In the event of a nuclear blast detonated by a terrorist organization, the emergency response will need to be a personal one, at least in the initial 24-72 hours according to an article in USAToday. The Federal government will not be the first responders to the disaster scene. Confounded by the lack of preparation of local agencies, you and I will be on our own. In this scenario, public safety will become personal safety. Looking back on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina for answers, you will need to be your own hero/heroine.
For now, dialing 911 and crossing your fingers should not be a part of your overall plan. This isn’t a slam against any particular governmental agency, it’s a simple statement of fact. When it comes to emergency responders, there are too few of them and too many of us. Self-reliance will be the key to surviving.
The CDC has some helpful tips and techniques for surviving a nuclear blast. Additionally, here are a few things you can be sure of should the worst case scenario happen.
1. Terrorists will target a city, during the day when it is most populated and likely pinpoint an emergency response/police/fire/paramedic center to maximize confusion and minimize the effectiveness of emergency responders.
2. Families will be separated while at work and at school. Is your school currently working on an emergency communication plan? Do you have an alternative communication plan?
3. Emergency rooms and hospitals, should they survive the initial blast and subsequent shockwaves, will be overrun and getting to them will be more hazardous than staying put. Do you know how to administer emergency first aid or perform CPR?
In any future emergency situation, planning now and relying on yourself in that moment, might make all the difference in your world.
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20th Anniversary of the Hubble Microscope
On April 24th, 1990 NASA launched the Hubble Telescope. Over its 20 year history of space exploration, this technological marvel has clearly earned the distinction of one of the greatest scientific and human accomplishments of all time. Its pictures from the deepest reaches of space, its photographs charting distances nearly beyond our comprehension, are as stunning as any images known to humankind.
Yet for all the nearly unfathomable miles into space, the incalculable pilgrimage back in time, Hubble has been more of a microscope than a telescope. Looking out for us has allowed us to look in as well.
I still believe that the alluring depth and darkness of space reminds you and I of the vastness within ourselves. The scattered pinpoints of starlight overhead on a clear evening evoke our tiny, fragile foothold within that immensity. Surveying the nighttime skies is an exercise of Human recognition and reflection. Deep space and inner space are one and the same.
Photo Courtesy of NASA
That the human body is an amalgam of exploding star remnants and swirling cosmic dust (over eons of time), seems to escape us in our daily lives and travels. Whether our beginnings were sparked by Divinity or gravity, when we look to the heavens, we do in fact look homeward. We thrive when we remember who we are!
For that reason I find it fitting that today is also the anniversary of the first video ever posted on YouTube. It’s 5th birthday is also a celebration of those things that make us all human, that make us all one family yet stunningly unique at the same time.
As a person, a people and a planet we are indistinguishable at a certain level. Peering into our future with a telescope or a video camera, we might be better served to remember it.
Photo Courtesy of NASA
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