Try to express the "told you so" with your body language. Help and display an overly generous attitude. That brings the message clearly over and it makes people feel uncomfortable (this method is not exactly suitable for raising your popularity). When you tell them that you told them so, they usually ignore it.

id agree with the less then 1 in 10 are prepared instead. almost no one i know is prepared or even thinking of it, scary thoughts indeed.

im trying to prepare as best i can ive been doing it on and off (mostly off, unfortunately) since the mid 90s.

none of my friends in my age bracket (30ish) are prepared more then having a couple of bottles of water or maybe a spare flashlight in the house.
its like the us in the early days of aids thinking "something couldnt possibly happen to me".
they are still my friends but i wish they would wise up and prepare in earnest..

its scary to think living in NY/ brooklyn all my life ive lived through 3 YES 3 ! terrorist attacks that could have been fatal.

the first was the world trade center bombing of 94 i was in the area when the bomb went off. i thought it was a small earthquake at first.

people forget about the attempted terroist bombing of the subway lines in brooklyn in 97, they said when caught these guys had enough explosives to take out a block in each direction.
i lived less then half a block away when it happened.

luckily i slept late on 9-11 and didnt go into the city like i planned. sadly several people my family knew that didnt.

during the blackout last year atleast i had stocked up on batteries, crank radio candles and the like.
so i helped hand out cups of water to those coming out of the local train station who needed it.

for those of you who know store owners, encourage them to invest in an old fashioned register. if more had them inthe black out alot less food would have spoiled from just sitting there.

so yes i prepare as much as my very limited budget lets me, but call me paranoid i just feel i need to move faster, and im always playing catch up.

Which blackouts are talking about ??

Maybe you are confusing with last summer's disaster : thousands of dead people, due to a long heat wave and lack of preparation for this situation.

And it's true that, for the same reason, we were not far away from blackouts ; just an inch away ....

There has been a blackout, but in northern Italy and maybe one in Great Britain (not sure).

My mistake. Yes, I was referring to the heat wave though I thought it was accompanied by a blackout which increased the lethality through loss of air conditioning. Perhaps it was just a lack of air conditioning in general. Though folks can live through heat waves if they stay in shade and drink plenty of water instead of wine even without airconditioning.

Not AFAIK....
But for next summer, EDF (our national electricity provider) fears that an increased usage of numerous low-cost air conditioners could cause blackouts, if such a situation again arises. (a huge number of the cheaper machines having been sold).



Most of the time, lack of hydration caused death (older people or allready ill people mainly); The fact is many of these people didn't think / were not told / were not helped to drink more.... water or whatever ....

This Lapse in Preparedness Reminds me of a Line from a Jackson Browne song of the Late 70s-Early 80s. (Boulevard). I Paraphrase First and then I Quote. -' Everyone just Walks on By " Like They're Safe or Something!" Complete with the Way he Says Such! Kinda like Sheep in these Suppossedly New Times and Circumstances, They Stand Around just Looking at the Ball, Set Out Before Them!, and Saying "Dah!?" Rather than Picking It Up!, and Running It Down a Personal Preparedness Field! This is of course No "Dah" Time or Matter! There's a Certain Preparedness Ball to Pick Up!, -Hello!?

Perhaps a Way of Getting this Onto some of their Radar Screens, or their To Do Lists, would be to Present It sort of as the " 5 Most Important Things!". Or the "Five Musts!".

It's Very Back Burner on Many People's Scales!, that is, When and Where, -or If, -It's even on their Stovetop at All!

A Floor in One's House is Very Low Priority Back Burner Matter too! That is, Until it just May sometime Collapse Under someone!

(Porch and Deck Collapses, for example. Nobody, or Hardly Anyone anyway, Thinks of the Porch Itself! When such Collapses Happen. Regardless of whether this be Due to Aging Old Workmanship, or to Shoddy, Substandard, Modern Day Workmanship. But When such Collapses Do Occur!, -The State of that Porch!, or Lack Thereof!, -Suddenly Moves Up onto that Front Burner! And Becomes a Most Immeadiate Priority and Concern!, -Shud any given "You" be the One Who's On!, -Such a Porch that Suddenly Gives Way in Collapse! Survival and Preparedness is Of Course Like That!, as Well!)

Then this Long Forgotten Pot Out Back, -Suddenly Moves to the Front Burner!

And It Could be Mortally Perilous!, or Otherwise Dangerous or Disadvantageous!

Likewise, Survival and Emergency Prep is of course like that!, -Across it's Board!

The Least of People's Concerns Suddenly Become the Greatest! For What Duration they so be Enstuckened In.

Though Often Rare and Unlikely, -It *Can* Happen to You!

So at Least for the Definite and Dangerous, if Dim, -Possibility of This ever Coming About!, -People in General shud Become at Least Minimally Familiar and Prepared!

People will Woo and Rue the Day then!, when they once Pooh Poohed and Passed Over Such Preps, as Suppossedly such a Small to Non-Existant Matter! "Back When They Had the Chance!"

And so Perhaps something like "The Five Most Importants!" or "The Five Musts!", could be Instrunmental Towards Getting their Foot somewhat into the Survivi-Prep Door! With some of the General "PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER." Anyway!

If or Until Then!, -All Too Many Sheepedly Walk on By Like they're Safe or Something!!! [color:"black"] [/color] [email]ScottRezaLogan[/email]

Frenchy:

I am an Certified HVAC-R (Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration.) technician here in the United States of America.

We have brand new 5,000 BTU air conditioners selling here in Wisconsin for as little $79.00 US. They are high quality, with rotary compressors and are very energy efficient.

I am sure that similar air conditioners are available in the Europeon continent. Do not let your power companies try to tell you it is your country mens fault if they use air conditioning. It is merely poor planning by the power companies as in the United States, we have laws that allow power companies to cut off electrical usage to large companies in times of emergency such as your heat wave.

I am also a caretaker for my elderly mother and was a caretaker for my father until he passed away March 5, 2004. My father did not want to drink fluids because he feared messing himself because of the constant need to urinate. My mother and I did the best we could to make him drink to no avail. I had to take him to the hospital 3 times just to have him hydrated with an IV because he refused to take in fluids. I suspect a lot of older people have that fear and probably refuse sufficient intake of fluids because of pride and the fear of losing bladder control and messing themselves.

Get the sick and elderly air conditioners, modify the laws of electical distribution and usage, and make people comfort mandatory in emergencies like heat waves.

Good luck!

Bountyhunter

Bountyhunter,
Sorry about your loss. The same thing happened to my dad in the last 2 weeks of his life. He was battling cancer, but I'm sure the dehydration and refusal to drink water hastened his passing. Hang in there.

Joegreen:

Unfortunately his refusal of sufficient amounts of liquids was more like 18 months old. I know it took its toll on him because you could see it in the loss of elasticity of the skin, and yes it did hasten his end. He was 90 years old and had outlived his brothers and sisters, but you still always hate to say it was his time.

He spent the last 3+ months of his life in a hospital and nursing home and suffered from the massive sores he acquired from being on his back unable to heal due to lack of calories ingested (the family decided no feeding tube would be used.). Thank God and the medical community for modern pain killers.

Thank you for the kind words.

Bountyhunter

A Major Difference between the European and U.S. Power Supply / Air Conditioning Situation, -Is that Much of Europe is on the Cool Side, including Summers, wheras Much of my own Country's Summers are Not.

Air Conditioning is thereby such a Large and Everyday Part of our Picture around here. While Much of Europe, Usually Getting Cooler Summers to begin with, Hasn't had this Need. It's therefore Not a Part of their Picture!, It Hasn't "Entered into Europe's Calculations."

True, It is well within the Means of many Europeans to have Air Conditioners, and I'm Sure that Many of them do. And Not just in the Atypically Hotter Mediterranean South.

But their Whole General Power System Setup, Isn't Ready for a Large, Long, and Persistent Heat Wave! While our's Already is "Set Up" for a Lot of this, when a Heat Wave Happens to U.S.

In Much of (Cooler) Europe, a Strong Heat Wave can be a Straw that Breaks a "Power Supply's Back"!

I'm Not Knowledgeable on Electric Power Supplies. But I Do know how Much of Europe is Predominantly Cooler. This is a Strong, Reasonable Impression, that I get. As relates to Electrical Power considerations.

This is Toward Mentioning of this Angle of it all, to our Forum Mates in General. I Sure that you, Frenchy, are already Well Familiar with this. So I'm Not specifically Telling this to you.

But Many Others around the World may Not be so Aware! Lest a False Equality be Suggested, I want to make mention of this Angle too.

Much of Europe typically is Much Cooler than we! Our Much More Usual Hot is Not Only Not Entered into Europe's typical, overall Calculations, but Many a Typical, Average European is Very Unaccustomed to Major Heat Waves too. Thus the High Number who either Succumbed, or were Adversely Affected by it. [color:"black"] [/color] [email]frenchy[/email]