand his investigation to look into this rather suspicious development immediately. 

Survival Nutrition 101: What Is Bio-Availability?

As someone who has stored a lot of food for long term emergencies, I can easily recognize the temptation to load up on simple to prepared packaged foods. Many of these food items are highly processed and loaded with chemical preservatives to extend their longevity, past due dates notwithstanding.

All you need to do is pick up a package of Twinkies and you will see what I mean.

How much do you know about survival nutrition?  In an exclusive article for Backdoor Survival readers, my blogging colleague and friend, Daisy Luther talks about survival nutrition and bio-availability.

Survival Nutrition 101: What Is Bio-Availability?

Have you ever talked to another prepper who has highly processed food stacked to the rafters?   Things like Ramen noodles, mac-and-cheese, canned stew, and sugar-laden desserts, with nary a whole ingredient in sight?

They always say, “Well, it’s better than going hungry.”

Actually, that isn’t really the case.

If the point ever came where you were completely dependent on your long-term food storage, you’d better hope that you have food that will do more than satisfy a rumbling tummy.

A Lesson in Bio-Availability

When you eat heavily preserved foods, your body can’t break them down to use the nutrients in them (if there are nutrients left, after all that processing in the first place.  This is called “bio-availability.”

Compare the ingredients of a pack of Ramen noodles with a pack of plain pasta.

Great Value Ramen Noodles (chicken flavor)

Ingredients:  Flour Enriched, Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron Reduced, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Canola Oil, Cottonseed Oil, Folic Acid (Vitamin aB), Palm Oil, Vegetable(s) Oil Partially Hydrogenated, Potassium Carbonate, Salt, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Caramel Color,Citric Acid, Onion(s) Dehydrated, Disodium Guanylate, Disodium Succinate, Garlic Powder,Soy and Corn Protein Hydrolyzed, Maltodextrin, Monosodium Glutamate, Sodium Alginate,Sodium Carbonate, Soy Sauce Powder, Soybean(s), Spice(s), Tocopherols, Wheat, Disodium Inosinate, Flavoring Natural

versus

Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Whole Wheat Pasta

Ingredients:  Semolina Enriched (Niacin, Iron (Ferrous Sulfate), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid (Vitamin aB) ), Wheat Durum Bran, Durum Flour, Wheat Germ Durum

versus

Homemade pasta

Ingredients:  Flour, water, olive oil, salt

It’s very clear which is the better choice of digestible, bio-available nutrients.  If you can’t make it from scratch, definitely go for the less-processed option. The video below compares how homemade noodles from good ingredients and Ramen noodles go through your digestive system.

It doesn’t get clearer than this:

Do you see how it is impossible for the digestive acids in the body to break down those foods?  They remain recognizable most of the way through the system until they are ready to be excreted.  This means that the few nutrients that may be present are not made available.

This is the reason that North America is full of malnourished fat people – those who rely on processed food must consume far more of it in a vain effort to get the nutrients they need.  They crave food because their body is crying out for vital components.

Think about what the aftermath of a disaster would be like, and then think about facing these challenges with Ramen noodles and a bag of Doritos.

Here Are the Issues You Will Face That Require Readily Available Nutrients

High Stress Levels

Stress is a physical state that can put you at risk for all sorts of medical problems.

When you’re under stress, your body releases the hormone “cortisol” which can absolutely wreak havoc on your body.  Cortisol serves a very important purpose: it inhibits the production of insulin and floods your body with glucose to provide energy for a fight-or-flight response. This is great for the short term, but when it’s dispensed over an extended period of time, it can cause blood sugar issues, diabetes, weight gain, and gastrointestinal problems.  As well, and this is where your diet comes into play, it can suppress your immune system.

You’ve probably dealt with cortisol’s effects on your immune system before.  Have you ever been in a high-stress situation with far too much on your plate, and then gotten sick with a cold or flu? You probably said, “This is NOT the time for getting sick!” because you had so much to do.

Here’s what has happened inside your body:

Cortisol functions to reduce inflammation in the body, which is good, but over time, these efforts to reduce inflammation also suppress the immune system. Chronic inflammation, caused by lifestyle factors such as poor diet and stress, helps to keep cortisol levels soaring, wreaking havoc on the immune system.

An unchecked immune system responding to unabated inflammation can lead to myriad problems: an increased susceptibility to colds and other illnesses, an increased risk of cancer, the tendency to develop food allergies, an increased risk of an assortment of gastrointestinal issues (because a healthy intestine is dependent on a healthy immune system), and possibly an increased risk of autoimmune disease. (Source)

Now, imagine a disaster situation.  You’re definitely going to be stressed and at risk for all of these concerns.  You don’t want to load up on foods that exacerbate blood sugar issues because of high, empty carbohydrates, or foods with high levels of sodium that will increase your blood pressure and thus your risk of heart attack or stroke.

And never have truer words been spoken than “This is NOT the time for getting sick!” In a potentially post-SHTF world, you must also consider that a lack of modern sanitation will lead to more disease. It is possible that less medical care will be available in the near future, as the economy continues to collapse upon itself.   You may not be able to rest and recover, which could lead to a minor illness becoming very serious. A strong, well-nourished immune system will help to fight off illness and keep your family healthy.

Heavy Workload

Most of us aren’t accustomed to a day filled with heavy physical labor. Gone are the days when we plowed fields without the aid of machinery, built structures, or carried buckets of water.

But in a long-term scenario during which the grid is down, we might be faced with those activities once again.  Few of us are physically fit enough to just jump into the lifestyle, ready to go.  Now, imagine, trying to do this fueled only by a box of mac-and-cheese.  Doesn’t sound like much fun, does it?

If you are using your muscles, they’re going to demand fuel in the form of protein. Protein is vital for repairing the damage done to muscles during heavy physical activity. If you supply your body with proper protein after a bout of physical labor, you’ll be rewarded with a stronger body. If you try to fuel heavy lifting with empty carbs, you’ll be provided a short burst of energy, followed by a crash of complete exhaustion. Your body will actually cannibalize itself searching for protein for the muscles.

High Energy Demands

This goes hand-in-hand with heavy workloads above, but the nutritional requirements are a bit different.

Think back to a time when you stayed on your feet moving around all day long. (This is especially true if you spend your normal workdays sitting at a desk.) Maybe you went to an amusement park, on a long steep hike, or were on foot in a city, doing some sight-seeing.

Do you recall how tired and hungry you were that day?  You probably wouldn’t have been satisfied with a bag of chips, right? If you’re anything like me, you wanted a steak dinner, complete with veggies and a baked potato. Your body was crying out for fuel.

Now, think about tilling a field manually, or bugging out through the mountains. Such high energy demands will require high-quality carbohydrates such as potatoes, whole brown rice, or oatmeal.

Build Your Food Supply to Meet These Challenges

Stock your pantry with whole foods that the body can break down through ordinary digestive processes.  Look for items that have less than 5 ingredients, all of which are easily pictured in your mind’s eye.  Have you ever seen a TBHQ or a Disodium Guanylate?  No?  Then you shouldn’t eat them.

Keep a wide variety of macronutrients.  Your body requires protein, carbohydrates, and fat to function optimally, as well as a variety of vitamins and minerals.  Your stockpile should contain a wide variety of food in order to supply these nutrients.  It is important to stock whole grains, fruits and vegetables, carefully sourced meats or other protein rich items, and healthy fats.

Buy the best storage foods you can afford. The long-term storage aspect can make it challenging to have good sources of all of these nutrients.  But using home preservation, purchasing the best quality foods you can find, and producing some of your own food can help make your supply far more nutritious.

Your Pantry is Your Lifeline

In a crisis situation, your food storage pantry could become your lifeline, as you begin producing your own food.  The production of one’s own food is a culture shock all on its own.  Think about the tremendous amount of work that goes into a loaf of bread, from seed to flour.  Now, think about trying to perform that kind of hard manual labor with inadequate nutrition.   If we call upon our bodies to do that, we must properly fuel ourselves.

In a potentially post-SHTF world, you must also consider that a lack of modern sanitation will lead to more disease. It is possible that less medical care will be available in the near future, as the economy continues to collapse upon itself.  A strong, well-nourished immune system will help to fight off illness and keep your family healthy.

Many people make the mistake of building a food supply merely meant to keep their stomach from growling in hunger.  That mindset could help you to survive a short-term disaster.  But if a crisis situation turns into a different a way of life, you will need a food supply that feeds and nourishes the systems of your body, not just one that keeps hunger at bay. You must prepare to fuel yourself for building a new, more self-reliant lifestyle.

Otherwise, once the noodles run out, so will your hopes of survival.

The Final Word

As with many of the articles on this website, this one is designed to make you think about the choices you have so you can come to a decision as to which fork in the road you wish to travel.

When it comes to food storage and survival nutrition, sure, a degree of compromise is in order.  But, at the end of the day, wouldn’t you rather lean toward the healthier and more physically sustainable food-source?  I know I would.

Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!

How This Nutty Article May Save Your Life (VIDEO)

In a long-lived emergency, our food stores can quickly be depleted. If this occurs, we must rely on our knowledge of native food sources growing wild in our area. One such wild edible is found in great abundance in many parts of the country and is a food source that is long forgotten. We are talking about the acorn.

Acorns can easily serve as an efficient way of pulling together a large amount of food. Many indigenous tribes and groups from around the world have utilized the acorn for its ability to give us nutrition and sustenance. In fact, it is estimated that in some regions of California, where the natives used them, fifty percent of their yearly caloric intake came from the humble acorn.

Acorns Serve Multiple SHTF Purposes

Native Indians used acorns as a huge source of their nutrition. As well, acorns should be looked at as a staple foods and can replace our dependence on corn and wheat. Acorns of white and black oak trees are readily available in many parts of the country and have a wide variety of uses.

• Acorns can be used to make a variety of different foods sources ranging from coffee, flour, soup thickeners, alternatives for oatmeal or just eating the nuts as a protein source.


• The vegetable oils in acorns are comparable to olives, corn and soybeans and can be used as a cooking oil or biofuel source.


• The nut meal can be used as animal fodder after the acorns have been shelled and ground.


• The shells can be used as a heat source, garden mulch, or added to the compost pile.


• Acorns are a complete protein and nutrition source.


• Acorns possess many medicinal properties.


• Acorns can be scattered around an area to lure wild game for additional food sources.

Health Benefits of Acorns

• Help control blood sugar levels.


• High in complex carbohydrates.


• Lower in fat compared to other nuts.


• Rich in vitamins B12, B6, folate riboflavin, thiamin and niacin.


• Good source of calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, sodium, copper and zinc.


• Good source of fiber and protein.

Medicinal Benefits of Acorns

The water used to remove the tannins in the boiling process from acorns can be saved and refrigerated to use for various medicinal applications. Over time, it will develop mold on the surface. Before using, bring it back to a boil which will kill the mold and continue to refrigerate for future uses.

• Sooth skin rashes, burns, and small cuts


• Use externally to help treat hemorrhoids


• Soothes and heals the blisters and helps reduce the itching


• Brown water ice cubes helps to soothe inflamed tissues


• Use as a gargle to soothe your sore throat


• A mild tea can be made to reduce symptoms of diarrhea

Important Points to Consider When Harvesting Acorns

1. The amount of tannins present in the acorn can play a role in the taste factor. Like most nuts, lightly toasting them in an oven can help the taste improve. Toast on a cookie sheet in an oven at 175° F.  Stir acorns around to prevent scorching. Tannic acid is water-soluble and can be removed by boiling or flushing them out.


2. Collect healthy acorns that have right type of kernel. Avoid acorns that are still firmly attached to the cap were shed early and are defective. As well, acorns that have streaks indicate a fungus is present. Also acorns that have holes had an acorn weevil present in the acorn and should not be eaten. Throw out any acorns that have already begun to germinate.


3. Investing in a durable hand crank type grain mill and oil expeller would be beneficial in extracting the meat and oils of the acorn.

If you have access to a running stream, to save on time and energy, some have added their acorns to a mesh bag and secure it in a stream for two days to help naturally leach out the tannins. If you cannot do this method, see the following video for to learn how to effectively leach out tannins and make acorn meal and flour.

The acorn flavor is slightly nutty, very hearty and can last as long as regular flour, as long as it stays dry. Store your acorn flour in a cool, dry place.

Here are some great recipes to practice using acorn flour:

Acorn Pancakes

• 1 egg


• 1 teaspoon salad oil


• 1 teaspoon of honey or sugar


• 1/2 cup of ground and leached acorns (see video)


• 1/2 cup of cornmeal


• 1/2 cup of whole wheat or white flour


• 2 teaspoons of double action baking powder


• 1/2 teaspoon of salt


• 1/2 cup of milk

Mix all ingredients together. If the batter is too thick to pour, thin it with milk. Pour pancakes into a hot, greased griddle and cook slowly until brown on both sides.

Prepper Pemmican

• 1 lb. lean stewing meat, cut quite small


• 1/2 cup dehydrated wild plums


• 1/2 cup acorn meal

Boil the lean stewing meat. When it is tender, drain and allow it to dry in a bowl. Grind all of the ingredients together in a meat grinder using a fine blade. Grind again, mixing finely, distributing the ingredients very well. Place in a covered dish and refrigerate overnight. (Or you can eat right away, but like many foods, the refrigerating allows the flavors to blend nicely.) You can serve this on any flatbread, such as a tortilla. It is best served warm, or you can reheat it in the pan in the oven like a meatloaf.

Cornmeal and Acorn Mush

• 4 cups water


• 1 tsp. salt


• 1/2 cup acorn meal, ground


• 1 cup cornmeal

Bring salted water to a boil and sprinkle the acorn meal into the boiling water, stirring briskly with a wire or twig whisk. Then add the cornmeal. Add just enough cornmeal to make a thick, bubbling batch in which a wood spoon will stand up fairly well. Place the saucepan in a larger container holding two inches or more of boiling water. (Use a double boiler, if you have one.) Simmer the mush until quite thick, about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep it from lumping.

Cornmeal and acorn mush is very good for breakfast on a cold morning. It can be served with sweetened milk and a dab of wild fruit jam or homemade butter. But it is also great as a main course lunch or dinner. You can also add salsa or bacon bits and grated cheese on top to get great variety. This mush is very filling and will stick to your ribs.

Apache Acorn Cakes

• 1 cup acorn meal, ground fine


• 1 cup cornmeal


• 1/4 cup honey


• pinch of salt

Mix the ingredients with enough warm water to make a moist, not sticky dough. Divide into 12 balls. Let rest, covered, for 10 minutes or so. With slightly moist hands, pat the balls down into thick tortilla-shaped breads. Bake on an ungreased cast iron griddle over campfire coals or on clean large rocks, propped up slightly before the coals. If using the stones, have them hot when you place the cakes on them. You’ll have to lightly peel an edge to peek and see if they are done. They will be slightly brown. Turn them over and bake on the other side, if necessary. Add butter, if necessary.

Recipe Sources

To conclude, the mighty oak tree is a symbol for strength, longevity and durability, and their seeds are no different. Understanding how underutilized this food source is can give you an upper-hand for a time when food may not be as readily available.

Related Articles:

Acorn Nuts: The Grain That Grows on Trees

Acorn: The Perennial Grain

7 Reasons Why Sunflowers Are A Multi-Purpose Prep

Thomas Bulfinch was once quoted as saying, “The sunflower is a favorite emblem of constancy.”  How right he was. This faithful flower is as useful as it is lovely, and should be a must in your personal seed libraries.

Sunflower seeds are often overlooked for long-term preparedness goals. It’s a small seed, so it’s understandable. That said, it should be considered a multi-purpose prep. Best of all, the seeds are adequately priced and store well.

Benefits of Sunflowers in the Garden

1. They provide good harvests. With minimal effort, you can harvest a substantial amount of sunflower seeds for a long-term emergency situation. In a 2,500 square foot lot, you can grow up to 20 pounds of nutritious, non-hulled seeds with enough broken seeds left over to feed a winter’s worth of birds.


2. They attract bees and birds to the garden. My grandfather had a vegetable garden every year and in that garden were rows of robust, yellow flowers swaying in the warm summer breeze. As a child, I asked him why he was growing these giant flowers along with his vegetables. He smiled and said, “Do you see the bees buzzing around the flowers? And the birds? That’s why I put them in my garden – and every garden should have sunflowers.”


3. Can be put to use in the garden. The stalk of the Mammoth Sunflower is very strong and can be used in the “Three Sisters” gardening method as a living gardening stake. In lieu of growing corn, grow sunflowers in its place and allow climbing plants such as green beans, peas, squash, etc., to grow up the stalk. As well, when the sunflowers tower over the smaller plants and vegetables in the garden, the sunflowers provide a shade canopy and increase the humidity, as well. This would be a welcome addition to the garden during the dog days of summer.


4. Make your own oil. Has anyone thought about making their own oil for a continued supply? The high oil content of sunflower seed, often over 40%, makes it a great choice in making homemade oil. Oil used for food is one of the first items to disasppear if a long term disaster were to occur. In a 2,500 square foot lot, a family of four can grow each year enough sunflower seeds to produce three gallons of homemade oil suitable for salads or cooking. Source As well, you can make your own biodiesel. Sunflower oil can be used to run diesel engines.


5. Enjoy the health benefits of sunflower seeds. The seeds are high in vitamin A and E, have natural tannins, inulin, levulin, magnesium, selenium, B-1, B-5, phosphorous, tryptophan, copper, B-6, manganese, folate, fiber, iron and zinc, amino acids and Omega-3 Fatty Acids. Seeds can also be sprouted to have a natural source of enzymes. Sprouted sunflower greens, known as microgreens contain up to 100 times the enzymes of regular, full-grown greens. This means your body can more easily absorb the nutritional benefits.


6. Sunflowers have medicinal properties. Aside from the health aspects and usefulness in the garden, they also possess some medicinal qualities. The seeds, leaves and roots can be used to ease symptoms of various ailments. The seeds have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, diuretic and expectorant properties. They can help reducing the symptoms of asthma, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis and help in cases of bronchial, pulmonary and laryngeal problems. They can reduce high blood pressure and migraine headaches. Due to their magnesium content, sunflower seeds can also act as prevention against heart attacks and strokes. Sunflower leaves can be used as an infusion to treat high fevers, lung problems and diarrhea. As a poultice, sunflower root is used against snake and spider bites.


7. Use it as a livestock feed. Ground seeds used in making sunflower oil can be turned into meal and readily used as a livestock feed. Sunflower meal contains less protein and much more fiber than soybean meal, making it a valuable livestock feed

Most sunflowers are remarkably tough and easy to grow as long as the soil is not waterlogged. Most are heat- and drought-tolerant. Growing these seeds will help you create the sustainable environment you are working toward.

Additional Reading:

Sunflowers for Biofuel Production

How to Perfectly Roast Shelled Sunflower Seeds

Thousands Of Americans Are Fleeing The Big Cities In Preparation For The Coming American Apocalypse

Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,

Why are so many people suddenly moving away from major U.S. cities?  Recently, I wrote about the mass exodus that is happening out of the state of California, but the truth is that what is happening there is just part of a national phenomenon.  The populations of some of our largest cities are steadily shrinking, and many experts are completely mystified by the seismic demographic shifts that we are now witnessing.  Of course there are a whole host of reasons why people would want to move away from huge cities such as Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore and Cleveland.  For some families, it simply comes down to wanting a better life for their children.  But as you will see below, there are others that believe that things in this country are about to take an apocalyptic turn, and the big cities will not be a place that you want to be when economic collapse, rioting, looting, civil unrest and crime are all spiraling out of control.

According to data just released by the U.S. Census Bureau, Chicago took the prize for the biggest population loss from 2015 to 2016, and it was followed by Detroit and Baltimore…

The counties containing Chicago, Detroit and the independent city of Baltimore were the biggest population losers in the United States from 2015 to 2016, according to data released today by the Census Bureau.

Cook County, Ill., where Chicago is the county seat, had the largest population loss of any county in the country from 2015 and 2016.

Cook County alone had a “domestic migration” loss of more than 66,000 people.  That is a staggering number of people to lose in a single year.

Cleveland and Milwaukee were also very high on the list, and some are pointing out that all of these cities are in relatively colder climates and are all struggling economically.

So you certainly can’t blame people living in these cities for wanting to find somewhere warmer and more economically prosperous to live.

But others that are moving away from large cities are deeply concerned about where things are ultimately headed in this country.  It doesn’t take a genius to see that anger, frustration and hatred are rising all around us, and many believe that conditions are ripe for civil unrest and civil conflict.  In fact, best-selling author Doug Casey believes that we could soon see a “civil war” that is set off by a “financial collapse”…

Best-selling author Doug Casey wrote “Crisis Investing” at the time when the U.S. political landscape was transitioning from the Carter Administration to the Reagan Administration. Now, Casey sees a coming crisis that is equal or worse than the Civil War.  Casey explains, “In the U.S. right now, there seems to be so much antagonism it’s almost like pre-Civil War.  There is actually hatred in the U.S. at this point.  It used to be the Republicans and Democrats could disagree, but they could have a civil conversation about a difference of opinion.  Now, it’s active hatred between these two groups.  This is not going to end well.”

Casey thinks the coming financial collapse will be the trigger. Casey says, “It’s going to come down eventually.  I am worried about that, but we are in a situation where the country seem like it is just before a civil war.  It will be more serious than just a financial collapse, and it is likely to be set off by a financial collapse.”

Without a doubt, our financial system is certainly primed for a financial collapse, and when things get really, really bad in this country how will people respond?

Many have decided that they want to get away from the major population centers before we find out the answer to that question.

For example, not too long ago the Chicago Tribune ran a story about why so many preppers are moving to the Great Northwest.  One of the individuals profiled was an ex-resident of California named Trevor Treller who moved up to north Idaho prior to the recent election…

Trevor Treller, 44, who carries a small Smith & Wesson pistol on his hip, moved to north Idaho last year from Long Beach, California, and recently paid a little less than $400,000 for a defensible three-bedroom house on five wooded acres.

Treller, a sommelier at a local resort, said Obama was a key factor in his decision. He said the president has inflamed racial tensions in America, presided over a dangerous expansion of the national debt, been “hostile” to Second Amendment rights and failed to curtail the nuclear ambitions of North Korea and Iran.

Treller said any one of those factors could lead to crippling chaos, so he and his wife have laid in food, weapons and ammunition and are installing an iron gate across their long gravel driveway.Of course it isn’t just ordinary Americans such as Treller that are deeply concerned about what is coming.

Less than a week ago, CNN ran an article entitled “Billionaire bunkers: How the 1% are preparing for the apocalypse“…

Many of the world’s elite, including hedge fund managers, sports stars and tech executives (Bill Gates is rumored to have bunkers at all his properties) have chosen to design their own secret shelters to house their families and staff.

Gary Lynch, general manager of Texas-based Rising S Company, says 2016 sales for their custom high-end underground bunkers grew 700% compared to 2015, while overall sales have grown 300% since the November US presidential election alone.

So why are Bill Gates and his billionaire friends so interested in buying luxury survival bunkers if everything is going to be just fine?

Can someone explain that one to me?

Everywhere you look, retail stores are closing and economic warning signs are flashing red, but those that sell survival bunkers to the elite are making tremendous amounts of money.

And I certainly wish that I could afford one of these survival bunkers, because they sound quite appealing…

One of those shelters, Vivos xPoint, is near the Black Hills of South Dakota, and consists of 575 military bunkers that served as an Army Munitions Depot until 1967.

Presently being converted into a facility that will accommodate about 5,000 people, the interiors of each bunker are outfitted by the owners at a cost of between $25,000 to $200,000 each. The price depends on whether they want a minimalist space or a home with high-end finishes.

The compound itself will be equipped with all the comforts of a small town, including a community theater, classrooms, hydroponic gardens, a medical clinic, a spa and a gym.

These elitists plan to ride out the coming American apocalypse in style while the world above them is literally going insane.

Meanwhile, most of the general population continues to be completely oblivious to what is about to happen to them, and so the events that are coming will close upon them suddenly like a trap and there will be no escape.

There Will Be Those Who Perish In The Next Crisis, And Those "Who Survive In Underground Luxury"

Authored by Mac Slavo via SHTFplan.com,

Ultimately, no one can stop what is coming.

The haves and have nots of the next, gritty era of aftermath will be those who have the means to survive when the system has failed, and those who do not.

For the wealthy, and prepper minded elite, hidden fortified layers purchased for insurance will preserve most of the luxuries of life above ground, and in the cities, even as society crumbles and burns to the ground.

Others, without the means to purchase these luxuries, may have still set aside the necessary materials to live and thrive after a great collapse, where anything and everything from the electric grid, to the fuel supply to the food supply will fail.

There will be tens of millions of starving, angry and bewildered people who face endangerment and extinction, and there will be a few who succeed not only in planning ahead, but in laying low enough to avoid being noticed and picked off by looters, marauders and misguided authorities.

Finding the perfect location for your redoubt, and making your preps to get away if need be, amount to something of an art and a science. Nothing is guaranteed, everything has its advantages and disadvantaged, but just by doing anything at all, you’ll be way ahead of the masses.

If the plans of the elite are anything to consider, they have decked out their bunkers with mementos and reminders of normal life, and not only enough to supplies not to feel the pain of a crumbling infrastructure, but to be distracted by the illusion of normalcy even in times of ultimate crisis.

But ultimately, all successful redoubts invest in the means to provide for long-term survival and maximum self-sufficiency.

As Health Nut News reports:

Most “shelters” include enough food for a year or more, and many have hydroponic gardens to supplement. The developers also work hard to create “well-rounded communities with a range of skills necessary for long-term survival, from doctors to teachers.” (During the 2016 elections, Vivos received a flurry of interest in its shelters from both liberals and conservatives and completely sold out of spaces in its community shelters.)

Many of the interiors are left as a blank slate so that each owner can create what they are looking for in terms of comfort and luxury- and it all comes at a cost. Base models can start at $25,000 and go up to almost $5 million dollars. Their footprints also vary from quaint to 5000 square feet.

It isn’t just happening in the United States, but all over the world. And while the fastest growing part of this sector clearly caters to the rich and well adjusted, many shelters are also being constructed to house millions of masses during emergencies – at least in places like China, Switzerland and Russia.

[…] The Oppidum, billed as “the largest billionaire bunker in the world.” This top-secret facility, once a joint project between the former Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and Slovakia), was built over 10 years beginning in 1984. The premiere apocalypse dwelling is a place that billionaires can live out the horrors of the apocalypse- be it zombie or other- in luxury with every amenity you could ever hope for.

[…] Retail firm Survival Condos offers refuge at a re-purposed missile silo in Kansas, United States. The luxury apartments here are stacked underground and protected by blast doors designed to withstand explosions. Retail firm Survival Condos offers refuge at a re-purposed missile silo in Kansas, United States. The luxury apartments here are stacked underground and protected by blast doors designed to withstand explosions.”

[…] Vivos Europa One, in Rothenstein, is one of Germany’s largest repurposing projects. The 76-acre former Soviet bunker is capable of withstanding a nuclear blast, a direct plane crash or biological attack. It is being transformed into 34 five-star apartments, starting at 2,500 sq ft, which aim to protect the super-rich from any forthcoming apocalypse.

Self-sustaining communities or networks of individuals can also plan around their budgets to make these concepts a reality. Many companies will customize and scale down projects to costs as low as $25,000… while basic home fortification and DIY applications can be done for much less money.

In the end, those who prepared when nothing happened are only out what they invested on the principle of having a viable back-up insurance plan.

But those who didn’t prepare for the worst when it did happen could very quickly lose everything they have, and many will perish during the next major crisis – which could be triggered at this point by almost anything.