Wake up Call

Survivability:
The Ability To Remain Alive,
and Continue To Exist, (During This Great Depression).
The term has more specific meanings in certain contexts.

Listen Below, To Gerald Celente' With Alex Jones, (Jan 27, 2009)

SURVIVAL PRIORITIES:
Secondary sources of survival skills, including those produced by the United States Military and the Boy Scouts of America, list priorities for an individual or group in survival situations. The priorities themselves vary between sources, as do their relative priority in a given survival situation. There are sources which acknowledge that the ordering of priorities shift dependent upon the immediate situation faced.

One Such System of Prioritization Is Called The "Rule of Three":
1) Humans cannot survive more than three hours exposed to extreme low-temperature.
2) Humans cannot survive more than three days without water.
3) Humans cannot survive more than three weeks without food.
The Rule of Three should be viewed as generalities. The crew of a lifeboat reportedly lasted 8 days without water; people have survived without food for over 40 days.

The exact number of priorities vary dependent upon the source. The show Survivorman once detailed a, "Rule of Four." The Boy Scouts, in addition to listing seven priorities, utilize other mnemonic devices such as, "STOP," for, "Stop, Trace Back, Observe, and Plan Ahead." Other sources include the need for oxygen, shelter, fire, mental state, physical injury state, and employing techniques to signal for rescue.

SHELTER:
A shelter is any structure that is built to protect a person from his environment. A shelter can provide solace during potentially disastrous weather, help prevent hypothermia, and allow restful sleep. Shelter also keeps you from being out all night and can save your life. It may also help boost the emotional state of a survivor, as it will become a base or home. In typical survival situations a shelter is designed to allow movability and expedient set-up, thus allowing the survivor to focus on other necessary tasks such as those that involve food, water, fire, and rescue. Among other things, a shelter should provide a comfortable place to sleep. To this end, it should account for the following:
*Immovable rocks, animal nests, and other obstacles and hazards should be avoided.
*Dry watercourses may be flat, sandy, and comfortable to sleep on, but they will flood in a storm.
*Sunlight provides warmth (which is not always welcome), and can help one to wake up in the morning. However, sunny, open areas are vulnerable to wind which causes convection of one's body heat.
*Heat transfer: an excessively large or well-ventilated shelter will not retain warmth well.
*Flashing (weatherproofing) to provide protection from elements.
Shelters range from natural shelter such as a cave, to intermediate forms of man-made shelter such as a debris shelter or a snow cave, to completely man-made structures using tarps, tents, or constructed homes.

FIRE:
The ability to start a controlled fire has the ability to significantly increase the ability to survive. The ability to light a fire without a lighter or matches is a frequent subject of both books on survival and in survival courses. There is an emphasis placed on practicing such skills, before venturing into the wilderness. The heat and light provided by a fire allows wet clothes to be dried, body heat to be retained, and food to be cooked. Fire may deter wild animals from interfering with the survivor, or wild animals may be attracted to the light and heat of a fire. Remember: Just as the light and smoke emitted by a fire can be used to signal rescue units, etc. It can also alert those you may be hiding from! Adding green leaves or petroleum-based products can dramatically increase a fire's smoke output, increasing the chance of rescue or unwanted discovery.

DRINKABLE WATER:
A human can survive an average of three days without the intake of water assuming you're at sea level, at room temperature, and a relative humidity. In colder or warmer temperatures, and/or with rain or snow, the length or liklyhood of survival, is greatly reduced. In addition to the aforementioned priorities, length of survival also depends on amount of physical exertion. The average human, will lose 2-3 liters of water per day, in ordinary conditions, but more in hot, dry, or cold weather. Four to six liters of water or other liquids are generally required each day in the wilderness, to avoid dehydration and to keep your body functioning properly. The U.S. Army survival manual recommends that you drink water whenever thirsty. Other groups recommend rationing water through "water discipline."

A lack of water causes dehydration, which may result in lethargy, headaches, dizziness, confusion, and eventually death. Even mild dehydration reduces endurance and impairs concentration, which is dangerous in a survival situation, where clear thinking is essential. Dark yellow or brown urine is a diagnostic indicator of dehydration. To avoid dehydration, a safe supply of drinking water must be located as soon as a shelter is built, (or even before, depending on conditions). Many sources of survival literature, as well as forums and online references, list the ways in which water may be gathered in a survival situation. Such sources also often list the dangers, such as pollutants, microorganisms, or pathogens which affect the potability of backcountry water. Preventing water loss is also an issue in survival situations.

FOOD:
Food is not urgently needed in survival situations, because a human can survive for several weeks without it. However, much like dehydration, hunger can bring about many consequences long before it causes death, such as:
*Irritability and low morale
*Weakness
*Loss of mental clarity, such as confusion, disorientation, or poor judgment
*Weakened immune system
*Difficulty maintaining body temperature, (heat exhaustion or hypothermia).
Food is abundant and easy to find, in most wild environments, (provided one knows where to look). A basic knowledge of animal trapping, hunting, and fishing will provide meat. Equally important is a knowledge of edible plants, fungi, and lichens. A survivor cannot always rely on the most abundant or most easily accessible type of food. To survive for long periods of time, a person must maintain a balanced diet.

Many survival books promote the "Universal Edibility Test." Allegedly, one can distinguish edible foods from toxic ones, by a series of progressive exposures to skin and mouth prior to ingestion, with waiting periods and checks for symptoms. However, many other experts reject this method, because even a small amount of some "potential foods" can cause physical discomfort, illness, or even death. An additional step called the "scratch test" is sometimes included to evaluate the edibility of a potential food.

FIRST AID:
First aid (wilderness first aid in particular) can help a person survive and function with injuries that would otherwise kill or incapacitate him or her. Common and dangerous injuries include:
*Lacerations, which may become infected
*Bites or stings from venomous animals: snakes, scorpions, spiders, bees, etc.
*Bites from animals that spread disease such as: mosquitos, fleas, ticks, animals infected with rabies, etc.
*contact with disease in one's environment through food, animal contact, or drinking non-potable water
*Bone fractures
*Sprains, particularly of the ankle
*Burns
*Poisoning from consumption of, or contact with, poisonous plants or poisonous fungi.
*Hypothermia and hyperthermia
The survivor may need to apply the contents of a first aid kit or naturally-occurring medicinal plants, immobilize injured limbs, or even transport incapacitated comrades.

NAVIGATION:
Survival situations are resolved by finding one's way to safety. This requires some navigation or movement ...
Celestial navigation, using the sun and the night sky to locate the cardinal directions and to maintain course of travel
Reading a map (particularly a topographic map), together with a compass or by orienting the map to the terrain
Using a GPS receiver, (if one is available).