Subject: newsletter excerpt

From: [email-masked]
Date: 31 Mar 1994 14:10:39 -0600

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Here's an excerpt from the Coping With Turbulent Times
newsletter, Vol.1, No. 2, which I thought some on the list
would be interested in.  Please note copyright at end.
Permission granted to repost electronically through 6/1/94. 

      Physical Preparation

  Planning for Water Supplies.  Water 
is a basic necessity.  We're used to 
turning on the faucet and having water 
flow.  With the many possible circum-
stances under which it wouldn't, pro-
viding for water is important - we can 
last longer without food than we can 
without water.  
  Water can be provided for through 
storing water now when it is available 
or through planning for alternate 
sources not dependent on the city water 
supply.  Obviously, these ways are not 
mutually exclusive - you probably want 
to implement both.
  Storing water.  What can you store 
water in?  Many people have used gallon 
plastic milk jugs - the handles made 
them especially convenient.  Some of 
the currently manufactured ones may 
degrade fast enough that this won't be 
satisfactory now.  Containers that 
chlorine bleach came in can be used, 
but other household product containers 
shouldn't be.  Two liter soft drink 
bottles with screw on lids serve well 
and are a handy size.  Plastic buckets 
with tight fitting lids are another 
possibility.  If you get used ones, be 
sure that only foods (e.g. pickles) 
have been in them before.  Some people 
suggest adding chlorine or iodine as 
you fill the bottles.  This seems 
hardly necessary if you are using city 
water, which is already chlorinated.  
You may want to purify the water when 
it's time to use it anyway (see discus-
sion of water purification below).  
  Your water heater holds a considera-
ble amount of water.  This may be 
accessible in an emergency through a 
drain valve at the bottom of it.  Water 
in swimming pools or water beds is not 
drinkable but would be usable for other 
purposes.  A one way valve on your 
incoming water line will retain the 
water in your pipes even if the water 
mains are broken.
  Planning for water storage.  Planning 
for your water storage starts with 
deciding the emergencies you want to be 
prepared for.  This determines the 
length of time your stored water must 
last.  An often cited rule of thumb is 
to have two gallons per person per day 
for the period you want to be prepared 
for.
  Alternate sources.  It is not all 
that practical for most of us to store 
enough water to last for many weeks.  
You need to think of alternate sources.  
If your water system shut down, where 
would you get water?  Are there streams 
or ponds nearby?.  Collecting rainwater 
may be possible, at least as a supple-
mentary source, depending on the regu-
larity of rainfall in your area.
  The water you get from natural 
sources is not likely to be pure enough 
to drink.  What sort of treatment or 
purification process would you be able 
to use for it?  Boiling it for 15-20 
minutes is one of the simplest forms of 
treatment and will kill any dangerous 
bacteria.   Chlorine treatment is 
another possibility.  4-5 drops of 
household chlorine bleach per quart 
serve as a good disinfectant.  (You can 
also use Halazone tablets, but they 
don't store well.)  Let the water stand 
for 30 minutes after adding the chlo-
rine.  Iodine based purification tab-
lets are available.  An alternative is 
to add 5-10 drops of tincture of iodine 
per quart of water and let it stand 15-
30 minutes.  If you are planning to use 
any of the chemical treatments, you 
need to keep a relatively fresh supply 
of the treatment agent on hand.  The 
water purification tablets you bought 
four or five years ago won't do the job 
now.  (Iodine tablets last somewhat 
longer than the other kinds.)
  Even after treating the water as 
suggested above, filtering it and 
aerating it is a good idea.  There may 
be contaminants that treatment won't 
get rid of but a filter will.   Aerat-
ing it will improve the taste.  This is 
done by pouring the water back and 
forth between containers to mix air 
back in it.
  Sewage disposal.  You need to consid-

Coping With Turbulent Times, Vol.1,No.2
            Contents

The Economy
  Economic Outlook.................p1
  Being Your Own Economist/pt2......2
Our Turbulent Times
  Clinton as Fascist................4
  Secession.........................4
  Global Warming....................4
Thinking About the Times............5
  Media Bias........................5
Finances
  Personal Financial Statement/pt2..5
Physical Preparation
  Planning for Water Supplies.......6 
Working With Others  
  Groups............................7
Question Box
  Cashless Society?.................8
Resources
  Another Newsletter................8
  Book Review.......................8
Notes from the Editor...............8

Coping with Turbulent Times newsletter 
is published by Individual Investors 
Institute, Box 4630 SFA Sta., Nacog-
doches, TX  75961. Reynolds Griffith, 
Ph.D., C.F.A., Editor. Its theme, as 
may be evident from the title, is that 
the times we live in bring many prob-
lems and that there are lots of things 
we can do to be better prepared to meet 
them.  Subscriptions are $5.00 for four 
issues.  Single copies are $1.00 plus a 
long SASE.  Copyright (c) 1994 by III.

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