When All Hell Breaks Loose Part 14

SELF-CLEANING CLOTHING?.

"During Desert Storm most casualties were from bacterial infections rather than from accidents or friendly fire. We have treated T-shirts and underwear for soldiers who tested them for several weeks and found that they remained hygienic, as the clothing was actively killing the bacteria. They also helped clear up some skin complaints in those testing them."

-Jeff Owens, scientist, U.S. Air Force Scientists have created a coating that repels water, resists stains, and even kills many of the bacteria in human sweat that cause odors. While the clothing would still need to be laundered, it would need to be washed much less often and would wash much easier. The technology involves using microwaves to fix microscopic nanoparticles, which have "attached" chemical properties such as water repellency or the destruction of bacteria, to clothing fibers. Although the coating wears off over time, makers claim it can be restored by soaking the material in a fresh solution of the same chemicals.

U.S. Air Force scientists initially became involved in the research in hopes that soldiers' clothing could offer protection during biological warfare. Initial tests discovered that the process could kill anthrax and other weaponized bacteria.

The coating, especially its antibacterial properties, could revolutionize sports and backpacking clothing as well as offer hundreds of other possibilities, from hospital bedding, doctor and nurses' uniforms, and chefs' ap.r.o.ns to air conditioning filters on planes and cruise ships.

Rubbing alcohol. This is very drying to the skin so use sparingly and stop if problems arise Lotions containing alcohol Shaving lotions and face creams Baby towelettes Waterless hand sanitizer Super Sun-washing While doing the laundry is not a disaster priority, I'll share the following tip nevertheless. Between extended field courses in outdoor survival and unique living situations for the majority of my life, I have found myself at times unable to do the laundry. Professional slobs will tell you that there are various levels of "dirty" that clothing can become before it should be burned. Most urban folks don't have dirty clothes at all as there is no dirt to dirty them within their environment. The majority of metropolitan dirty clothes are unclean due to perspiration and sloughed dead skin cells from the owner. Add cigarette smoke, pungent food odors, stains from Al's Garlic Deli, and animal hair from the family pet, and that usually rounds out the equation. Unclean, yes, but dirty? I don't think so.

As the fabric of your clothing continues to take on your dead epidermis and glandular fluids, the fibers become clogged and the dead air s.p.a.ce, or insulation value of the clothing, starts to decrease. For nearly two decades, I have experimented with wearing the same shirt for several days unless it becomes dirty, i.e. caked with earth, weeds, or something else picked up in the backcountry. I'm so sensitive to this routine that I can literally feel the increased insulation value of a clean T-shirt as opposed to a dirty one. In other words, if it's cold outside, I feel warmer with a fresh shirt. Remember, clean clothing is a plus if your survival situation happens when it's cold.

If you have to wear your shirt for two or three days, take it off and shake it occasionally. If you shake it vigorously in a beam of sunlight, you will witness a small cloud of skin particles waft off the fabric. Clothing that is worn for days on end with no cleaning can cause various skin rashes and problems, and that is in addition to its losing its insulation value and you looking like h.e.l.l. There is a direct relationship between these skin problems and the "skin dirt" from your body lingering in the dark, humid environment of your clothing.

As we now know, sunlight contains ultraviolet radiation, which, if given enough time and in the right concentration, is used to kill entire legions of waterborne pathogens in order to make nonpotable water potable. These same disinfecting benefits of ultraviolet radiation can also work wonders on the "yuck" within the fabric of your clothing. The more potent the sunlight, the better and faster the following method will work.

1 Gather up dirty articles of clothing (or your sleeping bag, blankets, etc.), turn them inside out, take them outdoors, and vigorously shake out each one.

2 Spread out clothing in full sun, off the ground if possible, on a bush, a fence, a porch, or something else. The more the entire surface area of the fabric is exposed to direct sunlight, the better.

3 If you're tight for time or sunlight or both, flip the article of clothing in the middle of the day. If time is not an issue and you have a few days of good sun, you might leave one side of the clothing exposed for an entire day and flip it in the morning.

4 How much sunlight your wardrobe requires depends on the intensity of the sun in your area, how much time you have, and how fussy you are. A hot summer day here in the Southwest will "clean" a shirt in a few hours. A sun-washed garment will both smell and feel cleaner, as the ultraviolet radiation has cooked many of the critters that revel in your sweat and dead skin cells.

Decisively Dealing with Dead Bodies Even the best survival plans can fail. One of the most difficult circ.u.mstances you may be forced to deal with is the death of a loved one or someone else. Although it takes much courage to do so, especially if the dead person is a family member, you may be required to cowboy up and dispose of the body yourself for a number of reasons during or after a major crisis.

The methodology that goes into dealing with human remains after a ma.s.s disaster is staggeringly complex and run by an army of experts from more than a dozen fields. Every effort should be made to contact and wait for the proper authorities to dispose of the body of a loved one or an unknown person. Doing anything with a dead body in this day and age will open you up to unbelievable scrutiny. Doc.u.ment everything in writing such as the name of the individual, their age, s.e.x, what they were wearing, and the location and position in which they were found. Estimate the time of death, the cause of death, and any and all circ.u.mstances that you feel will help the authorities piece together what happened. If you have access to a camera, take pictures of everything you do. Although no crime was committed, the disturbing of a body will destroy many clues from the "crime scene" as far as investigating authorities are concerned. Be aware that there is an actual series of regulations for removing a body, including inspection of the site, examination of the body, collection of possible evidence, photographing the scene, questioning those who found the body, and much more. When authorities look and ask for this sort of evidence, don't take it personally; it's a boilerplate procedure when dealing with a corpse. The more you doc.u.ment the circ.u.mstances surrounding your situation, the greater help you'll be to authorities (and yourself) when the officials show up. If the ident.i.ty of the body is unknown, think twice before getting involved and be extremely meticulous with your doc.u.mentation.

The Importance of Having a "Funeral Ceremony"

Regardless of your faith or lack thereof, it's wise to have some sort of funeral ceremony or rite-of-pa.s.sage ritual upon dealing with a dead body. It will initiate healing and closure, especially if it's a loved one. If time and opportunity allow, basic respect and dignity surrounding the preparation of the body will resonate with the living and have a lasting positive effect upon the morale of your family. Book after book has been written about the delayed emotional trauma experienced by survivors who were forced to deal with distressing events without proper closure and healing. I have attended more than one conscious-dying process of friends who have chosen to die at home surrounded by loved ones. The experience of everyone who was involved in the process was profoundly life-changing. Although this drawn-out ritual is much different than dealing with the sudden death of a family member, the hands-on, heart-open approach of being fully present with the end result of a dead family member is the same.

Throughout the world's history, hundreds of thousands of people have lost loved ones, some killed purposefully right in front of their eyes. These people have had to move on, literally and figuratively, and sometimes very quickly in order to live another day. You are not alone in the experience of having to manage the death of a family member. Your loved one is no longer that body. Prioritize what needs to happen to protect the living from further danger first, deal decisively with the dead body next, and then allow yourself and your family to consciously move through the healing process in whatever way works best for the good of the whole.

Dead Bodies and Disease. . .Fact or Fiction?

In 2002, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a statement saying, "Dead or decayed human bodies do not generally create a serious health hazard, unless they are polluting sources of drinking water with fecal matter, or are infected with plague or typhus, in which case they may be infested with the fleas or lice that spread these diseases." Medical opinions offer that dead bodies are not as dangerous as people think in regard to the spread of disease. The reason given is that after death the body temperature drops rapidly, killing the most resistant viruses and bacteria, thus preventing them from spreading. The dead bodies of both humans and animals that might pose a health risk need certain specific environments for that risk to become manifest. The factors that cause a health risk include the following: the microorganisms that caused the disease need to be able to keep living in the dead host or in the environment after the host dies; the bodies are host to a disease that is common for the area; or the environment supports the spread of the disease, such as the chaos of severed sanitation systems or overcrowded shelters.

There are doc.u.mented exceptions such as outbreaks of typhus and bubonic plague that can be at least partially contributed to bodies being accessed and the diseases transmitted by flies, mice, rats, etc. Isolated events of cholera, hepat.i.tis B, and hepat.i.tis C have also been reported. Although most of these outbreaks happen in developing countries with less than savory sanitary practices and resources, any modern urban area can quickly be reduced to the same set of variables in a long-term, major disaster. Other diseases can cause a problem as well. The HIV virus has been found still active within a body sixteen days after its death, and tuberculosis is highly contagious. Bodies suspected of having tuberculosis should have a piece of material put over their mouths and be handled in open areas with plenty of ventilation.

Regardless of scant exceptions, evidence supports that death caused by blunt-force trauma, drowning, or other nonepidemic scenarios, whether human-, animal-, or nature-caused, will not result in bodies that spread disease. After all, diseases and putrefaction are caused by different microorganisms. Someone who died without having cholera isn't suddenly going to create the disease when already dead. The common misconception that all dead bodies spread disease takes the focus and precious resources away from the survivors. Ma.s.s cremations have occurred in other countries after major catastrophes, such as with Hurricane Mitch in 1998, in which extremely limited fuel supplies were used to burn bodies thought to have been spreading disease, at the expense of that fuel being used to disinfect water and provide warmth, light, and transportation. Sometimes, such as happened in Sri Lanka following the December 2004 tsunami, entire "life-giving" hospital wards have been converted into morgues for fear of stopping an impending infection of the living.

The common practice in some countries of ma.s.s cremation or burying the dead in ma.s.s graves can cause great emotional trauma. Families receive closure when they have a chance to identify the body. Not being able to do so adds to the financial burden as well. In India, bodies must be identified in order for the families to receive monetary compensation. In the United States and other countries, the lack of official notification of a death can delay insurance payments for years.

The risk factors for disease after a disaster that is nonepidemic in nature come primarily from the scope of the disaster and the characteristics of the population regarding the following: the availability of adequate sanitation and potable water, the degree of crowding in shelters, the general health of the population, and the availability of healthcare, among other variables-NOT dead bodies. Immediately after a disaster, the priorities of the survivors should be in caring for other survivors by providing effective emergency sanitation, disinfecting drinking water, providing food, modifying shelters and so forth, not urgently disposing of the dead. Only after the immediate needs for the living are dealt with should the disposal of bodies commence.

What Happens to a Dead Body When It Decomposes In days past, most cultures buried their dead near the home. Cemeteries didn't appear in cities until the seventeenth century. In a disaster situation, temporary burials may be necessary until outer conditions normalize to allow the transfer of the body to its final place. Dead bodies left exposed to the elements will putrefy and be the cause of much unpleasantness, especially in hot weather. Aside from heat, the main factor that influences the rate of decomposition of a body is the amount of bacteria already present within the intestines. This unknown variable will cause one body to noticeably start the decomposition process within a couple of hours, while a body a few feet away may not show the same signs for twelve hours or more. The stench and visible sight of the dead are a real buzz kill and will cause the morale of your tribe to suffer. While in some seasons a body will freeze solid, it will eventually "un-freeze" and must be dealt with just the same. In addition, roving packs of hungry animals from dogs and cats to c.o.o.ns and coyotes will dine on the dead and spread the body all around the neighborhood. When the danger of the initial emergency has pa.s.sed, do whatever you need to do to fill yourself with courage and get into action to deal with the body as quickly as possible. The fact is that the body you see is no longer your loved one; it's just a sh.e.l.l. The sooner you deal with a dead body, the less unpleasant your experience will be from its impending decomposition and its effects.

While I have no direct exposure with bloated human corpses, I have a scientific collection permit from the Arizona Game and Fish Department that lets me legally harvest most species of animal roadkill for teaching purposes. This unique opportunity has allowed me to witness a wide variety of bodies in various stages of "yuckiness."

All decomposing flesh reacts the same way. Critters, both seen and unseen, just love dead stuff. Depending on the season and climate in which the death occurred, flies will be the first to join the party and will enter any available orifice to lay their eggs. Many hours later, the resulting hatched young (maggots) will make the body's skin literally crawl as they feed upon the corpse. Soon after, packs of flesh-eating beetles will arrive, usually black and orangish-red in color. Some are big, the size of a c.o.c.kroach, and some are the size of a ladybug. Shortly after death, tiny microorganisms start to have their say within the body, and the resulting decomposition creates gas that causes the abdominal cavity of the body to swell up. The pressure from this gas will eventually get so intense that it will release itself out one of the body's orifices. Since decomposing flesh is greatly weakened, this gas might also burst through and release itself from the skin over the torso, thus spraying you with an a.s.sortment of liquids that are better left unsaid. Herbivores, having multiple stomachs, such as cows, will bloat up to a ma.s.sive size from the putrefaction of gra.s.ses within the stomachs. These natural stages of decomposition make the body a literal putrefaction factory that greatly disfigures a dead body.

As I have no direct experience with a decaying human, I asked a local mortician what to expect, visibly, when someone dies. He started by telling me that 90 percent of the population could not possibly imagine what a body begins to look like when undergoing decomposition. Depending on heat and bacteria already present within the intestines, a dead body will turn green and then black. The face will swell up, as well as the belly, sometimes to almost twice the person's original size, making the body's identification nearly impossible. The body will eventually blister and the skin will peel away. Fluids will leak from the entire body, not just from body orifices. The body will purge itself, especially if it is moved, and stomach contents will be forced out through the mouth and nose due to the pressure from bloating. These processes can manifest themselves in a day, or within several days, depending upon the variables stated earlier.

I'm not writing this to gross you out or make light of the fact that someone you loved died. I'm writing this to let you know that the body of whoever died, if allowed to decompose in the open for even a short period of time, will look very different. Know this now so you're not scared or freaked out if and when you see it in the future. Our modern society has made death, and the results thereafter, all but invisible to the majority of the population. Bodies that are viewed at a funeral have undergone serious modifications, and Aunt Betty is made to look as if she's only sleeping. Major disasters will stretch emergency response personnel to the limit, and all of the wonderful firemen, police, and medical personnel who would normally save you from having to witness death in its raw state may be unavailable to be a first responder in your situation.

How to Dispose of a Dead Body in a Pinch Basic precautions should be followed when handling all bodies, regardless of their apparent state of decomposition. Although most organisms in a dead body are not likely to infect a healthy person, some infectious agents may be transmitted to those who are in close contact with blood, body fluids, and tissues of a body that died with infectious diseases. Handling dead bodies increases risks for bloodborne viruses caused from direct contact with leaking blood or body fluids. Since dead bodies commonly leak feces (one drop of feces contains millions of microorganisms), gastrointestinal infections can easily be contracted from direct contact with the body, soiled clothes, or contaminated vehicles and equipment. The following are basic precautions to take when needing to prepare for and dispose of a dead body.

Ensure universal precautions against blood and body fluids at all times!

When handling dead bodies, do not smoke, eat, or drink, and avoid touching your mouth, eyes, or nose.

Wear disposable latex or vinyl gloves when handling the body or anything a.s.sociated with the body. Cover all of your cuts and abrasions with waterproof bandages or dressings. If you don't have disposable gloves, improvise mittens from zipper-lock bags, anchoring them at the wrists with rubber bands or tape. If nothing else, sacrifice a pair of winter gloves or mittens. Dispose of them or wash and disinfect them afterward.

To prevent exposure of blood or bodily fluids to the mucous membranes of your eyes, nose, and mouth, wear masks and protective eyewear or face shields when coming in contact with a corpse. These can be improvised from construction-related equipment, such as dust masks and goggles or masks used for operating power saws or welding equipment.

Wear gowns, ap.r.o.ns, or other improvised coveralls when doing anything that will likely splash blood or other bodily fluids. Be sure to thoroughly disinfect and wash these garments. The disinfection method used before washing or disposal should be done by soaking the items for thirty minutes in a freshly prepared 0.1 percent chlorine bleach solution (1:50 dilution.) If disposing of these items, wrap them up securely in a plastic bag and discard in a safe place or burn them in a fire-safe environment. Coveralls can be made with fifty-five-gallon barrel liners or plastic lawn and leaf bags, a cutting edge, and duct tape, or improvised from plastic "painter" coveralls or rain gear. The sooner you deal with a dead body, the less it will be affected by the decomposition process.

Wash hands and other parts of your our body thoroughly if they come in contact with bodily fluids. Even if no apparent contact was made with bodily fluids, wash up thoroughly anyway. Your hands should be washed immediately and dipped in a chlorine bleach solution upon removing your gloves and disposing of them properly.

Disinfect all equipment, vehicles, and contaminated surfaces after disposal of the body with a freshly prepared 0.1 percent chlorine bleach solution (1:50 dilution). Any spilled blood or body fluids should be carefully wiped up with a 1 percent chlorine bleach solution (1:5 dilution).

Use body bags whenever possible. If need be, these can be improvised from triple or quadruple (or more) layers of fifty-five-gallon barrel liners, or roll the body up inside several layers of plastic sheeting. If in doubt, use more layers of plastic, as the containment of blood and body fluids are the main concern and a decomposing body will leak fluids more and more as it breaks down. The plastic bags or sheeting should be secured tightly with duct tape or something similar. Don't use safety pins or anything that will puncture the plastic. If you need to transport the body or handle the "plastic package" more than usual, and the outside of the plastic bag gets blood or body fluids on it, wipe the bag down with a 0.1 percent chlorine bleach solution (1:50 dilution). Note: Wrapping the body up with impermeable materials will cause the body to decompose more rapidly and temporarily prevent the earth from neutralizing some of the mess. However, your duty is to prevent the living from being exposed to blood or body fluids from the corpse. If the ident.i.ty of the body disposed of is unknown, and the body is exhumed in the future for identification or transfer to a permanent resting place, authorities should have no problem identifying the corpse through the use of DNA testing. Even so, you may consider sealing any identifying objects, such as items in the pockets or jewelry, in a plastic bag and burying it with the corpse.

Graves should be dug at least one hundred feet away from all surface water sources and the bottom of any grave must be at least five feet above the water table with a two-foot unsaturated zone. Use common sense and reread the sanitation chapter if necessary. (Note: While I personally support cremation over the burying of bodies, cremation in a time of disaster will use up precious fuel and pose a risk to the living through fire danger. Think how much heat is required to cook a burger on the grill, let alone to completely consume a 150-pound body. Cremation will also make identifying the body in the future, if its ident.i.ty is not already known, next to impossible.) Dig a hole in accordance to the size of the body. A standard cemetery hole is eight feet long by three feet wide and seven and a half feet deep. This depth is to compensate for a traditional casket, so your hole can be much shallower. If need be, two people can be buried, one on top of the other. The depth of your hole will be affected by what tools you have to dig with, the hardness of the earth, groundwater levels, and what kind of critters might try to dig up the body. Some people, before covering the body with earth, have covered the body with th.o.r.n.y bushes such as blackberries, raspberries, or other painful vegetation that will physically stop dogs and other animals from reaching the body. Attempt to have the body under at least three feet of earth. Mound up the earth several inches on top of the hole and tamp it down by walking on it; newly deposited earth will settle over time. Mark the grave for future location in a way that identifies who is buried there, if known, or at least that a body has been buried there, if you don't know its ident.i.ty.

If blood or body fluids from the dead body enter your body through "splash exposure" into the eyes, mouth, or any mucous membranes or through an exposed injury, wash the injured or exposed areas with copious amounts of disinfected running water. Encourage minor penetrating injuries to bleed. Use liberal amounts of topical disinfectant like povidone iodine 10 percent, lightly cover with a breathable sterile bandage, and seek medical help if possible for further treatment of the exposure.

Initiate a funeral ceremony or rite-of-pa.s.sage ritual to begin closure and healing for the family and all concerned.

Ensure universal precautions against blood and body fluids at all times!

Handy Hygiene Stuff Duplicates of the following supplies in your home, car, office, and bug-out pack, as per your family's needs, will make life less of a drag during emergencies.

Cornstarch or baby powder Fingernail clippers and emery board Sanitary napkins and/or tampons Toothbrush and dental floss Insect repellent Toilet paper Two or three hand towels All purpose soap Petroleum jelly Small mirror Waterless alcohol-based hand sanitizer Liquid chlorine bleach Optional: Disposable baby diapers Staying as clean as possible after a disaster will help prevent the spread of disease, increase morale, and reduce stress by offering a predictable routine.

Water-saving baths and showers can be improvised using hot-water-soaked towels and large and small spray bottles filled with warm water (sun-warmed or otherwise).

Toothbrushes can be improvised with rags and certain plants. Toothpaste can be improvised from baking soda or salt.

Alcohol-based, waterless hand sanitizers can be used externally to spot disinfect smelly body parts, as can other common bathroom products such as baby towelettes. Pure rubbing alcohol dries out the skin and should be used with caution.

Ultraviolet radiation from strong sunlight can be used to clean dirty clothing, blankets, or sleeping bags.

Although it will be emotionally and mentally challenging, you may be forced to deal with the dead body of a loved one or a stranger after a disaster.

If authorities are unable to recover the dead body in a timely manner, doc.u.ment in writing everything you can about the scene including the individual's name, age, s.e.x, time and cause of death, position found, and any other details you feel will help the authorities piece together what happened.

Important! Dead bodies in themselves normally do not create a serious health hazard unless they died of a contagious disease such as plague or typhus. (In these cases, the disease is carried and spread by fleas, lice, rats, and mice in contact with the body.) Bodies suspected of having tuberculosis should have a piece of cloth put over their mouths and be handled in open areas with good ventilation. Dead bodies can pollute water sources due to leaking feces.

The misconception that dead bodies spread disease takes valuable resources away from survivors. Fulfill the needs of survivors first and then deal with the bodies.

The two main factors that cause a dead body to putrefy are heat and the amount of bacteria already present within the intestines. The second factor is the unknown variable for how quickly a body will begin to decompose. All dead bodies will become greatly disfigured when they decompose.

Caution! When disposing of a dead body, ensure universal precaution against blood and body fluids at all times! Wear protective clothing and wash and disinfect hands, clothing, and all equipment after the fact. Body bags can be improvised from barrel liners or sheet plastic and duct tape.

Graves should be dug according to the size of the body, at least one hundred feet away from all surface water sources and at least five feet above the water table. Reread the sanitation chapter if necessary. Upon burying the body, make sure it's covered with at least three feet of earth, mound it up, and tamp it down.

If accidentally exposed to blood or body fluids in your eyes, mouth, mucous membranes, or into a penetrating injury or cut, wash the area profusely with disinfected water, use liberal amounts of topical disinfectants, lightly cover the area with a sterile, breathable bandage, and seek medical help for further treatment if available.

Create a ritual or "closing ceremony" to aid in the healing process of the living.

Have hygiene supplies on hand such as baby powder, fingernail clippers, sanitary napkins and/or tampons, toothbrushes and dental floss, insect repellent, toilet paper, towels, soap, disposable diapers, waterless hand sanitizer, and liquid chlorine bleach.

LUMINOUS and Liberating LIGHTING

"Anthra!" [Translation: "Fire!"]

-Quest for Fire, the movie Light is a form of energy, which can be emitted through a variety of processes including incandescence, fluorescence and phosph.o.r.escence, and laser generation. According to anthropologists, incandescence in the form of the element fire has been manipulated by someone or something for more than 2.5 million years. For indigenous peoples the world over, this flickering delight had limitless uses. It cooked food, disinfected water, made tools and weapons, regulated body temperature, and kept wild critters at bay. Nevertheless, one of the more profound and lasting attributes that fire could gift a growing world was the promise of light for the night. From coast to coast and culture to culture, humanity's aboriginal lighting was a simple by-product of one of nature's four sacred elements.

All flame-type lighting devices produce gases, which when burned feed the flame. Stuff that was burned for light over the centuries was incredibly varied and included pine pitch, birch bark, and the oils and fats from a number of animals, fish, and plants.

In Ice Age Europe nearly 40,000 years ago, the invention of stone, fat-burning lamps heralded the first effective, portable means of exploiting this aspect of fire. So profound was this shift in technology that it coincided with other remarkable changes in culture including the emergence of art, personal adornment, and complex weapons systems.

In the 1600s, early colonial settlers in America made candles just like the Indians taught them: from sections of conifer trees (pitch wood) that were cut into segments and burned. Later on, folks wanted to burn larger and larger things for brighter light. A container was devised, called a cresset or fire basket, that was nothing more than a noncombustible containment device made from clay, stone, or metal.

Cressets, although not designed for burning liquid fuels, were amazing as now people could light streets, the decks of boats, and more. Using the fat-lamp concept, people started making all sorts of lamps and lanterns from clay, metal, stone, sh.e.l.ls, and gla.s.s-anything that was liquid-worthy and could thus be filled with burnable oils such as olive oil, fish oil, whale oil, or sesame oil, among others. This light source had a wick made from dried moss, plant fibers, fabric-almost anything that would conduct the fuel to the flame. The wick could be adjusted as needed for more or less light, thereby conserving precious fuel.

Lighting technologies rapidly advanced and changed through the centuries from coal oil and camphene to kerosene and paraffin. From 1800 to 1850 alone, more than five hundred patents were granted for improvements in lighting devices.

In the 1850s, kerosene lighting was largely replaced by natural gas, which was in turn replaced by electricity in the 1880s. As the world rockets into the twenty-first century, who knows what lighting method will replace our current standard?

A b.u.mp in the Night Within every twenty-four-hour cycle on our planet, with few exceptions, we can all count on standing in the dark for several hours. For the past few decades, however, the vast majority of towns and cities have covered up this fact with a barrage of artificial lighting. Urbania's addiction to lighting, and the ease with which this addiction can be pacified, cause many people on the grid to think about lighting only when they don't have it. Lighting has become common enough to be completely taken for granted. Entire neighborhoods, towns, and cities sprout a blinding array of 24/7 indoor and outdoor lighting, literally blotting out the nighttime sky and any hope for seeing what grandma used to call stars. Many urban areas are so well-lit that darkness, and the psychological learning that comes along with it, never happens.

Few modern people have the psychological stamina to deal with life's burdens and fears when the lights go out. They have never trained or even considered what to do when it's pitch black. This complacency has worked its way into our psyches to a point that, when the darkness finally comes due to a power outage or other means, many of us feel helpless and lost. Don't believe me? Venture into the woods with me on one of my wilderness courses where I don't allow artificial lighting of any kind. Time after time, I have witnessed countless people become hopelessly confused and humbled when darkness descends upon the camp. And the majority of these people have a good degree of outdoor experience.

Adequate lighting not only comes in handy when trying to find the canned beans during a power outage, but it is also vital for long-term sanity. Several studies regarding the proper design and use of underground nuclear fallout shelters all came to the conclusion that people go nuts when subjected to continuous, long-term darkness. The good news is that very low levels of light, in which a simple outline of a human form is all that can be distinguished, will prevent the crazies. Total pitch blackness, the kind where you are unable to see your hand in front of your face, is the kind of darkness that's the most difficult to deal with, especially if you have other people freaking out in your proximity. While holing up underneath the petunias in the backyard is off-focus for the intention of this book, becoming familiar with the ins and outs of emergency lighting, especially during low-light winter months, is not. Luckily for us savvy survivors there are several gadgets on the market that light up the night with little effort.

Let There Be Light! Banishing Fright from the Night Fantastic Flashlights The first flashlight was invented in the 1890s by Conrad Hubert, founder of the Eveready Battery Company. The lighting device got its name because at that time the batteries were not strong enough to power the light for a sustained amount of time, thus the user had to literally "flash light" for a moment in front of himself in order to conserve power. Early commercial flashlights started as a novelty and consisted of a small light, which was attached to a man's tie or a woman's barrette. It was necessary at the time to carry a large battery pack, which was sure to have been a buzz kill regardless of the cool gadget attraction.

Although all households in the modern world have a flashlight or two in their midst, odds are the batteries haven't been replaced since the 1990s. Being able to see in the dark is a gift. Flashlights have saved me more than once from having to spend an unplanned night out in the wilderness, and I use them regularly at home. In fact, there's a flashlight situated at virtually every entrance to my house.

There is little subst.i.tute for a high-quality flashlight. Even so, I have witnessed supposedly worthy lights take a dump on their owners at compromising times. There are many flashlight shapes and sizes available, although the AA-battery-size flashlights are typically cheap, compact, widely available, and have enough candlepower to get the job done for the lion's share of household ch.o.r.es. In addition to the AA variety, I recommend that you consider the larger C- or D-cell-size flashlights as well. Having one or two of these around the house will really light up your life; some are extremely bright for larger nighttime jobs or backyard missions where extra light is advisable. As a side note, most airborne Search and Rescue teams use night-vision equipment during their missions. Night vision makes a small AA flashlight look like a truck with its high beams on. To give your rescuers the best visibility possible, sweep the flashlight beam from side to side of where you are; don't point it at the pilot.

Choose the most dependable, widely available, brightly colored flashlight possible or make it that way with brightly colored tape. We are a visually oriented culture so making your preparedness gear strikingly obnoxious is a bonus. My AA flashlight has duct tape wrapped around the end as a bite piece. I often hold my flashlight in my mouth thereby freeing up my hands for various tasks, and teeth and aluminum don't mix. The hundreds of uses for the extra duct tape speak for itself. At the end of my light is a lanyard that allows me to secure it to my wrist. The lanyard is necessary in situations that might physically separate me from my light such as violent storms, flooding, deep snow, or heavy brush. The flashlight I carry is widely available, cheap, has reasonably priced, easy-to-obtain spare bulbs, stores a spare bulb in its end cap, and has an adjustable beam. Flashlights are reasonably kidproof and should be high on the list for families with children.

The Wild World of Specialty Flashlights I shy away from specialty flashlights if for no other reason than the spare parts and bulbs are a pain to find on a good day, let alone during the end of the world. I want to be able to replenish my stock with a minimum of ha.s.sle and most of us don't need much of an excuse to procrastinate buying, repairing, or rotating emergency supplies. Some flashlights are so powerfully bright that they could almost cause sunburn, to say nothing of what they could do to your eyesight. I do admire their brightness but that strong light comes at a price, literally and figuratively; these flashlights eat batteries like a politician hugs babies during an election year. I have no interest in paying for, storing, and feeding these types of lights for daily household use. a.n.a.lyze your situation and see if one of the bright boys fits in with your survival plan.

Lately there are some very cool LED (light-emitting diode) lights on the market that spit out a surprising amount of light for their size and have a tremendous bulb and battery life. Some flashlights that use standard bulbs can be modified to use this technology. The mini-mag brand of flashlight, in the AA battery size, has an LED addition that can be purchased from many outdoor stores. This option replaces the standard bulb with three LED bulbs that are renowned for their long life. You can also purchase an end-cap piece that allows you to push a b.u.t.ton to turn on the flashlight instead of twisting the bulb end of the light. Gone will be the option of a focused or wide beam from the standard mini-mag bulb, and if you purchase the push-b.u.t.ton end cap, the neat little metal loop for easily attaching a lanyard will also disappear.

The Beautiful yet Baffling Battery: Choosing, Storing,

and Rotating Your Batteries

There are many types of batteries on the market although not all of the batteries listed below are used in flashlights; some are for hearing aids, pacemakers, and the like. While most are categorized as "primary cells," meaning they are one-use wonders and can't be recharged, there are many options for "secondary cells" or batteries that can be recharged. Types of batteries under the primary-cell heading include alkaline/manganese (the most common household battery type), carbon-zinc, lithium, mercuric-oxide, silver-oxide, zinc-air, and other types of b.u.t.ton batteries. Secondary-cell choices include nickel-cadmium and small sealed lead-acid, along with a few alkaline varieties. Many of these batteries, when spent or having grown tired of several recharges, are extremely toxic. Nickel-cadmium, for example, a popular but outdated rechargeable battery (it's been replaced by nickel-metal hydride), is supposed to be disposed of at a household hazardous waste collection site. Rechargeable batteries are not on the top of our list, as much as I love them (as mentioned, my entire home runs on solar power so this book is being written with sunlight and, of course, the batteries that hold the solar power when I write at night!). Remember, the reason you are using a light is because the grid has gone down; where is the power going to come from to recharge those rechargeables? Also, nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride batteries self-discharge quickly, which means they lose juice just sitting in the drawer. In fact, they lose about 25 percent of their power each month with a shelf life of two to three months: not the best choice for an emergency flashlight battery. There are batteries on the market that recharge using the sun and come with their own photovoltaic panel to harness energy from sunlight. Some flashlight bodies have a built-in photovoltaic panel and need to be simply set in direct sunlight to recharge. Depending on where you live, rechargeable batteries such as these might be a worthy investment.

Good 01' Alkaline Batteries Confused about the many choices of batteries yet? I go to the discount or grocery store and buy the brand name batteries they have on the shelf, usually the alkaline type, which were invented more than forty years ago by a scientist named Lew Urry. More than 2 billion alkaline batteries are sold each year, dwarfing all other battery sales combined. On average, alkaline batteries have a shelf life of five to seven years. Look at the date printed on the batteries at the store and buy the ones with the latest date. After seven years, the batteries might still retain 80 percent of their juice but they won't perform as long or as well, so, in other words, use at your own risk and get used to rotating your battery stock each year. Regular alkaline batteries are available in common sizes and are used in all sorts of battery-operated devices, so rotating your stock and buying fresh ones shouldn't be a big deal; another plug for simple flashlights that use simple batteries without the bells and whistles of the specialty lights.

Store your batteries like you should store your flashlight: at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, and in a dry area-NOT in the refrigerator. Moisture absorbed by batteries from the tuna surprise ca.s.serole can cause the battery to not work and/or drastically reduce their shelf life and performance. Keep extra batteries in their original package for storage. Contact with other metal items, including the batteries themselves, can short-circuit the battery so don't carry loose batteries in a pocket, purse, or pack. As to which brand of batteries to purchase, Consumer Reports found very little difference between brand name battery companies and their product despite the commercials. I have found that Duracell batteries seem to work and hold up better in the cold than Energizers, but to each his own. In years past alkaline batteries contained mercury, which made them b.u.mmers to dispose of. In 1996, however, Congress banned mercury from all household batteries. Now they can be safely thrown away in typical household trash when they p.o.o.p out, or you can recycle them at some electronic stores such as Radio Shack.

More expensive lithium batteries, now commonly available at most grocery stores, have up to a fifteen-year shelf life. That's where the advantage ends, however, for our emergency flashlight motives. Lithium batteries are typically reserved for devices that require a lot of power in a short amount of time such as MP3 players, digital cameras, and CD players. Just in case you're getting testy and want to argue the lithium battery point, call the Energizer battery company 1800 number available on the Internet like I did. They will tell you that other than the longer shelf life, lithium batteries for flashlights are, and I quote, "a waste of money."

Spare alkaline batteries carried in my survival kit for one year give approximately four hours of light with the first three hours being the brightest. The last hour of light is marginal but still useful for close-up household tasks. You should rotate your batteries in the flashlight as well as your spares every year, whether you have put them to use or not. I bind my spares together with brightly colored tape and write the month and year they were purchased in permanent marker on the tape. This takes the guesswork out of when you should rotate the little gems.

The ends of batteries corrode quickly, even in the arid Southwest, so get in the habit of inspecting your spares a few times a year. If you live in a wet climate, plan on rotating them more frequently. Although in a pinch the corrosion can be sc.r.a.ped off the ends, it's a safer bet to replace them entirely. As a bonus, batteries-even AA batteries-can be placed end to end and used in conjunction with superfine steel wool to start a fire.

Light Sticks Light sticks are just one application of an important natural phenomenon-luminescence. Generally speaking, luminescence is any emission of light that is not caused by heating. Among other things, luminescence is used in televisions, neon lights, and glow-in-the-dark stickers. It's also the principle that lights up a firefly and makes some rocks glow after dark.

Since their inception twenty-eight years ago, chemical light sticks have made their way well into urban culture and are available at many camping and big box stores. Nearly every little kid during Halloween becomes a glowing example of the power of two chemicals mixed together. Light sticks are used for a variety of applications from scuba diving to the rave dance scene. I use them to mark base camp shelters in the winter woods and desert caches of water at night for weary travelers on my field courses.

While not super cheap (two to four dollars apiece), light sticks are reasonably priced and put out enough light to get a range of close-quarters tasks accomplished with minimum ha.s.sle. These bulbless, batteryless wonders are light and portable and, dare I say it, more or less kidproof. The chemical reaction that takes place within the light stick generates absolutely no heat so parents don't have to worry about junior lighting the drapes on fire, scorching the pet cat, or otherwise burning down the house. This point should not be taken lightly as, aside from flashlights, finding a decent lighting alternative that is also kid-safe is a challenge.

How light sticks emit their glow is fairly simple. They consist of a small gla.s.s vial, or activator, filled with a hydrogen peroxide solution. This gla.s.s vial is housed inside the middle of a larger plastic vial, containing a phenyl oxalate ester and dye solution. The last two chemicals make up the majority of the light stick's guts. By bending the plastic stick, the gla.s.s vial breaks open, and the two solutions flow together. The chemicals immediately react to one another in a process called chemiluminesence and the atoms begin emitting light. The particular dye used in the chemical solution gives the light a distinctive color, of which there are several to choose from. The white ones put out the most light, next yellow, and then take what you can get.

Depending on which compounds are used, the chemical reaction may go on for a few minutes or many hours. By heating the solutions, the extra energy will accelerate the reaction, and the stick will glow brighter, but for a shorter amount of time. Put an activated light stick in boiling water for a few minutes and see for yourself. If you cool the light stick, the reaction will slow down, and the light will dim. If you want to preserve your light stick for the next day, put it in the freezer or outside in cold weather-it won't stop creating light but it will drag out the reaction considerably. However, the light emitted at this point is not something you'd choose to read a book by.

LIGHT MY FIRE! USING BATTERIES.