Category: Uncategorized

Arizona preppers face a myriad of challenges living in their state. There are ways to mitigate the challenges if you plan ahead, however. This article should help preppers living in the state to think about their personal preparedness strategy and create a SHTF plan that can meet their needs.

NOTE: Do you live in Arizona? You know your state, so let us know in the comments section how this article can be improved. What did we miss? What did we get right?

Arizona Overview – Prepper’s Perspective

Arizona is also known as the “Grand Canyon State” or the “Copper State.” Names owing to the world-famous geological feature which attracted 6 million visitors in 2019, and to the state’s abundance of copper as a natural resource, which accounts for 66% of the nation’s copper production. With many recreational and vocational opportunities, Arizona is an attractive option for those that want to live a self-sufficient lifestyle. 

With 3928 mountain peaks, Arizona offers varied and spectacular terrain for sports and outdoors enthusiasts. Arizona is also home to several of the world’s “sky islands”, which are mountains surrounded by valleys that feature wide-ranging eco-systems and diverse animal and plant life. 85% of the state’s land comprises national forests, national parks, and wilderness areas. This allows for many bug out locations to be scouted while recreating in the Grand Canyon State.

The Aravaipa Canyon, Sonoran Desert, and Vermillion Cliffs are just a few places that have limitless opportunities for someone looking to escape a societal crisis. However, large swaths of unpopulated land also bring about higher probabilities of fires developing before they can be detected and controlled. 

It’s the 6th largest state in the US and the 14th most populous. Which, bodes well for the prepper. Just barely in the top third in terms of population, but is one of the largest states that presents a degree of safety from the ills brought about by a high population density. It does demand certain attention to be paid to personal protection given the proximity to large population centers that may take a fancy to Arizona’s vacant land during the next disruption in society. 

Climate

Arizona has temperate winters, with temperatures ranging from 40 to 75 °F. It would be the ideal state to raise crops, but the thing is, it hardly ever rains. Which explains perfectly why most of Arizona is desert or semi-desert. Arizona has brutally hot summers, with temperatures regularly exceeding 100 °F. The record average high of the state, 116 °F was set in 1950 with some places in the state getting as high as 124 °F.  

However, be warned, that some areas in Arizona, around Flagstaff and Prescott, can get cold with temperatures falling below freezing in the winter months. The state’s lowest average temp was 66 °F.  Combined with the high winds and lack of heating material, this can be a serious challenge if not planned…

Continue reading

If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

(Psst: The FTC wants me to remind you that this website contains affiliate links. That means if you make a purchase from a link you click on, I might receive a small commission. This does not increase the price you’ll pay for that item nor does it decrease the awesomeness of the item. ~ Daisy)

Author of The Blackout Book and the online course Bloom Where You’re Planted

Perhaps the next Revolutionary War will take place in a vegetable garden.

Instead of bullets, there will be seeds.  Instead of chemical warfare, there will be rainwater, carefully collected from the gutters of the house. Instead of soldiers in body armor and helmets, there will be back yard rebels, with bare feet, cut-off jean shorts, and wide-brimmed hats.  Instead of death, there will be life, sustained by a harvest of home-grown produce.  Children will be witness to these battles, but instead of being traumatized, they will be happy, grimy, and healthy, as they learn about the miracles that take place in a little plot of land or pot of dirt.

Every day, the big industries that run our nation take steps towards food totalitarianism.  They do so flying a standard of “sustainability” but what they are actually trying to sustain is NOT our natural resources, but their control.

One of the most inspiring, beautifully written articles that I’ve had the pleasure of reading in a long time is by Julian Rose, a farmer, actor, activist, and writer. He wrote an article called Civil Disobedience or Death by Design and it is a “must-read” for anyone who believes in the importance of natural food sources:

“From now on, unless we cut free of obeisance to the centralised, totalitarian regimes whose takeover of our planet is almost complete, we will have only ourselves to blame. For we are complicit in allowing ourselves to become slaves of the Corporate State and its cyborg enforcement army. That is, if we continue to remain hypnotized by their antics instead of taking our destinies into our own hands and blocking or refusing to comply with their death warrants. This ‘refusal’ is possible. But it will only have the desired effect when, and if, it is contemporaneous with the birthing of the Divine warrior who sleeps in us all. The warrior who sleeps-on, like the besotted Rip Van Winkle in the Catskill mountains.” (source)

And it isn’t just industrialism that’s causing our issues. A supply chain disruption has been apparent in the US since people first cleared the shelves a year ago and while some things came back in stock, supplies are limited to this day.

Sustained into starvation

Does it sound dramatic to state that if things continue on their current path of “sustainability” that we are all going to die?  If you think I’m overstating this, read on.  It isn’t…

Continue reading here

WASHINGTON, DC – Today the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) announced the addition of fifteen members to its Advisory Board. Since its founding, EPIC has drawn on the expertise of leading scholars, experts, and advocates in the privacy, civil liberties, and cybersecurity space to inform its work. And today we are thrilled to see this group grow.

“At EPIC we build on the great work that is being done by leading scholars and thinkers in our field, and the addition of fifteen new members is an exciting step that will bolster our advocacy and education efforts. We are especially happy to see this group bring a wide range of expertise and backgrounds on cutting edge issues of digital civil rights, algorithmic accountability, and privacy,” says EPIC Executive Director Alan Butler.

These new members will help inform EPIC’s research, advocacy, and litigation work at a time when efforts to rein in large technology platforms are front and center in global policy debate. Recently Congress has begun to consider a bipartisan, bicameral privacy bill and some states are conducting rulemaking processes for their own privacy regulations at the same time that the Supreme Court is pushing to undermine the constitutional right to privacy. EPIC’s new members bring a wealth of knowledge and experience in educating the public and working to protect privacy and civil liberties against the various threats that exist today.

The new members are: 

• Chaz Arnett – Associate Professor of Law at the University of Maryland and a faculty fellow at Data & Society. His research explores the interplay between race, digital technologies, and criminal legal processes.
• Hannah Bloch-Wehba – Associate Professor of Law at Texas A&M University School of Law. Her scholarship explores the intersection of tech and civil liberties, primarily focusing on free expression, privacy, and government accountability.
• David Brody – Managing Attorney of the Digital Justice Initiative at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights. He focuses on issues related to the intersection of technology and racial justice, such as consumer privacy, algorithmic bias, discriminatory advertising, election disinformation, free speech, and government surveillance.
• Elizabeth Denham – International consultant for Data and Tech at BakerCanada and former UK Information Commissioner (2016 – 2021). As Information Commissioner for the UK, she built and led the largest data protection regulator in the world and Chaired the Global Privacy Assembly from 2018 to 2021.
• Ben Green – Postdoctoral scholar in the Michigan Society of Fellows and an assistant professor in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. He studies the ethics of government algorithms, with a focus on algorithmic fairness, human-algorithm interactions, and AI regulation.   
• Gianclaudio Malgieri – Associate Professor of Law and Technology at the EDHEC Business School in Lille (France) and the Co-Director of the Brussels Privacy Hub. He conducts research on and teaches data protection law, privacy, AI regulation, digital law, consumer protection in the digital market, data sustainability, and intellectual property law. 
• Safiya Noble – Internet studies scholar and Professor of Gender Studies and African American Studies at the University of…

Continue reading

EPIC, along with nine other U.S. consumer protection and privacy groups, has submitted a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, urging it to open an investigation into Google’s account sign-up process. The letter states that the structure of the sign-up process hides tracking information from consumers, engages in dark patterns to manipulate consumers into accepting default invasive tracking practices, and makes opting out more difficult and time-intensive than accepting tracking. This investigation would be in line with the FTC’s efforts to address dark patterns and manipulation.

EPIC has repeatedly pushed back on the use of dark patterns, including calling for regulatory controls in congressional testimony and in a complaint filed against Amazon.

Continue reading

Teens these days live in a different world than many of us did growing up. They are surrounded by technology, constantly in contact with friends, and exposed to ideas from all over the world at the click of a button. Though there are many positives associated with the technological advances taking place in the world today, there are also some real negatives. 

Perhaps one of the most troubling of these negatives is that many teenagers these days are completely disconnected from foundational skills that are necessary for survival. Many don’t have a strong grasp on where their food comes from, how to use tools to fix things, or what to do in an emergency. For thoughtful preppers, this lack of skills poses a significant safety risk to the entire group. 

Building interest in prepping skills and self-sustainability is the first step to rectifying the situation. Finding ways to connect with teenagers may take some creativity. They may look at you like you’re crazy if you try to teach them things for “survival purposes.” Instead, try to subtly tie lessons in prepping to things they are interested in and care about. 

Gardening and a More Sustainable Planet

A core component of prepping is related to producing and storing your own food. Gardening and canning are profoundly practical ways to reduce your impact on the planet. Producing your own food has the compounding benefits of

• Shortening the number of miles food has to travel (by boat, airplane, or truck) from the field it was produced in to reach your plate.
• Reducing the need to use energy for heavy equipment to harvest and process food produced on large farms.
• Limiting or eliminating the chemicals used to produce and store food on a mass scale.
• Building back high-quality soils through composting waste products.
• Working with nature to capitalize on environmentally friendly strategies to increase yields and reduce pests. 
• Reducing waste from single-use plastics and tin cans (assuming you preserve food using glass jars).
• Saving money on high-quality, local, healthy foods.

Gardening and food preservation are also two of the easiest prepping skills to get your children involved in from a young age. Young children can help with harvesting and pulling weeds, while teenagers can take on managing certain aspects of the garden, determining which foods to grow, solving problems with pests or watering, and helping with food preservation. You may even encourage your teen to take this form of environmental activism a step further by introducing it at their school. More people are capable of surviving a disaster because they can grow their own food never hurts. 

Driving and Emergency Response

Another avenue to try is something that most teenagers are deeply invested in: being able to drive. Driving means freedom and less reliance on parents. But it also means taking on greater responsibility and risk. Driving privileges can be a great means of introducing different prepping skills such as emergency response. 

A condition of…

Continue reading

Hidden cameras are usually something we want to find, not hide. We go to a hotel or public bathroom and wonder if some thief or pervert is watching us. There are reasons to consider hidden cameras for your home, however.

Camera technology has come a long way. Today’s cameras not only take brighter, more detailed images than cameras just a few years ago, but they have become small. Very small.

Hidden cameras are so affordable and easy to install that by the end of this article you might be thinking, “Why wouldn’t I install one in my home?” After all, they can be an important part of a larger home security system.

Hidden Cameras vs Visible Cameras

Hidden cameras are great if you want to catch someone in the act of doing something. This could be a homeowner who wants to see if a nanny is having friends over, a store owner who wants to see which cashier is stealing from the cash register, or a tenant who wants to know if a landlord is entering without asking.

There are, of course, nefarious uses for hidden cameras. AirBnB owners have been known to secretly record guests, for example. In fact, some hidden camera sellers promote the idea that their camera can be used for… questionable purposes. See this marketing photo of a USB port hidden camera on our list:

Are you going to use you hidden cameras in your home in an ethical way?

Are we to assume the woman consented to being filmed? If that was the case, why a hidden camera? Maybe the image implies it’s to help catch unfaithful partners… Maybe.

Visible cameras have the advantage of not only filming criminal activity, but discouraging it altogether. Placing security cameras where people can see them helps keep them honest (or encourages them to move on to easier targets).

These cameras are visible to discourage would-be thieves. They are placed under a porch roof for weather protection.

External vs Internal Power

There are hidden cameras that require an external power source and those that require battery power. The latter are often rechargeable.

I prefer cameras that function by battery because they are mobile and more versatile. The battery charge on a quality unit will last a long time. I also appreciate that these cameras operate when the grid goes down (and crimes might spike).

There are sacrifices you make with any camera. You’ll see that in the list that follows. If you want a camera that does not function by battery, and you’re concerned about off-grid operation, you can get around that by using a solar…

Continue reading

Native ferns are plants that produce fresh oxygen, which is vital for a clean environment, removing harmful toxins and also bio-indicators.

Native plants are so easy to maintain! They not only clean the environment, are low-maintenance plants, return every spring, are perfect for shade, and no fertilizer is needed, and are excellent for usage in shade gardens with ample moisture. They also are very resilient and disease resistant, making them very popular with amateur gardeners.

Ferns are beneficial because they are one of the few plants that can cope with shade and moisture. These qualities make Fern Benefits in Nature the perfect choice for creating native plant forests, use as a shade border plant, or just growing indoors.

They’re not only beautiful, but they’re also actually unique. They naturally remove arsenic and formaldehyde from the soil. Plus, they endure shade, moisture, and a wide range of temperatures.

Native ferns are an exotic type of plant and have many significant uses in the environment. They are used in restoration, streambank, woody, and wetland projects across America. One reason is that they can remove toxins from the land and air.

Two potentially fatal and toxic poisons in the soil and air are arsenic and formaldehyde. Ferns are one of the best plants for removing these poisons as they are bio indicators and remove these poisons. The toxins are absorbed in the fronds of native ferns to successfully clean the environment, unlike any other plant on the planet.

Want to fight smog & get the freshest air imaginable? “Ferns are living air filters. These highly efficient plants are on track to removing tons of pollution from the air every year”, states Dennis Sons of TN Nursery. A leading native fern nursery grower.

5 Best Native Ferns to Use in Landscaping

Christmas Ferns

It’s all in the name: Christmas Ferns. There’s nothing more festive than this native evergreen from Eastern North America. It has emerald green and subtle fronds that are evergreen.

These ferns will brighten any home with their fresh light and emerald hue. They thrive in the shade and need very little water, so they’re perfect for anyone looking for an exotic touch to their living space. They’re an excellent choice for gardeners looking to make the most of their space, as they can thrive in little light and small spaces.

Hay Scented Ferns

Give your space a natural and inviting look with the help of Hay-Scented Ferns. These easy-to-grow ferns are beautifully arranged in a set of three. Their lacy green fronds will wave fronds upright plants that thrive in the shade or part of the day and even sun if the soil is moist. They will grow from 18-24″ tall and spread quickly to fill up any space with added beauty.

Hay-Scented Ferns are perfect for small spaces. They offer lush and beautiful foliage that’s perfect for your garden. They’re easy to maintain, too. This plant will grow anywhere from 18-24 inches…

Continue reading here

As a prepper or survivor, you probably understand the importance of SHTF supplies. A compost toilet is, fortunately, one of the supplies you should always consider.

As you know, your septic system could be failing during an emergency situation. Hence, figure out a quick but efficient emergency bathroom solution.

Compost toilets are effective waste management solutions that turn human waste naturally into environmentally clean and reusable compost material – with the help of aerobic bacteria.

In an SHFT scenario, waste disposal is critical. So, if you build a compost toilet in a grid-down, bug-out, or SHTF scenario, it will help you and the environment. You can even build an eco-friendly compost toilet using a few readily available materials.

Note that there are different materials and designs you can use to build an SHTF portable toilet. However, I will focus on building a compost toilet with a cheap, straightforward, and versatile method.

Human waste is harmful if left untreated. Note that human waste contains viruses and harmful pathogens that are dangerous to your body.

If you build a compost toilet, the waste can be integrated into the soil as fertilizer when treated correctly. The fertilizer from a compost toilet is chemical-free and safe for the soil.

Composting toilets, on the other hand, do not use water, compared to modern toilets.

⇒ Click Here For The Awesome DIY Device That Turns Air Into Fresh Water

Hence, you can use the water at home for other functions other than draining it into the sewer line.

How Do Composting Toilets Work?

All composting toilets are safe, no matter the design. Composting toilets also utilize a simple principle to decompose human waste.

These handy accessories use natural evaporation and decomposition processes to produce nutrient-rich end products or fertilizers.

The first step of a composting toilet is to break down human waste (feces and urine) rapidly and naturally without producing any odor. The waste is transformed into fertilizer. This step is also known as the cleaning process. Evaporation is the final step before getting reusable fertilizer.

Getting Rid Of The Composting Waste

Finally, it comes down to hygienically dealing with the compost waste. You have three options here.

1. Burying – This is the most common method preppers use in a grid-down situation.

2. Disposing of it in a trash receptacle for collection by your particular council’s garden waste collection department.

3. Disposing of it in a compost pile.

How To Make A Compost Toilet

Gather all necessary tools and utilities. You require approximately 10 utilities to get the job done.

Related: 10 Survival DIY Projects You Can Start On Your Property Right Now

I would recommend the following, but remember that you can substitute a few utilities with other similar utilities at home.

1. A 5-gallon bucket
2. Standard toilet seat. If you do not have a 5-gallon tote-able toilet or a bucket toilet seat.
3. Combination pliers, but not always necessary
4. Sawdust
5. Organic toilet…

Continue reading

If you decide to delete your period-tracking app, consider sending a data-deletion request as well, said Alan Butler, executive director and president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. Some companies only honor these requests from people in California because of the state’s privacy law, but others accept requests from anywhere.

“The state and federal government’s power to get data right now is incredibly broad,” Butler said. “We haven’t seen new limits on access to data from government in decades, which means laws … have gotten weaker as tech has evolved.”

Read the full article here.

Continue reading

“There is a concern over what privacy protections BI is implementing for that data, and there’s not a lot of transparency over any conditions ICE has placed onto BI Inc. regarding the storage of that data, how that data gets used,” said Dana Khabbaz, a law fellow focusing on surveillance and immigration issues at the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

Experts are also apprehensive about the consumer data industry capitalizing on SmartLINK’s information, Khabbaz said, including location data. “There is a growing trend of law enforcement agencies purchasing that data from data brokers for surveillance purposes,” Khabbaz said. And she wonders who else might be getting access to SmartLINK data.

She’s particularly worried about how the photos immigrants sent are being used, given the lack of regulation around facial recognition technology. “It’s concerning that ICE is adopting the use of this technology in an immigration enforcement context,” she said, “including a context where people involved in this program don’t have an option to opt out of it.”

Read the full article here.

Continue reading