The Survivalists

Notes on Falls and Falling

My wife has fallen ... badly. I visit my 99 year-old Mom at an assisted living home full of stories of falls. I still hurt from an old fall. I don't think falls are a disease. I have dreams of anti-falls action as part of an old-folks organization called The Old Codgers that might be part of Rural System.

"Hey! Don't fall down." That what parents used to say. It means more than ever when you reach a ripe age. An amazing number of people are hurt each year from falls. There are lots of reasons why falls occur. All are not "just an accident." Most can be prevented and they need to be, no foolin'. They hurt. They break bones and it takes a long time for old bones to knit. Bones produce good blood cells and we need all that we can get as we get older.

The death rate (about 37/100,000 in 2003) from falls has risen for old people (65 and older) since the 1990s. People are living longer and those have chronic conditions like cancer and heart disease. Falls are the 24th worst cause of death among the elderly.

The ways to reduce falls (some of these are from the U.S. Center for Disease Control):

1. Clean up the stairs. Don't leave stuff on the steps. It just makes sense. You'll trip over stuff!
2. Get rid of the pretty throw rugs. You can hardly keep them from slipping, even once, eventually. The one time that they slip can be the disastrous one. "Pretty" is not worth the risk of a fall.
3. Need warm feet? Get a big rug that will not slip.
4. Don't wear socks! They are slippy things. Wear rubber sole slippers.
5. Don't climb up on things. Even young people fall off of things. Step-stools and ladders are valuable, but get rid of them in the house. They are dangerous. Put things within reach. Get a "reacher-tool" for less than a dozen bucks. It is cheap compared to the price of a hip replacement. Out of reachis a label for a fall.
6. Exercise your ankles (twisting, turning, standing on tip-toe, bouncing on tip-toe, rocking back and forth sideways while standing) to keep them strong.
7. Install grab bars next to the toilet, bath, and at the doorways. Not pretty or too expensive? Compared to a medical bill?; compared to the beautiful roof of a hospital room? Install them.
8. Put a non-slip mat in the bathtub and shower floor. News flash !! Soapy, wet floors are slippery!
9. Get things well-lit. Keep them well-lit. Put the switches within reach or, better, install a motion detector so that you do not have to remember to hit the switch. You get light when you walk within the dim areas.
10. Install strong handrails on the staircases.
11. Slow down!
12. Dizzy? Tell someone. Get it checked by the doctor.
13. Limit alcohol consumption. 
14. Get someone to carry stuff for you. (awkward or heavy packages prevent you from grasping the aids that keep you from falling). They are not helping you (we know you do not want to be "helped"); they are preventing a fall.
15. Get your eyes checked and corrected. Wear sun glasses in the open sunlight. Not seeing things that trip (TTT) may be the cause of falls, not the things themselves.
16. Large pets can bump you or cause tripping. Consider whether the pleasure of pets is worth the risks from surprise moves, tripping, bumping, and slips related to their food and water. 
17. Carry a cane, especially for going over irregular ground outdoors.
18. No matter what Granny told you, if you do fall, apply ice to the bruised place for 2 hours to reduce bruising. After that, (if you do not see a doctor and get specific advice) start using heat on the bruised spot(s). Don't take aspirin for the pain associated with the bruise until after seeing or discussing that action with a doctor.

Tending someone who has fallen and has an injury is tough duty. Fix up the place; go over the above suggestions. It will be worth it over the short- as well as long-run.

More or Less Oil

I'm pessimistic but still looking for the good news about the future of oil supplies. Cambridge Energy Research Associates suggested there is more oil available than we thought and thus presumably we should be optimistic.

I'm 75 and I know how fast the years fly by. I retired in '98 and that's only about 10 years ago. Daughters are about 50 and that seems like yesterday. So optimism that real declines in oil will occur no earlier than 2030 is hard to sustain. That, to me, is tomorrow ... morning. I picked up arrow heads from men poking around my cabin grounds about 10,000 years ago just after the big glacier melted. That seems now a short time ago relative to known Earth time, human time, and recent animal-time. There has been time for several "the rise and fall of the xxx empire" since then.

I cannot fathom 1.07 trillion barrels of oil "yet to be discovered" since presumably undiscovered,  I prefer "a billion billion" yet to be discovered. So I'm pessimistic.

I can hardly comprehend any optimism in getting oil from 7000 feet below the ocean (a mile is 5280 feet) partially because I know that it will cost a lot of energy to do so and I tire after first thoughts about the human, environmental, and "expected" costs of bringing thousands of barrels of it to a refinery. Alaska sources are small; alternative innovative sources are surely worth a wish; tar sands are a low net production, last ditch source ...  if Canada is still friendly.

I see no significant reduction in oil use since the election campaigns began (about 5 years ago); I know big oil things move slowly for many reasons. Alternative sources emerge slowly and, risky, they develop even more slowly. I have seen in my life, and now expect, undulations in oil supplies and prices. It's about 2010. How many undulations can occur between now and 2050? What are the optimist thinking that I cannot? What am I ignoring? What are others ignoring?

Alternatives to Environmental Regulations

From Science and Environmental Health  Network April 7, 2009 (with permission): Much of SEHN's work on the rights of future generations is the result of a 2 ½ year collaboration with Harvard Law School’s Center for International Human Rights. Together, they recently released two documents.  The first is a model statute and constitutional provision granting future generations a legal, enforceable right to a healthy and clean environment.  This document can be used by any governmental body that seeks new and innovative ways to mold its environmental policies.  The second document describes mechanisms like the legal guardian for carrying out the rights of future generations.