December 27, 2011 at 9:09 pm By Roz Potter
Drastic cuts to federal, state and municipal budgets mean fewer law enforcement personnel at the very time that reductions to social programs and safety nets will hit individuals and families already stressed by unemployment, lack of health insurance, home foreclosure, and higher costs for basic necessities. A perfect set-up for crime.
Through lecture, discussion and exercises, this beginning level workshop will introduce you to crime prevention concepts and practices that can help you prevent or evade assaults, robbery, identity theft and burglary. Learn information and methods that can help you:
- evaluate and alter personal and environmental factors that can place you at higher risk
- recognize criminal thinking, strategies and methods
- evade predator ploys
- use situational awareness
- recognize and act on your intuition
Taught by law enforcement and security guest lecturer, along with Roz Potter, RN, MA, CIC. $75 ($15 discount for prior workshop participants and seniors) Scholarships available.
Posted in Identity Theft, Personal safety, Personal security, Public Safety | No Comments »
December 27, 2011 at 8:42 pm By Roz Potter
Saturday, February 26, 2012, from 9:30 am – 4:30 pm, Napa, CA – Location TBA
A jump-start for preparedness. This 6-hour one-of-a-kind event will help get your household ready for a variety of emergencies. See event poster here.
Demonstrations: Learn how to disinfect water, handle utility emergencies, use safety and self-defense devices, see how earthquake protection materials work, and select worthwhile supplies and equipment for lighting, first-aid, communications, sanitation, and 3-day “Go” bags
Tastings of Emergency Food Bars and water with a 5-year shelf-life
Disassembly of several ready-made “Go”bags and first-aid kit, so you can see the quality and contents for yourself.
Create a family disaster plan, including family communication and reunification, urgent medical information, utility emergencies, and emergency notification documents
Disaster Readiness Lecture and Discussion including earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, and hazardous materials
$60 fee includes 3.5 hrs of instruction, disaster plan documents, supply lists for “Go” bags for home, work, car and school, and 7 live demonstrations (2.5 hours). $15 discount for prior Defying Disaster Workshop participants, seniors over 65, full-time students & multiple participants from the same address.
Posted in Disaster preparedness, Earthquake Preparedness | No Comments »
December 20, 2011 at 12:51 pm By Roz Potter
From the Independent: Link
Excerpts:
A deadly strain of bird flu with the potential to infect and kill millions of people has been created in a laboratory by European scientists – who now want to publish full details of how they did it.
***
For the first time the researchers have been able to mutate the H5N1 strain of avian influenza so that it can be transmitted easily through the air in coughs and sneezes. Until now, it was thought that H5N1 bird flu could only be transmitted between humans via very close physical contact.
***
What makes H5N1 so dangerous, though, is that it has killed about 60 per cent of those it has infected, making it one of the most lethal known forms of influenza in modern history – a deadliness moderated only by its inability (so far) to spread easily through airborne water droplets.
***
The details of the study are so sensitive that they are being scrutinised by the US Government’s own National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, which is understood to have advised American officials that key parts of the scientific paper should be redacted to prevent terrorists from using the information to reverse-engineer their own lethal strain of flu virus.
***
Some scientists have privately questioned whether such research should have been done in a university department that does not have the sophisticated anti-terrorist security of a military facility. They also point out that experimental viruses kept in seemingly secure laboratories have escaped in the past to cause human epidemics – such as a 1977 flu outbreak.
“There are people who say that the work should never have been done, or if it was done it should have been done in a setting where the information could be better controlled,” said the source close to the biosecurity board.
***
The study was carried out by a Dutch team of scientists led by Ron Fouchier of the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, where the mutated virus is stored under lock and key, but without armed guards, in a basement building.
Dr Fouchier, who declined to answer questions until a decision is made on publication, said in a statement released on the university’s website that it only took a small number of mutations to change the avian flu virus into a form that could spread more easily between humans.
Posted in Infectious and Communicable Disease, Pandemic Flu | No Comments »
December 8, 2011 at 3:35 pm By Roz Potter
From the Natural Resources Defense Council: Link
Click on the link for the interactive map. Excerpts from the text:
Extreme weather events and climate change
2011 has been a year of unparalleled extremes: 14 disastrous weather events in the US so far this year have resulted in over a billion dollars in property damage – an all-time record breaking number – and their estimated $53 billion price tag doesn’t include health costs.
As shown recently, in a first-of-its-kind study published in the journal Health Affairs1, when health-related costs of extreme events are calculated, the total tally increases substantially and will likely continue to climb due to climate change. 7 of the 2011 extreme events – a record-high number – are the type expected to worsen due to climate change.
Climate scientists are saying that these events may be part of a troubling trend influenced by climate change2. This trend has also been identified by the international reinsurance company MunichRe [PDF]; they concluded that from 1980 through 2011, the frequency of extreme events in the U.S. is rising.3
A newly-released analysis by international climate scientists (IPCC)4 concluded that climate change will amplify extreme heat, heavy precipitation, and the highest wind speeds of tropical storms.
We need to be prepared. Emergency planning must incorporate risks from climate change. For example, maps describing flooding zones need to account for increased risks caused by extreme rainfall and sea level rise resulting from climate change. While these plans are made at the local level, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must also prioritize addressing and preparing for climate change by providing guidance and resources to state and local governments.
Protect your family from extreme weather:
- Stay informed – subscribe to local emergency alerts and watch for updates. Make sure to have a battery powered radio or other device in the event you lose power.
- Stay connected – check on relatives, friends and neighbors.
- Plan ahead – have an evacuation plan and emergency supplies on hand. See the Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), or the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) lists for what you need.
Check out our maps to find out how vulnerable your community may be to the effects of climate change.
Posted in Severe Weather Preparedness | No Comments »
Of Note