Your Survival Guy

Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.

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Preparing Yourself for the Next Disaster: Let There Be Water

In thinking about water storage for you and your family, I’ve been fascinated by how Israel solved their water problem. In his book, Let There Be Water: Israel’s Solution for a Water-Starved World, Seth M. Siegel tells how Israel, which is 60% desert became a water superpower.

One point that stood out to me was getting residents to “buy in” to the importance of cherishing a most valuable resource. Real market pricing took care of that in a way that subsidized water never could. If something like water was free or cheap, then why not use as much of it as you could? Whereas, when charged a market price on par with costs, consumers became much more conscious about their water usage.

Another point I liked was Israel’s adoption of easy to implement drip irrigation. Unlike the flood irrigation predominant on farms in the U.S., “Irrigating a plant drop by drop limits evaporation and delivers the water that the plant needs directly at its roots. The water savings are significant—only four percent of the water is lost to evaporation or unnecessary absorption into the soil,” explains Siegel.

Next, there’s the work Israel has done on desalination, which provides “the equivalent of ninety-four percent of Israel’s household water,” Siegel points out.

A lot of Israel’s success, like anything, came from need or survival. Need motivates. I want you to think about your family’s water needs. In a disaster, you’re dealing with uncomfortable scenarios. Taking a minute to think about water usage and where it comes from, like Israel had to do, will help you discover ways to improve your water situation when you need it most.

Seth Siegel - The Imminent Global Water Crisis & Israel's Solution

Preparing Yourself for the Next Disaster: Water Storage Part IV

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Good Karma If you’ve been reading my series on water storage, here, here, and here, then you may be paying closer attention to your water usage. I know I have. I’ve caught myself letting the water run needlessly while shaving, brushing my teeth and doing the dishes. For some reason, in addition to not wasting water, I feel good just turning it off. In a way, I’m hoping it will be good karma for when I really need water. Believe me there’s something to this karma stuff. Feeling good about what you’re doing, like being careful with your water usage and water storage makes you feel like … [Read more...]

Preparing Yourself for the Next Disaster: Water Storage Part III

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You’re making progress. How to store water isn’t easy. It requires your attention. But you can do this, because without water you’re toast in three days. Don’t get overwhelmed. There’s an endless combination of ways to store water for short, intermediate, and long-term needs as I discuss here. Today I’m focused on providing you with a two-week supply or an intermediate-term storage solution. I’ve chosen four fifty-five-gallon barrels. These barrels aren’t small. Imagine those big-yellow barrels getting dragged off the Orca in the movie Jaws and you get the picture. They are about … [Read more...]

Preparing Yourself for the Next Disaster: Water Storage Part II

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Congratulations! The simple fact that you’re reading about water storage puts you ahead of the pack. Believe me, it takes work to figure this stuff out for your family. My goal is to share with you what I’ve learned to help you create your own plan. I’ve broken my water plan into three phases: short, intermediate, and long-term storage. Your short-term needs may last from two hours up to three days and can be covered by heading to your grocery store today. I want you to be able to satisfy your short-term needs right away should you lose access to water by the time you’re done reading this … [Read more...]

Preparing Yourself for the Next Disaster: Water Storage

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Do you live in a bone-dry, hot, desert? Then your water storage strategy may differ from someone that lives near a well, lake, river or reservoir. The same is true if you live in a third-floor city condo, compared to a quarter-acre in the burbs or 25 acres in the boondocks. You want to build your water storage capacity around your situation. That’s it. Your situation is unique. There are already tons of barriers when it comes to water storage. Don’t beat yourself up about what Joe Shmoe in Alamo is doing. Focus on yourself. You have enough hurdles to get over. For example, I’ve … [Read more...]

Preparing Yourself for the Next Disaster: Water Requirements

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You never want to miss an opportunity to improve your situation when it comes to water. You simply cannot afford to be without it. You can’t live without water beyond three days, give or take. That’s why I suggest a short-term solution by simply making sure you have enough water on hand for the next couples of days, and then work from there. You’d be surprised at what you already have, as I explain here, and how easy it is to do as I point out here. But how do you prepare for when you will be without water for longer than a few days? In thinking about intermediate-term water storage … [Read more...]

Preparing Yourself for the Next Disaster: Drinking Water

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When thinking about water storage, I like to break it down into three needs: short, intermediate, and long-term. Short-term needs are immediate and can last anywhere from 2 hours to 3 days. In some situations you may have some time to prepare, such as for a storm. But I’m thinking about a short-term emergency that catches you off guard. Imagine, right now, if you lost your main source of water. How would you fare for the next couple of days? You don’t want to be the one waiting in line at the store. You don’t want to be told that there are no more water bottles. The solution for … [Read more...]