When All Hell Breaks Loose Part 6

"Seasoning" is a slang term for drying wood until it's ready to burn. Wood is deemed seasoned when its moisture content reaches equilibrium with the moisture in the surrounding air. The requirements for seasoning wood are the same as those needed to dry sliced fruit-good air circulation, suns.h.i.+ne, and dryness. Green wood can be stacked outdoors in a suitable location for about six months in most climates and it should be ready to go. In dry hot climates, it will probably be ready to go in half the time depending on how big the pieces are. Proper stacking, in which as much surface area as possible is exposed to dry, warm air currents will cut down on the drying time. Wood that is seasoned will be comparatively lightweight and have ends with deep "checks" or cracks.

All wood products in the natural world are, in essence, stored energy from solar radiation and photosynthesis. Wood loses this stored energy in one or both of two ways-it can burn or it can rot. If you purchase partially rotten or "punky" wood, you're getting ripped off, as the wood has already lost some of its energy or BTU content to the environment through decay.

Before building your woodpile, set an expendable lumber base (such as an old sheet of plywood) on some elevated material like concrete blocks that will keep your wood off the ground and limit the infestation of termites and other critters. Stacking wood off the ground also prevents the wood from drawing ground moisture, allows air to circulate freely around it, and cuts down on the amount of dirt that sticks to it. Woodpiles stacked against the home, while looking cute and cozy in a country calendar, should be avoided for obvious fire danger. Buy a cheap tarp instead to cover your wood or store it in a strategic, sheltered location that allows you to easily obtain the fuel but doesn't pose a fire risk. Use stakes or end braces built to measure a standard cord to keep the woodpile from collapsing.

Woodpiles are magnets for rodents. Even though the little b.u.g.g.e.rs can transmit diseases and destroy vital equipment, your survival mind-set should be licking your chops at the prospect of raising your own "beef" with little or no effort. Baited mouse and rat traps in proximity of the pile will easily catch the occupants of your rodent ranch. For the scoop on cooking your critters, see Chapter 18. Enjoy!

Fun with Fake Found Firewood For families without access to natural firewood, check the front and backyard for loose limbs on trees, lumber sc.r.a.ps, old pallets, or a number of odds and ends that are combustible when enough heat is used. Almost any wood product can be burned in a pinch. Avoid burning pressure-treated lumber (it usually has a faint greenish color), as it's filled with toxic chemicals such as a.r.s.enic that will off-gas when burned. Avoid burning railroad ties. Particleboard and plywood will smell funky due to the glues that hold them together, and I would refrain from cooking my hot dog over the coals if given a choice, but it will work for general heating needs within the home if that's all you can scrounge. The older the plywood or particleboard the better, as time will have had a chance to mellow out the bonding glues.

If things get super tough, how many chairs do you really need? A few cheap, white-man houses built on some Indian reservations in Arizona were used as fuel, little by little, by inventive occupants who, piece by piece, slowly burned every chair, cabinet, door, wall stud, and porch railing for heat until the home was so uninhabitable that they moved on. Old hunter-gatherer instincts die hard, I guess.

Even fuels that at first glance would seem a waste of time for your fireplace can be modified for longer burn times. In the American West, experiments have been done to create "logs" by tightly binding tumbleweeds (Russian thistle) together. Fuels that would normally combust in seconds last for several minutes after modification. You don't have to ride the range to create your own faux fuel. You can make your own improvised firewood logs by tightly rolling up old newspapers and tying them securely. The tighter you roll the logs, the less oxygen they will receive and thus the slower they will burn when added to an established heat base. Potential family fun for all: the winner with the slowest-burning log gets an extra serving of canned beans.

"Fuel-Burning" s.p.a.ce Heaters [Propane, Kerosene, Coal,

Natural Gas, etc.]

Many people in rural or smaller communities have no access to natural gas main lines and use propane gas instead to provide a variety of household needs. It can be delivered by truck to fill large personal storage tanks, or smaller tanks can be brought to the dealer itself to be filled. Although most recognizable on the backyard grill, bottled propane can heat water for hot showers, heat homes, cook food in ovens, and even keep the ice cream cold inside a propane refrigerator. Many recreational vehicles are packed with appliances that run solely on propane.

All fuel-burning s.p.a.ce heaters will produce toxic carbon monoxide gas. (We are a.s.suming that electric s.p.a.ce heaters are a no-go as the power grid is down.) Many local fire codes do not allow any kind of fuel-burning s.p.a.ce heater to be used in an occupied structure unless it has first been "vented" to the outside. Caution! Do NOT use your propane or natural gas kitchen stove or oven in an attempt to heat your house for the same reason.

Many people own fuel-burning s.p.a.ce heaters that are used in the garage, around outdoor work sites, and such. If you lack any other heat source, the temptation will be very strong to bring it into the house when you start seeing your breath. If appropriate for your family, prepare now for pending chilly home temperatures by having a qualified professional install a modern fuel-burning s.p.a.ce heater that's vented to the outside. Read the carbon monoxide poisoning section below about using unvented s.p.a.ce heaters. Below are some basic safety precautions to take with any s.p.a.ce heater, including electric models.

s.p.a.ce Heater Safety Tips When using a fuel-burning s.p.a.ce heater, open a window to provide adequate ventilation. Never use fuel-burning appliances (kerosene, coal, or propane) without proper ventilation due to deadly carbon monoxide fumes! Although oxygen-depletion alarms are standard on most modern s.p.a.ce heaters, these are not the same as carbon monoxide alarms. Wall-mounted, room-vented s.p.a.ce heaters that are connected to gas lines are also considered unvented s.p.a.ce heaters. Using unvented s.p.a.ce heaters in your home puts you and your family at risk of dying of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Make sure that your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working.

Make sure your s.p.a.ce heater has an automatic tipswitch, a cutoff device required on newer models that turns off electric or kerosene heaters if they tip over. Try to purchase a heater that has an automatically controlled thermostat that shuts off by itself when a pre-set temperature is achieved. Make sure it has a guard around the flame area or heating element and only use safety-listed equipment that is labeled with UL or AGA certification.

Keep s.p.a.ce heaters at least three feet away from everything on all sides of the heater, including walls, furniture, curtains, clothing, and other obvious combustibles.

Do not place anything on top of a s.p.a.ce heater.

Place the heater on a hard, level, nonflammable surface; do not place it on rugs or carpets, on tables or countertops, or where the heater will be susceptible to being knocked over or block an emergency exit in your home.

Make sure your s.p.a.ce heater is in good working condition. All s.p.a.ce heaters need frequent checkups and cleaning, as a dirty heater is a potential fire hazard.

Use only the proper fuel for each s.p.a.ce heater. Never use a fuel in a heater that is not designed to burn that fuel.

Don't store kerosene, gasoline, or other flammable liquids in your home. Use an approved safety container for storing flammable liquids and store them in a safe location. When refueling a kerosene heater, don't overfill it. If cold kerosene is used, it will expand as it warms up inside your home and may cause the burner to flood, causing potential flare ups. Never fill your kerosene heater while it's burning.

Never leave children or pets unsupervised in a room with a running s.p.a.ce heater. Keep young children away from s.p.a.ce heaters, as loose clothing may be drawn by a draft into the heater and catch fire.

If you use an electric heater, make sure your home's wiring is adequate for the load and in good condition. Never cover a heater's cord with carpeting or furniture, as this could cause the cord to overheat and start a fire. Avoid overloading the circuit and avoid using extension cords. Use an approved power strip with a built-in circuit breaker. s.p.a.ce heaters should have a polarized AC (alternating current) plug, in which one blade is longer than the other. If the plug should fail to fit into an outlet, contact an electrician to replace the dated outlet. Do not use older s.p.a.ce heaters or heaters with cords that are cracked or frayed. Avoid using electric s.p.a.ce heaters in the bathroom and never touch an electric heater when you're wet.

Turn off your heater (and unplug, if electric) if you leave the area and before going to bed.

Dangerous and Deadly Carbon Monoxide Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless toxic gas that is the result of incomplete burning of solid, liquid, and gaseous fuels. This silent monster is responsible for more unintentional fatal poisonings in the United States than any other medium, with most deaths occurring during the colder winter months. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than five hundred people in the United States die each year from carbon monoxide poisoning while 15,000 to 40,000 more visit hospital emergency rooms for treatment. Prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide can lead to neurological damage. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that poorly used s.p.a.ce heaters alone kill three hundred people each year and are responsible for more than 25,000 residential fires.

If the grid goes down, the odds of grandpa dragging the barbeque grill into the house for heat or putting the gasoline-powered generator too close to the house will increase. Even yours truly has had close calls with carbon monoxide, so don't get c.o.c.ky at your family's expense and think it can't happen to you and yours.

How Is Carbon Monoxide Created?

Carbon monoxide is created from a number of sources: leaky furnaces and chimneys; back drafts from woodstoves, fireplaces, gas water heaters and stoves; generators and other gasoline-burning equipment; exhaust fumes from vehicles in attached garages; unvented kerosene and gas s.p.a.ce heaters; and tobacco smoke.

Caution! Individuals commonly die from carbon monoxide poisoning in locations where they thought they had adequate ventilation, such as in tents, RVs, and drafty cabins.

People get sick or die each year from carbon monoxide poisoning at Utah/Arizona's Lake Powell when using houseboats for the family vacation. Either folks swim too close for too long next to the idling engines or run poorly vented generators while making margaritas in the close quarters of the boat. Think about the source of carbon monoxide. If you are burning fuel, and you see an orange or yellow flame, this is a sign that carbon monoxide is being released. So what about the yellow and orange flame of a candle? Unless you have several hundred burning at once in a poorly ventilated area, don't worry about it. Yellow and orange flames are caused by unburned carbon particles from the combustion process. Although you shouldn't totally drop your guard for a blue flame, it signifies a much more complete combustion process than the former. In conventional, fuel-burning household appliances, oxygen is mixed with the fuel to achieve a more complete burn, thus the blue flame on your kitchen stove. As oxygen supports combustion it raises the temperature of the burning fuel, and the higher heat value burns away the otherwise unburned carbon particles. Speaking of oxygen, carbon monoxide poisoning causes the formation of carboxyhemoglobin in the blood, which inhibits the absorption of oxygen in your body. When people breathe in carbon monoxide gas fumes, red blood cells in the bloodstream carry it instead of oxygen to all of the body's tissues.

The Mighty Carbon Monoxide Detector/Alarm As carbon monoxide is odorless, tasteless, and generally invisible, having a battery-operated carbon monoxide detector is worth its weight in gold. (Although plug-in models are available, they will do you no good if the electrical grid crashes. Check to make sure plug-in models have a battery backup system. Test battery-operated detectors frequently, change the batteries every six months, and have a fresh stash of batteries nearby.) In September 1993, Chicago, Illinois, became one of the first cities in the nation to adopt ordinances requiring the installation of carbon monoxide detectors/alarms in all new single-family homes and in existing single-family homes that purchased new oil or gas furnaces. Carbon monoxide detectors are cheap, easy to install, and commonly available at local hardware and big box discount stores. Although new carbon monoxide detectors should be compliant, make sure your purchased detector/alarm meets the requirements of the current UL standard 2034 or the requirements of the IAS 6-96 standard. Install the detector(s) according to the manufacturer's instructions, and make sure it's not covered up with drapes or furniture. The CPSC recommends that you install a separate detector near every different sleeping area. Carbon monoxide detectors are also available for boats and recreational vehicles. Test your carbon monoxide detector/alarms frequently per the manufacturer's instructions! A carbon monoxide detector/alarm does provide added protection, but it's not a subst.i.tute for the proper use and upkeep of appliances that can produce carbon monoxide.

The Sinister Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Early Symptoms (often mistaken for the flu but without the fever) Headaches Nausea Fatigue Shortness of breath Dizziness Muscle pains Advanced Symptoms Disorientation Impaired vision and coordination Confusion Unconsciousness Death The health affects from carbon monoxide depend on the levels of carbon monoxide present, the length of the exposure, and each individual's age and health condition. The individuals most at risk are infants, pregnant women, and people with chronic heart disease or respiratory problems, but everyone, even the family pets, are vulnerable.

What to Do If Poisoned by Carbon Monoxide If you suspect that you or a loved one has carbon monoxide poisoning, take action immediately!

1 Get out! Move the affected person to fresh air immediately and give supplemental oxygen if available.

2 Contact medical help if available.

3 If the person is not breathing, perform CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) until help arrives.

4 Turn off any combustion appliances.

5 Make sure to ventilate the area of concern by opening windows and doors and leave the house.

6 Make repairs to the cause of carbon monoxide as soon as possible. Don't s.p.a.ce out and forget that the area in suspicion is a danger. Remember, carbon monoxide is invisible to you and your loved ones!

How to Prevent Carbon Monoxide Exposure from Occurring Check the flame colors of your appliances. If it's yellow or orange, you have a carbon monoxide problem!

Check all flues for blockages. Make sure flues are open, drawing properly, and free from debris such as excess carbon, bird nests, or plants. Flue guards should be installed to prevent critters and debris from acc.u.mulating in the first place.

Make sure your home has adequate ventilation. All fuel-burning appliances will produce carbon monoxide if they are starved for oxygen.

Choose the proper size of woodstove. Hopefully it's certified to meet EPA emission standards, and make sure that all of the doors fit tightly. Fibergla.s.s door gaskets are commonly available from any commercial stove dealer.

Check that appliances are installed properly and are serviced regularly. Make sure that all fuel-burning appliances were installed according to the manufacturer's specifications. Have them inspected, adjusted, and serviced every year. Don't mess around with do-it-yourself machismo if you don't know what you're doing!

Purchase "vented" s.p.a.ce heaters whenever possible. (Note: The careless use of s.p.a.ce heaters is renowned for starting house fires. Never use s.p.a.ce heaters on carpeted areas and keep them at least three feet from all combustible materials such as furniture, bedding, and drapes. Don't suspend wet clothing or other articles on or around the heater to dry as they could catch fire. Keep children and pets away from the heater and never leave the heater on when sleeping or leaving the area. If the heater cord or plug feels hot, unplug it and call a repairman to check for problems. Keep an ABC dry powder fire extinguisher in your home at all times.) Don't burn charcoal grills or fuel-burning camping equipment in ANY closed environment such as homes, tents, vehicles, garages, etc. (Note: I use a two-burner propane stove in my home for cooking only, a temporary event as opposed to trying to heat the home.) Don't leave the car idling in your attached garage even if you have the garage door open.

Never use ANY fuel-burning appliances such as clothes dryers, ovens, or stoves for heating your house.

Never use fuel-burning appliances in rooms with all of the doors and windows shut, or where people are or will be sleeping.

Don't use gasoline-powered tools, generators, etc., indoors.

It's Too Hot in the House! The Art of Keeping Your Home Cool North-facing Rooms: Looking for Naturally Cool Places in the House During summertime heat, recognizing and exploiting cooler microclimates in your house will be necessary to achieve relative comfort and, in a worst-case scenario, will be needed to prevent you from dying of dehydration and hyperthermia. Notice that this section is directly the opposite of the south-facing room section with a few similarities designed to maintain whatever temperature it is that you're looking for.

North-facing rooms in the home will naturally be cooler during hot weather as direct sunlight never s.h.i.+nes within the windows of the room at any time of the year. Even if the room has no windows or openings of any kind, it will still be cooler. If you're unsure of how your home is oriented, every family will have a room that people dread going into during the wintertime because it's d.a.m.n cold. The chances are high that this room is facing north.

North-facing rooms can be blocked off from the rest of the home to keep the cooler temperature insulated against the onslaught of heat generated from the rest of the house. Close doors or hang up blankets to insulate and block off doorways from the rest of the home and use towels or extra clothing to insulate above doorways and higher open areas if needed. Hot air rises, and cooler air sinks, thus don't bother stuffing towels under the door. Using the "hot air rises" principle, the entire house can get rid of some of its excess heat through the installation of attic vents.

If north-facing rooms do have windows or openings, they can be utilized to cool down the room at the appropriate time of day. While it may seem counterintuitive at first, I keep all doors and windows in my home closed during the daytime in the summer. I open the doors and windows in the evening or at night when it cools down outside. I especially like to open windows that are located high up, as the rising warm air easily escapes. The cooler convective nighttime breezes fill my home all night, bringing inside temperatures down from whatever heat was gained from the heat of the day. To insulate my cooler indoor temperatures from the outside heat, I then close doors and windows the next morning when it starts to warm up outside. Combined with great insulation, orientation, and thermal ma.s.s, this simple process works for me as free air conditioning all summer long.

Lay Low and Be Cool Cooler air sinks. Although insulation such as carpeting or throw rugs works well at retaining hot or cold temperatures, the bare floor of a room, especially if it's a concrete slab, stone, or tile, will be much cooler than the carpet itself. If it gets really hot inside and you're forced to lie on the floor, the resulting heat loss through conduction will be greatly increased if you lie on the bare floor itself without any insulation blocking the transfer of heat. Mattresses can be taken off of their box springs and put on the floor, as can sofa cus.h.i.+ons, to make an improvised bed that maximizes lower cooler air.

I fondly remember living in my yurt in the summertime. I would often lie naked on the cool floor when forced to endure yet another summer day in Arizona in a fabric shelter in direct sun with no insulation. The yurt itself was set up on a circular platform constructed of sandstone, 2x4s, and plywood. As my shelter location was on a slight slope, the height of the sandstone wall varied and there was a crawl s.p.a.ce underneath the plywood. We cut an opening in the floor, and then covered the opening with a piece of plywood, which I could take off to allow the cooler air from underneath to make its way into the lowest part of the yurt. Even so, some days still sucked and were hotter than h.e.l.l. Regardless of crummy circ.u.mstances, which are all temporary, buck up and maintain a positive att.i.tude as best you can.

Many homes have bas.e.m.e.nts or other built-in underground storage rooms for garden produce. All will be wonderfully cool when compared to the rest of your home.

Wet and Wild When a liquid changes into a gas (evaporation), the process uses heat or energy. Many times on cross-country desert survival courses, my students use extra water to wet down their clothing. Clothing covering the head, neck, and torso areas respond the best to being wetted down, as these areas possess the most sweat glands. Don't be shy, wet down your clothing or the sheets on the bed when things get smoldering in the house. When wet, cotton clothing and sheets allow for the best loss of heat from your body compared to other materials. Back in my yurt days, I often wet my clothing down with water to stay cooler. In certain conditions, wet clothing on a body excels at losing heat much more effectively than being naked.

The ma.s.s production of air conditioners for homes didn't begin until the 1950s. Regardless, Phoenix, Arizona, was the territorial capital of Arizona in 1899, with a population of 5,444 hardy souls who knew how to sweat their b.u.t.ts off in desert summer heat. Early Phoenicians used basic tricks such as insulation, thermal ma.s.s, and orientation, just like we do, or should do, to stay cool. They also soaked down sheets with water and hung them from their porches, doorways, and as dividers between rooms. Cooler nighttime breezes would become even cooler when pa.s.sing through the wet sheet, similar to the soaked burlap "box cooler" my grandmother used to have. It consisted of a wooden framed box, which held the food, surrounded by a layer of burlap. On top of the burlap-coated box was a metal container with tiny holes in its base. My grandmother would fill the container with water and it would slowly seep out the holes throughout the day so as to constantly keep the burlap wet-perfect low-tech evaporative cooling. Creative and liberal use of this concept can make unbearable high temperatures bearable in a pinch. Many urban desert neighborhoods employ swamp coolers on their homes for the same effect.

Horrifying Humidity Many of you reading this live in locales that are hot and humid. Humidity is a true killer, and when it approaches 70 percent or more it completely impedes the body's evaporation process. High humidity levels will make many of the water tricks in this book useless when trying to "make nice" with hot outdoor temperatures. As the body's main cooling mechanism (the evaporation of sweat) is ineffective during periods of high humidity, it is extremely important that you monitor your behavior and don't do highly physical tasks during the heat of the day. If it's already hot outside, and your sweat won't evaporate due to high humidity, and you create excess metabolic heat by working like a crazy person during the hottest part of the day, you're asking for trouble.

Going Under Cover Obviously, it's hotter to stand in the sun than in the shade. Any shade allowing protection from direct solar radiation will drastically make your living environment cooler. Rooms not oriented to the north, yet featuring plenty of overhead shade cover from trees, buildings, or whatever, may be cooler inside than the sun-beaten roofs of exposed north-facing rooms, especially if you have crummy insulation in your attic or ceiling. Pay attention someday to how and when the summer sun pummels your home and make mental notes for the future. Tarps, opaque rolls of plastic, blankets, or other shade-producing items can be strung up over parts of your home to eliminate some or all direct sunlight. Along with the created shade, the dead air s.p.a.ce produced between the tarp and the house acts as bonus insulation from hot temperatures. Think of your home as a body similar to yours. If it stands out in direct sunlight all day long, it will be much hotter than if it has access to shade. It's very common in the desert to see mobile homes with entire carports erected over the mobile home itself for the same benefit. This is the same reason that many ancient Native American tribes in the Southwest built stone-stacked pueblos under natural rock overhangs. If your house is cooler on the outside, you will be cooler on the inside.

Covering Windows with s.p.a.ce Blankets I've mentioned this several times but now I'll get specific. Taping a s.p.a.ce blanket to the inside of your home's window will reflect away direct shortwave radiation from the sun, as well as hotter long-wave radiation from the boiling outside environment. Smaller, more reflective s.p.a.ce blankets will be easier to use for this application than the heavier grommeted type. In truth, while the s.h.i.+nier the material the more it will reflect, any reflective surface can be used. Tape up tinfoil if that's all you have, but keep the foil flat and neat and don't scrunch it up, thereby eliminating some of the tinfoil's reflective value, and put the s.h.i.+nier side out.

Whatever you use, the reflective surface should be taped onto the window itself if possible, yet done so in a way that will allow you to remove it when necessary without ripping up the material. If the reflective surface is hung or taped a few inches away from the window itself, radiation will heat up the s.p.a.ce between the reflective surface and the window. This heat gain will eventually leak into the room.

Your home's (or any shelter's) main purpose is to help thermoregulate your core body temperature in hot and cold temperatures.

Avoiding hypothermia (low body temperature) and hyperthermia (high body temperature) is a major factor in your survival. Know the signs and symptoms of both for yourself and others.

Being properly dressed by having adequate clothing and staying hydrated by storing and drinking sufficient water are the easiest ways to thermoregulate core body temperature and stay warm or cool during temperature extremes.

Your body loses or gains heat from the environment through convection (wind and moving water), conduction (touching a hot or cold object), radiation (shortwave radiation from the sun and long-wave radiation from everything else), evaporation (sweating), and respiration (breathing). Pay attention to the same physics when improvising or setting up an alternative shelter such as a tent, tarp, or RV.

Your home could be partially or completely destroyed during a disaster. Check for structural damage before entering the home. If you choose to reenter, make sure it's not in danger of collapsing. Ultimately, this inspection will need to be done by a professional. If you do decide to reenter your home, turn off any outside gas lines and let the house air out for several minutes to remove potential escaping gas. When entering the home, don't use open flames as a light source. Instead, use a battery-operated flashlight or some other nonfuel burning light source.

Have portable, alternative shelter option(s) that are easy to set up under stress such as a tent or tarp in case you need to evacuate your home or your home is damaged in a disaster.

In Cold Weather: Maximize the warmest room(s) in the house and isolate it from the rest of the colder home. As a general rule, smaller south-facing rooms with windows will be warmer on cold, sunny days than other rooms in the house. Direct sunlight hitting thermal ma.s.s areas such as a concrete floor will re-radiate more heat at night than the same floor covered with a throw rug. Close and insulate under doors with extra clothing or towels, cover windows during nighttime hours with clear plastic and/or s.p.a.ce blankets, and make group "sleeping forts" to maximize body heat. Remember that warm air rises, and sleeping next to a family member will be warmer than sleeping alone.

For your safety and maximum efficiency, woodstoves and fireplaces should be serviced yearly by a professional whether they have been used or not. Have an adequate supply of firewood or pellets on hand, stored in a safe location away from the house.

Danger! Beware of deadly carbon monoxide fumes when using any fuel-burning heating source indoors such as fireplaces, woodstoves, or propane, kerosene, natural gas, or coal-burning s.p.a.ce heaters. All yellow and orange flames produce poisonous carbon monoxide. Install battery-powered carbon monoxide detectors and alarms near all rooms where people will be sleeping.

s.p.a.ce heaters should be vented to the outside and kept in good working order. Keep all heaters at least three feet away on all sides from all combustible materials. Use caution with s.p.a.ce heaters around children and pets and store all fuels in approved containers safely away from the home.

In Hot Weather: Maximize the coolest room(s) in the house and isolate it from the rest of the hotter home. Look for north-facing rooms, draw window blinds, and utilize s.p.a.ce blankets or tinfoil to keep out the sun. Close doors, insulate higher openings in rooms to keep out rising hot air, and create shade wherever possible. Open windows at night to let out trapped heat and let in cooler nighttime air and close them again before outside temperatures rise. Cooler air sinks, so go low and wet down clothing and/or sheets that can be hung between rooms or in doorways to increase evaporative cooling.

Beware of high humidity levels when it's hot outside. Humidity levels of 70 percent or greater severely impede the evaporation of sweat from your body. Wait for cooler early morning or late evening temperatures before doing heavy physical exercise.

WONDERFULLY Wet and Wanted WATER

"Many of the wars of this [twentieth] century were about oil, but the wars of the next century will be about water."

-Ismail Serageldin, former World Bank Vice President, 2000 For short- and long-term survival, virtually nothing will eclipse the importance of potable water for you and your loved ones. Ignore this fact and you will meet death. Over dramatic? I wish it were. Water is a biological necessity down to the cellular level. It is not an optional item. It is general knowledge that water accounts for nearly two-thirds of the human body's total weight. Research has shown that the older we get, the drier we become. Floating around in the womb, overall body water content is more than 80 percent. As infants, our body water content drops to around 73 percent. In young adults, the body contains roughly 65 percent water, 70 percent in the muscles and 50 percent in fat deposits. Between forty and sixty years old, water content drops to 55 percent for males and 47 percent for females. After sixty, the rate drops even further, 50 percent for males and 45 percent for females.

Water has several amazing properties, including the fact that it's an excellent solvent. Water dissolves a remarkable number of inorganic and organic molecules. When dissolved, molecules break apart to form a solution. Living activities on a cellular level take place either dissolved in fats or water. Water has a high heat capacity, meaning it requires a lot of energy to heat it up, or cool it down, so it can handle a wide variety of outside temperature fluctuations within the cell before problems arise. The water in your blood helps the circulatory system get rid of excess heat, or distribute heat to wherever it's needed during the cold. Digestion and metabolism are waterbased processes, and water lubricates the joints and helps eliminate waste products from the body as well. Water is even required for the simple act of breathing, as the lungs need moisture to oxygenate blood and rid the blood of excess carbon dioxide. Nearly 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered in water. It is therefore no exaggeration to say that water is life itself.

In desert climates, temperatures can be so hot and dry that people don't seem to perspire. Since they're "not sweating," they underestimate how hot the outside temperature really is, thereby reducing the urge to drink. The truth is revealed by putting your hand on your skin for a minute or two. Lift your hand and you'll find it's sodden with sweat, proof enough of the body's desperate attempt to keep the brain and internal organs cool. In extreme hot temperatures, unprotected skin instantly loses moisture. The skin is the largest organ of the body, and directly responsible for the evaporation of sweat, thereby helping to keep your inner temperature at a comfortable 98.6 degrees F (37 degrees C).

A person at rest, doing nothing, loses from two to two and a half quarts of water every day. If your home is located in a hot part of the country, be forewarned that you and your family will use much more water than this. Some of this water loss, about 600 to 900 milliliters, happens simply to keep our skin supple and healthy and is called insensible perspiration. In extreme hot temperatures, it's possible to lose a gallon of water an hour in sweat. That's an unbelievable 8.3 pounds! This heinous fact should make apparent that the "standard survival recommendation" of carrying one gallon of water per person per day in the desert is completely bogus. When living, recreating, or traveling in hot temperatures, I recommend at least three gallons of water per person per day, more if the terrain, temperatures, or activities undertaken are extreme. Seeing as how the average American individually uses 116 to 220 gallons of water every day, with some wealthy communities in my arid state using in excess of 400 gallons per person daily, it isn't hard to see our gross neglect regarding the importance of conserving this precious fluid. (Note: The average African family uses about five gallons of water each day.) Pitifully, the National Drinking Water Alliance estimates that up to 50 percent of the water that families use could be saved by implementing simple conservation methods like low-flow shower heads and low-flush toilets.

For every quart of sweat you lose, your heart rate raises about eight beats per minute, your cardiovascular system becomes more stressed, and your cooling system declines. In other words, before dehydration kills you, it greatly impedes your physical and psychological performance.

Deadly Dehydration Seventy-five percent of Americans are chronically dehydrated. Thirty-seven percent mistake the thirst mechanism for hunger pangs. Lack of hydration is the number one trigger of daytime fatigue. If you live in an arid region or one with oppressively high humidity, you know how tough it is to remain hydrated. Doing so takes a lot of work! Although at times it's hard to remember to drink, and then to drink enough, it is critical for your physiology and psychology that you remain maximally hydrated.

Dehydration is deadly in hot and cold weather. When the blood in your circulatory system loses water, it gets thicker. Thick blood circulates more slowly and is harder for the heart to pump, and in regard to temperature regulation, it hinders the body's ability to lose excess heat or circulate needed heat. When the volume of blood and extra cellular fluids decreases, water is literally sucked from the cells, causing them to shrink, thereby damaging cell membranes and the proteins inside. Platelets actually stick together in the blood due to a lack of plasma. The result is an increase in the naturally occurring salts in the remaining body fluids. Normal body fluid has a salt concentration of 0.9 percent. In contrast, urine contains 2 percent salt, plus toxic urea, while seawater has a whopping 3.9 percent. Many researchers feel that rising salt concentrations within the body are responsible for the punis.h.i.+ng side effects of dehydration.

HOW YOUR BODY LOSES WATER.

Factors Inside the Body Body Water Loss Factors Outside the Body -Physical exertion

-Certain medications

-Illness (fever)