Technique: EMP, Faraday Cages and Survival

An EMP (ElectroMagnetic Pulse) is a serious threat to the United States and the Western World.  In short, an EMP is the detonation of a nuclear weapon up in the atmosphere.  The pulse itself destroys everything electronic and computerized - cars, computers, phones, etc.,  In addition, remember that both food, water, gas, electrical and other systems rely upon computers to run.   The water systems no longer have a big guy in a sweaty T-shirt turning one huge valve to open the water.  At least, I doubt it.  The knowledge about EMP's and its dire effect on a community is detailed in a popular fiction book, "One Second After"

Why does this matter?  I went to an Israeli Missile Defense Association seminar where they stated that Iran had conducted two EMP tests from a barge platform in the Caspian which were consistent with EMP detonation.

HowStuffworks-Ebomb

You should have an Emergency Radio with a battery, solar and hand cranking power source.  That radio should be protected in a Faraday Cage which is a simple mechanism to 'shield' your Emergency Electronics from the EMP effect.

Here is one simple explanation from this site about building a Faraday Cage to shield your Radio, computer, medical equipment, etc,. Obviously, if you have equipment that you use constantly, then you may wish to consider a Faraday storage box to put it so that, if and when an unpredictable EMP happens, that medical equipment, etc., is protected right then and there.

With radio's and smaller appliances, a Faraday cage can be built by using two cardboard boxes: one should fit tightly inside the other, and the item to be covered should itself fit reasonably well inside the smaller box. That is about the most work involved--finding the right size boxes! The outer box is then covered with aluminum foil or Mylar, as from a cheap "space blanket." A grounding wire is then taped to the foil. I then cover the foil with black 6 mil plastic, taped securely in place, to protect the foil from ripping. At the end of the ground wire I attach a cheap small alligator clip from Radio Shack. The item to be protected is placed inside the inner box, which acts as insulation from the outer box, and any EMP hitting the foil and is bled away by the ground wire.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage