Urban Farming Guys

Epic story of about 20 families that uprooted from suburbia and made their homes for good in one of the most blighted neighborhoods in the U.S. Lykins Neighborhood 64127 Inner City KCMO to invest thier lives into the youth and poor. We've seen it all, yet together as Lykins Neighborhood we believe there is hope. And the game is changing, Crime is dropping! 21% over the last 2 years and the adventure continues to unfold. Follow the story at TheUrbanFarmingGuys.com Featuring Aquaponics, Neighborhood Transformation, Permaculture, Urban Farming and lots of fun taking back the neighborhood. Come join the conversation on Facebook : http://tiny.ly/tlwNand the Blog at http://TheUrbanFarmingGuys.com

Remembering the 2004 Tsunami

Map Shows US West Drenched By Fukushima Radiation

Source

Simulation Map of Cesium-137 Deposition Across the Pacific by CEREA Shows Contamination in US Greater Than That of Western Japan

France's CEREA has the simulation map of ground deposition of cesium-137 from the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident on its "Fukushima" page. It not only shows Japan but also the entire northern Pacific Rim, from Russian Siberia to Alaska to the West Coast of the US to the entire US.

According to the map, the US, particularly the West Coast and particularly California, may be more contaminated with radioactive cesium than the western half of Japan or Hokkaido. It looks more contaminated than South Korea or China. Canada doesn't look too well either, particularly along the border with US on the western half.

From CEREA's Fukushima page:

Atmospheric dispersion of radionuclides from the Fukushima-Daichii nuclear power plant

CEREA, joint laboratory École des Ponts ParisTech and EdF R&D
Victor Winiarek, Marc Bocquet, Yelva Roustan, Camille Birman, Pierre Tran

Map of ground deposition of caesium-137 for the Fukushima-Daichii accident.

The simulation was performed with a specific version of the numerical atmospheric chemistry and transport model Polyphemus/Polair3D. The parametrisations used for the transport and physical removal of the radionuclides are described in [1,2,3,4].

The magnitude of the deposition field is uncertain and the simulated values of deposited radionuclides could be significantly different from the actual deposition. In particular, the source term remains uncertain. Therefore, these results should be seen as preliminary and they are likely to be revised as new information become available to better constrain the source term and when radionuclides data can be used to evaluate the model simulation results.

The page also has the animated simulation of cesium-137 dispersion from March 11 to April 6, 2011. If the Japanese think they are the only ones who have the radiation and radioactive fallout from the accident, they are very much mistaken, if the simulation is accurate. (Meteorological institutes and bureaus in Austria, Germany, and Norway all had similar simulation maps.)

Radioactive materials spewed out of Fukushima I Nuke Plant went up and away on the jet stream, reaching the other side of the Pacific. When the fallout from explosions (March 14, 15) reached the US West Coast, it came with an unusually heavy rainfall in California.

CEREA's description of the animation (if the animation doesn't work, or if you want to see the bigger one, go to CEREA's page):

Movie of the Fukushima-Daichii activity in the air (caesium-137, ground level)

The simulation was performed with a specific version of the numerical atmospheric chemistry and transport model Polyphemus/Polair3D. The parametrisations used for the transport and physical removal of the radionuclides are described in [1,2,3,4].

The magnitude of activity concentration field is uncertain and could be significantly different from the actual one. In particular, the source term remains uncertain. Therefore, these results should be seen as preliminary and they are likely to be revised as new information become available to better constrain the source term and when radionuclides data can be used to evaluate the model simulation results.

(Go to their page to see the references.)

The Key To Disaster Survival? Friends And Neighbors

Source

EnlargeJiji Press/AFP/Getty Images

Residents check an earthquake-damaged house in Sukagawa city on March 11, in the Fukushima prefecture in Japan. A researcher says that after large-scale natural disasters, it's frequently friends and neighbors who are key to survival.

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July 4, 2011

When Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, one victim was political scientist Daniel Aldrich. He had just moved to New Orleans. Late one August night, there was a knock on the door.

"It was a neighbor who knew that we had no idea of the realities of the Gulf Coast life," said Aldrich, who is now a political scientist at Purdue University in Indiana. He "knocked on our door very late at night, around midnight on Saturday night, and said, 'Look, you've got small kids — you should really leave.' "

The knock on the door was to prove prophetic. It changed the course of Aldrich's research and, in turn, is changing the way many experts now think about disaster preparedness.

Officials in New Orleans that Saturday night had not yet ordered an evacuation, but Aldrich trusted the neighbor who knocked on his door. He bundled his family into a car and drove to Houston.

"Without that information we never would've left," Aldrich said. I think we would've been trapped."

In fact, by the time people were told to leave, it was too late and thousands of people got stuck.

EnlargeHector Mata/AFP/Getty Images

Residents of the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans printed T-shirts during a community meeting on Sept. 9, 2005. The neighborhood organized a cleanup effort even as mandatory evacuation of the city was under way. Refusing to obey the order to evacuate, many residents remained in their houses.

Social Connections And Survival: Neighbors Matter

Because of his own experience in Katrina, Aldrich started thinking about how neighbors help one another during disasters. He decided to visit disaster sites around the world, looking for data.

Aldrich's findings show that ambulances and firetrucks and government aid are not the principal ways most people survive during — and recover after — a disaster. His data suggest that while official help is useful — in clearing the water and getting the power back on in a place such as New Orleans after Katrina, for example — government interventions cannot bring neighborhoods back, and most emergency responders take far too long to get to the scene of a disaster to save many lives. Rather, it is the personal ties among members of a community that determine survival during a disaster, and recovery in its aftermath.

When Aldrich visited villages in India hit by the giant 2004 tsunami, he found that villagers who fared best after the disaster weren't those with the most money, or the most power. They were people who knew lots of other people — the most socially connected individuals. In other words, if you want to predict who will do well after a disaster, you look for faces that keep showing up at all the weddings and funerals.

"Those individuals who had been more involved in local festivals, funerals and weddings, those were individuals who were tied into the community, they knew who to go to, they knew how to find someone who could help them get aid," Aldrich says.

The Japan Example: 'I Was Just Running Around And Talking To People'

In Japan, Aldrich found that firetrucks and ambulances didn't save the most lives after earthquakes. Neighbors did.

"In Kobe in 1995, if you knew where your neighbors slept, because the earthquake was very early in the morning, you knew where to dig in the rubble to find them early enough in the process for them to survive," he says.

Because of his research, when a powerful earthquake struck Japan this March, Aldrich was certain that good neighbors would play a decisive role. Michinori Watanabe of Miyagi prefecture, about 100 miles from Fukushima in northern Japan, said the same thing.

Watanabe's father is paralyzed, and he needs a machine to breathe. When the earthquake struck and the power went out, the machine stopped working. Watanabe ran outside. He begged strangers: "Do you have a generator? Do you? Do you?"

"I was running around and talking to people, and after I talked to several people, a person who I just met — actually, I knew him from before — and he said, 'I got one,' so I told him, 'Please bring that in,' " said Watanabe, 43, a truck driver. "So I got that and I went back to my house and connected the equipment to the generator."

Watanabe's father survived, but it was a close call. But why not just call the Japanese equivalent of 911?

"At that time all the electricity was down, and the telephone land lines were down and my mobile was not working, so there was no other way than I myself go out running around, asking people," Watanabe said.

Local Knowledge Is Key

Not only did no professionals come to help Watanabe those first few minutes, there was no sign of them the first day.

Watanabe emptied his house of water and blankets and started helping neighbors who were homeless and shivering. They were still without help days later. And Watanabe did what good neighbors do when friends are in trouble: He improvised.

Related NPR Stories

How To Survive A Tornado: Plan Ahead, Avoid Debris

Experts say pervasive myths can prevent people from knowing the safest way to protect themselves.

In Japan, A City Left In Shambles By A 'Mighty Woosh'

The northeast port of Kesennuma is no stranger to tsunamis. But this one's different, survivor says.

"I went on the street and stopped any car from outside, which has the number from outside the prefecture — I stopped them," said Watanabe. "I think it is not the proper way to do it, but I kind of pretended I was giving directions — and I found out who are they and what they have and then I asked them, "if you have anything, please leave it with us."

It's this passion for a local community and granular knowledge about who needs what that makes large-scale government interventions ineffective by comparison. It's even true when it comes to long-term recovery.

Beloit College economist Emily Chamlee-Wright has studied why some communities in New Orleans came back more quickly than others.

"One of the communities that in the post-Katrina context was the most successful was the Mary Queen of Vietnam community in New Orleans East," said Chamlee-Wright. "It's important to recognize that one of the reasons why they were so successful is that they ignored government warnings not to come back and start rebuilding too soon."

'The Second Tsunami'

Governments and big nongovernmental organizations — which are keenly aware of the big picture — are often blind to neighborhood dynamics.

In Southeast Asia, Aldrich found that well-intentioned NGOs actually hurt the fishing communities they were trying to help. They saw the damage caused by the tsunami in fishing villages and started giving new boats to all the fishermen.

Really, at the end of the day, the people who will save you, and the people who will help you, they're usually neighbors.

- Daniel Aldrich

"Fishing is a very social activity. It is organized, really, not in a hierarchy but in a network," Aldrich said. "So you have someone who drives the boat, the person who steers, you have two people fishing in the water, some person who carries the net and some person who goes — takes the fish to market. Once every person is given their own boat, you've gone from five people working together to each individual working by themselves."

Fishermen who used to work together now became competitors. Trust broke down. Fights broke out.

"Some of the local activists I talked to called this 'the second tsunami,' " Aldrich said.

The problem isn't that experts are dumb. It's that communities are not the sum of their roads, schools and malls. They are the sum of their relationships.

The Japanese government seems to get this. The government there actually funds block parties to bring communities together.

That might never happen in America, but Aldrich thinks each of us can do something on our own: Instead of practicing earthquake drills and building bunkers, we could reach out and make more friends among our co-workers and neighbors.

"Get more involved in neighborhood events," Aldrich said. "If there is a planning club, a homeowners association — if there are sports clubs nearby, PTAs — those groups have us in contact with people we wouldn't normally meet and help us build up these stocks of trust and reciprocity."

"Really, at the end of the day, the people who will save you, and the people who will help you," he added, "they're usually neighbors."

Hows This For A Survival Vehicle?

Naked Into The Wilderness Series

In recent years I've been getting more and more interested in the history and practical application of primitive skills as it regards survival and a less dependent, more sustainable way of life. And John and Geri McPherson have been names I constantly hear mentioned whenever the topic of primitive comes up. Don't know a helluva lot about them other than reading through one of their books a long time ago. But being lucky enough to stumble onto these videos and seeing them doing this stuff real time is just great. They have real skills and a matter of fact attitude about things that make this stuff seem easier than has been my (novice) experience. I havent' watched them all yet, but I'm amazed at some of the things they do that I would/have never thought of before. And they do it with an ease/mastery that lets you know they ain't playin'! lol

Primitive Wilderness Skills Applied - http://video.yandex.ru/users/petrukmax/view/79/

Primitive Fire and Cordage - http://video.yandex.ru/users/petrukmax/view/145/

Primitive Semi-Permanent Shelters - http://video.yandex.ru/users/petrukmax/view/146/

Breaking Rock(Knapping) Part 1 - http://video.yandex.ru/users/petrukmax/view/147/

Breaking Rock(Knapping) Part 2 - http://video.yandex.ru/users/petrukmax/view/80/

The Primitive Bow and Arrow - http://video.yandex.ru/users/petrukmax/view/150/

How to Construct the Asiatic Bow - http://video.yandex.ru/users/petrukmax/view/148/

Dear From Field to Freezer - http://video.yandex.ru/users/petrukmax/view/149/

Brain Tan Buckskin - http://video.yandex.ru/users/petrukmax/view/81/

Patriot Nurse Preparation Tips

This is her Youtube page

Pics of Homemade Dams to Stop Mississippi Floods

Source

These homes in Vicksburg are all situated along the Yazoo River, a tributary of the overflowing Mississippi River, and their owners have surrounded themselves with tons of earth and sand.

With questions over whether the main levees that protect the area from floods would hold, these farmers took no chances and have so far saved their homes and crops from destruction.

Leaking: This homeowner sealed off the driveway to their house but water has crept in over the back of the makeshift levee - not surprising when the Mississippi River's height has swollen to 56.3 feet - a record high

Braced: The flooding is expected to reach its highest point in Vicksburg tomorrow

Built up: This homeowner has turned their house into an island in the 300 acres of flooded farmland around the Mississippi River

DIY: This home in Vicksburg, Mississippi is surrounded by tons of earth and sand as its owner tries to hold back the floodwaters from the Yazoo River

The flooding, which has been ongoing since the last week of April, is expected to reach its peak in Vicksburg tomorrow.

However, temporary measures have not worked for everyone.

The flooding claimed its first life today, after an elderly man slipped while clinging to a fence and drowned before authorities could come to his aid.

Two firefighters on a boat patrol on Wednesday spotted Walter Cook, 69, holding on to the fence in chest-deep water. By the time they reached him, Cook was floating in the water.

The elderly man died overnight at River Region Medical Center in Vicksburg of 'hypoxic brain injury due to drowning,' the coroner stated.

Hypoxia is an abnormal condition resulting from a decrease in the oxygen supplied to or utilised by body tissue.

Access route: A small white boat at the right of this protected house gives some idea of how the residents may get to the road with their home cut off

No room with a view: The walls of the levee are almost the same height as the roof of the house

Not quite so resilient: The homemade dam around this home in Vicksburg wasn't quite high enough

Vicksburg has seen the worst of the floods with the Mississippi River's height swelling to 56.3 feet at its highest point, eclipsing the record set in 1927.

Employees at Dirt Works, Inc, a cement production business in South Vicksburg, built a makeshift levee to protect the business but it burst on Monday.

The Yazoo River's Backwater Levee connects with the main Mississippi River levee, and with the Mississippi River overflowing the Yazoo River has been forced to top its banks where they meet, near Vicksburg.

With heavy rains having left the ground saturated there has been widespread flooding along three million acres of farmland from Illinois to Louisiana along the Mississippi.

Around 15 miles of the Mississippi River, which had been closed since Tuesday, has now been reopened with the region and the nation absorbing huge financial losses from the closure.

Washout: Floodwater from the Yazoo river creeps across fields of crops near Yazoo City

If mother nature could paint: Water sweeps across acres of fields like a paint brush

Beautiful disaster: The image from above of water flooding fields looks like modern art

Devastated: This aerial shot over Vicksburg shows the ominous rise of floodwater around homes

Sinking: Little more than the tops of trees remain above the water's surface

The Yazoo River is a relatively thin tributary of the Mississippi River but their connection has led to the flooding of around 300 acres of farmland

Some 600 boats use the river every day, transporting 500m tons of cargo, keeping the river closed for any length of time would potentially cripple local industries and dent the American economy.

Economic experts had warned earlier this week that the closure of the river could cost $300m a day.

The 15-mile stretch at Natchez in Vicksburg had been closed because waters were near the very top of the levee and it was feared wake from passing ships may cause the levee to breach.

But on Wednesday, forecasters lowered their expectation for how high floodwaters will get.

They are now predicting that the Mississippi River will crest at Vicksburg at 57.1 feet tomorrow, lower than recent predictions, and that if the water does go over the Yazoo Backwater Levee, it will be only a trickle.

Barricade: Sandbags laid out in piles protect a road in Stepensville, Louisiana

Floating boaters: Dennis Barkemeyer (right) inspects a temporary levee built around a medical center in Vidalia, Louisiana

Home Made Slingshots

Japanese Tsunami Videos

Five Different Shelf Life Studies: Two on Canned Food and Three on Dry Food

Source

Summary Article © Copyright 2007,2010 by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.

The following brief summaries are for fair use and educational purposes only.

---

Publication History:

After granting permission, my Entire Food Shelf Life Summary Article was published in the

Journal of Civil Defense, Volume 43, Issue Number 2, Year 2010.

The Journal of Civil Defense has an extremely wide distribution and readership including

all the Congressmen in the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives.

---

Canned Food Study One

A Food and Drug Administration Article about a shelf life test that was conducted on 100-year old canned foods that were retrieved from the Steamboat Bertrand can be read at the following link:

http://web.archive.org/web/20070509153848/http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/CONSUMER/CON00043.html

Following is a brief summary of a very small portion of the above article:

"Among the canned food items retrieved from the Bertrand in 1968 were brandied peaches, oysters, plum tomatoes, honey, and mixed vegetables. In 1974, chemists at the National Food Processors Association (NFPA) analyzed the products for bacterial contamination and nutrient value. Although the food had lost its fresh smell and appearance, the NFPA chemists detected no microbial growth and determined that the foods were as safe to eat as they had been when canned more than 100 years earlier. The nutrient values varied depending upon the product and nutrient. NFPA chemists Janet Dudek and Edgar Elkins report that significant amounts of vitamins C and A were lost. But protein levels remained high, and all calcium values 'were comparable to today's products.'"

"NFPA chemists also analyzed a 40-year-old can of corn found in the basement of a home in California. Again, the canning process had kept the corn safe from contaminants and from much nutrient loss. In addition, Dudek says, the kernels looked and smelled like recently canned corn."

"According to a recent study cosponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and NFPA, canned foods provide the same nutritional value as fresh grocery produce and their frozen counterparts when prepared for the table. NFPA researchers compared six vegetables in three forms: home-cooked fresh, warmed canned, and prepared frozen. 'Levels of 13 minerals, eight vitamins, and fiber in the foods were similar,' says Dudek. In fact, in some cases the canned product contained high levels of some vitamins that in fresh produce are destroyed by light or exposure to air."

---

Canned Food Study Two

A canned food shelf life study conducted by the U.S. Army revealed that canned meats, vegetables, and jam were in an excellent state of preservation after 46 years.

The Washington State University summary article can be read at:

http://www.whatcom.wsu.edu/family/facts/shelflif.htm

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Dry Food Study One

A scientific study conducted at Brigham Young University on the shelf life of a variety of different dry foods can be read at both of the following links:

http://ce.byu.edu/cw/womensconference/archive/2005/sharing_stations/pdf/52a.pdf
http://www.providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,7797-1-4222-1,00.html

A brief summary of the above web site information shows the following estimated shelf life per dry food item:

Over 30 years for wheat and white rice.
30 years for pinto beans, macaroni, rolled oats, and potato flakes.
20 years for powdered milk.

All dry food items should be stored in airtight moisture proof containers at a temperature between 40ºF to 70°F.
Salt, baking soda, and granulated sugar still in their original containers have no known shelf life limit if properly stored.

---

Dry Food Study Two

http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2007/0208-keeping_food_for_years.htm

Following are some direct quotes taken from the above web site:

Food scientists now know that, when properly sealed, some dried food that's been sitting on shelves for years, could still be OK to eat.

"It lasts a lot longer than we thought," Oscar Pike a food scientist at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, tells DBIS.

Scientists have known certain foods like sugar and salt can be stored indefinitely, but wanted to learn the shelf life of other food like dried apples -- stored since 1973 -- tried by taste testers.

"I like to call it the emergency shelf life of the food, food that you'd still be willing to eat in an emergency," Pike says. "It's not as though it were freshly canned, but it's certainly edible."

He says the best foods to store are low in moisture, like wheat and powered milk. But keep all foods away from heat and light to stop it from going stale and losing nutritional value. "All the foods that we've tested have been stored at room temperature or below, so you want to avoid attic and garage storage."

In the study, researchers taste-tested rolled oats that had been stored in sealed containers for 28 years. Three-fourths of tasters considered the oats acceptable to eat in an emergency.

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Dry Food Study Three

http://beprepared.com/article.asp?ai=579&sid=INEM327&EID=ALL0608d&lm=emer&bhcd2=1213479534

Following are some quotes taken from the above web site:

It is important to first identify what is meant by "food storage" and "shelf life." "Food storage" that is intended to be held long-term is generally considered to be low moisture food packed in either #10 cans or in metalized bags placed within large buckets. "Shelf life" can be defined in the following two ways:

"Best if used by" shelf life - Length of time food retains most of its original taste and nutrition.

"Life sustaining" shelf life - Length of time food preserves life, without becoming inedible.

There can be a wide time gap between these two definitions. For example, most foods available in the grocery store that are dated have a "Best if used by" date that ranges from a few weeks to a few years. On the other hand, scientific studies have determined that when properly stored, powdered milk has a "Life sustaining" shelf life of 20 years. That is, the stored powdered milk may not taste as good as fresh powdered milk, but it is still edible.

Shelf life is extremely dependent on the following storage conditions:

Temperature: Excessive temperature is damaging to food storage. With increased temperature, proteins breakdown and some vitamins will be destroyed. The color, flavor and odor of some products may also be affected. To enhance shelf life, store food at room temperature or below; never store food in an attic or garage.
Moisture: Excessive moisture can result in product deterioration and spoilage by creating an environment in which microorganisms may grow and chemical reactions can take place.
Oxygen: The oxygen in air can have deteriorative effects on fats, food colors, vitamins, flavors, and other food constituents. It can cause conditions that will enhance the growth of microorganisms.
Light: The exposure of foods to light can result in the deterioration of specific food constituents, such as fats, proteins, and vitamins, resulting in discoloration, off-flavors, and vitamin loss.

EXAMPLES OF SHELF LIFE:

Recent scientific studies on dehydrated food have shown that food stored properly can last for a much longer period of time than previously thought. This research determined the "life sustaining" shelf life to be the following:

Dry Food Item	Shelf Life
Wheat, White Rice, and Corn	30 years or more
Pinto Beans, Apple Slices, Macaroni	30 years
Rolled Oats, and Potato Flakes	30 years
Powdered Milk	20 years

---

Revision History:

Revised September 1, 2010 - Added Publication History of my Summary Article at the top of the page.

Revised June 16, 2008 - Added a Third Dry Food Shelf Life Article.

Revised June 12, 2008 - Added a Second Dry Food Shelf Life Article.

Revised December 4, 2007 - Added a New Link to a U.S. Army Canned Food Shelf Life Article.

Revised December 4, 2007 - Added a New Link to a Brigham Young University Dry Food Shelf Life Article.

Fall 2007 - Created this new web page.

Click on www.grandpappy.info/indexhar.htm for more Hard Times Survival Tips.

Click on www.grandpappy.info for Robert's Home Page.