One of the many reasons I’m working toward better sustainability is to be prepared in case of an emergency. Whether it’s a simple case of a power outage or an all-out emergency like our friends in Japan faced with the March tsunami, being prepared is so important. Like many of you, we have potential for natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis. But we also have issues with our dependency upon shipping lines. One labor strike by the folks who operate the inter-island barges that deliver food and toilet paper and things could get ugly. For me, a big concern is water. We do live in a region that gets year-round rain, but even so, if an emergency strikes during a dry spell what will we drink? Is it feasible to think that we can keep enough water on hand? And do I really want to keep buying and rotating gallons of water in plastic jugs? We’ve got grand plans for a more extensive water catchment system, but meanwhile, I needed to be sure that we’d have...
