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Preparing Yourself for the Next Disaster: Let There Be Water

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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.

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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

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West (RIP JB) and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.

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