Allotments 4 All

Hi Guys,

I have been thinking seriously about global warming over the last year and i really dont think that the UK govenment has done enough to prepare us for the changes that its going to bring.

I have decided to open a web site and forum to discuss how best to prepare having had a look at what is available to people in the states. I am going to try and fund this by selling advertising for people in the UK selling the kind of things that people might want to buy.

I have even started collating lists of the kind of stuff needed and i am going to partition of part of my garage to start storing things.

Dont get me wrong i am not going to be walking around with a sandwich board saying the end is neigh nor am i going to be one of those survivalist nuts hiding the in the basement.

But i am going to collect things that i might have a use of like a porable gas stove, some collapasable containers for storing water, sleeping bags etc you know the kind of stuff. And things like encryted documents, photos etc.

I was just wondering how you guys would cope with extream heat/cold and the other kind of problems that were going to face in the next 10 years? If your house was to burn down tomorrow do you have copies of photos, addresses for family and insurance policys copied anywhere?

Cambourne7

Our little secret......with the terrorist threats after 9/11 my love and I discussed what we would do if for example, London was hit by 'something'.  What would be our escape route... we have our plan, and we also have a big rucksack with supplies.  We have a couple of books by Lofty Weisman in there, along with waterproof matches, dehydrated foods, water purifying tables, face masks and surgical gloves, and other things that we felt necessary as we would have the children to think about.  It is in the back of our wardrobe, and all things being equal, it will silently gather dust there for the next 100 years.

Copies of things, our solicitor holds a lot, and copies are in a safe at another location.  Photos, well our minds are full of memories - I have a few important ones stashed away, but so long as the four of us have eachother, that is all we need.  Cor.....we are all dooomed, doooooooooooomed!  :P

I just deal with each day as it comes. Cant be doing with all them What ifs'. Cant prepare for everything.

You remember at the start of the gulf war when people scrambled to buy gasmasks / respirators dating all the way back to WW2.
They may have bought them but you didnt see them carrying them to & from work, or kids taking them to school. They must of only expected getting hit at home or something. De-ja-vu here I think.  ;D ;D

Living in Bc Canada right slap bang on the earhquake fault that is more or less expected to cream the area any day  now,we had survival packs,and contingency plans.

We had bottled water, water purification tablets, tinned and dried food,long life and dried milk and dried  eggs, etc. Kettles  that needed no fuel or power.

We had a grab bag in the hall to grab and go with that had all the stuff we would need first off including things like first aid kit,prescription meds, extra prescription glasses, you can imagine what was in it.

BBQ  always had extra propane  cylinders in case we would be able to access them.

We had a boat for getting on to the lake in case of forest fire, we had  camping equipment , portable self generating radios , self generating torches.

We had contacts in other parts of Canada that would not be hurt if the earhquake came, we would contact them  so any kids at school who might get seperated would also phone that number.

There was much more, but this gives you an idea.

The fault line in the Pacific Northwest is not a maybe, it is a for sure as the plates are constantly shifting, so most folks were prepared. We were in 1 earthquake but it was minor.

We do have copies of everything off site and still have emergency contact numbers out of the country and in the country but not local.

I am not a freaky person but the quake was a for sure. I do not feel so bad about Global warming though.

XX Jeannine

I live in a country that is already being hit badly by global warming (Switzerland). Not only is the snow disappearing but the tree-line is also falling. These two factors alone will mean a completely different future to the one imagined for so long. Last year I was on a hike and aimed for a glacier that I had visited on our honeymoon in 1962 but I had to walk almost two miles further than in '62 until I reached its tongue.

However the most disturbing thing is the melting of permafrost. Most of the rocks and boulders adhere to the higher mountain-sides because of the frozen water. Now we have more and more rocks crashing down into the valleys - especially after heavy rainfalls. These rocks and boulders, once held in check by the trees now find no obstacle in their way. More and more nets are being hammered into cliff faces to attempt to keep the rocks in place.

Personally I think that we have little chance of putting a stop to the gradual warming of our globe - especially as we don't really know the true cause. One thing is clear, the problem won't be solved by money. No taxes, fines or other charges will be of any use. Only taking action.

I've had my allotment since 1970, I remember how many butterflies and bees there were, nowadays a butterfly is almost a sensation and the number of bees have dropped off tremendously. This is all due to the use of pesticides and artificial fertilisers - they should all be banned. We go to the mountains each June for the 'mountain spring' , this is when the meadows are covered in wild flowers, but, should the farmers spread fertiliser on his meadow in preparation for next year's cows the flowers just vanish and aren't seen again for years - providing he doesn't spread this poison again.

I. for one, will be following your aims closely Cambourne7 - there is certainly a lot to discuss.

I'm with kt on this one i'm afraid, i think we've got a lot of other issues that we can do things about on a day to day basis, such as poverty, illness, child abuse, crime, etc.  I don't do the 'what if's' in life, for me life's too short.

However, i do agree that global warming is a real issue, and we do our bit to lessen our 'carbon footprint' as they say.  Use ecologically friendlier products, ensure as much of our consumables as possible are from sustainable sources, etc.  Plus of course grow our own veg (and fruit next year!).

Also, i'm not totally convinced that global warming is simply down to us using our cars too much, or flying around the world too much (not that i do fly anywhere, but just an example..) etc.  I've heard and read a lot about our planet having a normal cycle of warmer & cooler periods of time, and i feel sure that this is also something to do with the current trend.

It is an interesting topic, and one for much discussion. x

well no one has called for the men in white coats so i might not be completly insane.

i am going away for a couple of days but will be buying the domain and hosting in the next couple of weeks when i have decided what i going to do.

But i was going to do this for UK and suppose having one for different countrys would not be 2 difficult and may open up more advertising oportunity.

EJ would love to know what else you got in that bag :)

Jeanine - a kettle that does not need power ????

I'm just going to bury my head in the sand when the sahara gets up this far, we will have all died of bird flu before then anyway.

Got to go now - working on the astoriod deflection project on my roof! phase one of the incoming projectile detection and classification system to finish before tea, now where did i leave those old washing liquid up bottles.

During 9/11 we had great difficulty in contacting family who live and work in Washington and New York - Thankfully all were OK - but since then we have a contact list, which is regularly updated - with every family members name, address, phone no. , fax no., mobile no., e-mail, MSN etc. - thank god we have not had to use it!
Also with regards to photos douments etc, my OH has a removeable drive for the P - he downloads all vital info every couple of months - and we have scanned all important documents into the PC - he then takes the drive to work, and stores it there - but equally could be stored anywhere outside of the house

Kathi

Quote from: cambourne7 on March 19, 2007, 17:46:10well no one has called for the men in white coats

Quote from: keef on March 19, 2007, 18:26:53
I'm just going to bury my head in the sand when the sahara gets up this far, we will have all died of bird flu before then anyway.

Got to go now - working on the astoriod deflection project on my roof! phase one of the incoming projectile detection and classification system to finish before tea, now where did i leave those old washing liquid up bottles.

I was just thinking you might have spoken too soon .... ;D

Isn't it great that there are some who would wish to help slow things down.

Brave girl, Cambourne - &, like Comic Relief, there is always hope.

I have a foot in both camps.

1. Sorry to repeat, but "johnelkington" sets, or reflects my standards. And his near 40 books are evidence. For approaching 40 years he has been in the forefront of 'goodness'.
2. Yes - in our poor way, we recycle, turn off lights, do not centrally heat our house (we couldn't!!), use our car as litle as possible, grow our own & try not to buy Peruvian Asparagus etc.
3. Yes - panic boxes for quakes & tsunamis - but not for something which will only affect our children or grandchildren - who cares about them - especially if you don't have any. Like Lung Cancer from smoking -I'm alright Jack!!  Would you stop smoking to save someone elses children??
4.Life too short to bother? How short is mine? But I still try.
5. EJ - you forgot your get-away vehicle - the BIKE??
6. Kettles, Jeannine, work on meta tablets or kindling?

BUT..................

7. The Civil Service insist upon 72F wherever they are. And refuse to open windows.
8. All  business, in London, & every other City , uses lights at night to show their presence. And do any of them have air-conditioning? We don't!
9. Do YOU switch of your car engine in a traffic queue - which can last for many minutes?
10. Do buses switch off when waitng in towns for pick-up - pouring gas into below street apartments/businesses?

Too late in the day to list all the 'big business' horrors. Suffice to say that we need a BIG STICK + CARROT to make inroads. John has always wooed big businees with the carrot.

Kindling Tim, the good old Kelly Volcano. Super bit of eqipmqnt, there are pans . XX Jeannine

I hadn't heard of this type of kettle/pans. I've looked them up and the kettle is available from www.fly-fishing-tackle.co.uk the pint size kettle is £42-50. :)

yes i have been after a kelly for a while,  there like gold dust!

Of course i can buy one but i am trying to stock up my emergency kit from freecycle  ;D

blimey, I'm feeling very inadequate.  My mum was telling me that pandemic flu will take out the old and young in a few years and then come back for the rest of us - maybe we won't have to worry about global warming after all.

I worry about global warming but I think all the emphasis on individuals is plainly silly, as it is big corporations and multinational companies that are the primary producers of pollutants (not just CO2) and until we think about changing from a high consumption society to a more sustainable one (which means big business will not make so many profits) we are doomed. Most of the world starves whilst we waste resources.

 RE Kelly Kettle the bigger one is available on E bay for  £20 something, about £28 I think.

Time for tea,I think I will  go and put the kelly on !

XX Jeannine

Are these kettles reusable - if they are it would make a nice addition to the lottie shed for a quick cuppa.

Global Disasters adie - I think that it is wise to any household to keep an emergency kit of some kind - albeit just candles, waterproof matches, batteries, torch, first aid kit etc.  If nothing else - it gives you peace of mind.  I do however think that vegetable growers have a bit of a head start though as we all have seed and can save most of our own seed if need be - and would be self reliant to some extent - if we stayed in the same area - there was not too much radiation in the ground, etc. etc.......

Jitterbug

This brings back memories of my childhood when we were convinced we would not grow up to be adults thanks to someone triggering a nuclear strike any time soon.  waiting for the siren and hiding under a matress over the side of the table then waitinng for a slow death through radiation poisoning in a devastated world.  I shiver now just remembering it.

From what I know of business related business continuity planning for disasters, the best thing we could probably do is de-techno our lives.  If it needs electricity or refined fuel, work out how to cope without it - there's a lot we rely on in the background without realising it.....

Personally, I work on the basis of making the most of now.  ( anyway as I'm wearing clean underwear, I'll probably get hit by a bus soon!)

Re Kelly Kettle , they have  a site online  just google kelly kettle, it gives you all the inf, but the prices are high,it is possible to get them cheaper on e bay daft as it seems XX Jeannine