2010 has proven itself to be a banner year for survival challenges so far.
Thanks to British Petroleum (BP),
citizens in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi are facing survival situations,
that few have ever faced before in their day to day lives.
Television images of the environmental damage are only scratching the surface of the potential damage from this disaster.
The pictures of oily beaches and dead animals are what we call a standard tactic of misdirection.
Because the true scope of danger to humans is not these visual signs of the disaster,
 but the more sinister hidden effects.

Some fishermen hired by BP to mop up the gulf spill have reported nausea and breathing troubles after contact with oil and dispersant.
The fishermen have report to the Connecticut Survivalist Alliance (CSA) that they have severe headaches, dizziness,
nausea and difficulty breathing.

On June 9th, Dr. Damon Dietrich reported seeing patients come through his emergency room at West Jefferson Medical Center [Louisiana],
 with similar symptoms: respiratory problems, headaches and nausea.

A particular commercial fisherman spent a night on a vessel near the source of the spill,
 and left complaining of a severe headache, upset stomach, and nose bleed.
We suspect that along with exposure to toxic gas concentrations of Hydrogen Sulfide,
 these fisherman may have been exposed to liquid benzene and Methylene Chloride.

Such examples of BP's failure to prepare for this disaster teach us a lesson.
What lesson?
Don't wait until the feces hits the oscillating rotator.
Prepare BEFORE you need to.
That said, it's hard to prepare for EVERY eventuality,
so each of us needs to measure his (or her) own circumstances and prepare for the most likely survival challenges they will face.
Were we living along the Gulf Coast,
 we think we'd have a bug-out-bag ready to go with food and other emergency items - including a way to filter the air or an oxygen supply.
We would definitely have a supply of any medicines we might require,
for exposure to these compounds and a few other essentials.
 

(They warned you! Were You Listening?)

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