In 1953, scientists from the CIA gathered at a cabin in Maryland for a conference.
On the second day of the conference, the men enjoyed a bottle of Cointreau liquor.
But it wasn’t just liquor in the bottle…
Sidney Gottlieb, a CIA program director, had spiked it with LSD.
You see, Sidney was the head of a CIA program called MK-Ultra.
The program was tasked with creating mind control tactics, using psychological manipulation.
For instance, the CIA was intrigued by the idea of making world leaders look stupid by drugging them.
The CIA planned to poison drinking water to deliver the LSD to the leaders and populations.
But the mind control experiments conducted by the CIA were tested on CIA officers first.
The CIA program started with employees self-administering LSD and reporting on the effects.
Next, the employees agreed to dose each other unexpectedly.
Then, they dosed other employees who were not part of the program.
One CIA official said, “Surprise acid trips became something of an occupational hazard among CIA operatives.”
When the CIA inspector general learned of the project, he became concerned.
“The concepts involved in manipulating human behavior are found by many people … to be distasteful and unethical,” he wrote.
Even after this, the program continued because it was necessary to keep up with the Soviet Union. A few years later the program slowed down and shuttered.
In 1977, the U.S. Congress held a hearing to make sure similar programs never occurred again.
Intelligence expert Thomas Powers said…
“The CIA probably played as big a role in the development and study of psychoactive drugs as the National Security Agency’s code-breakers did in the development of computers.”
The thing is the CIA planned to use their concoctions to poison water. This is an easy way to infect a specific population.
Nearly all of our body’s major systems depend on water to function and survive. Which is why water is so critical in a survival situation.
During a disaster, clean, safe drinking water could be hard to find.
Whether it’s an attack on water treatment plants, burst water mains, polluted water, or something else, your regular source of water may not be safe for you.
Which is why you may want to consider harvesting rainwater, in addition to water storage in your home.
What is rainwater harvesting?
Rainwater harvesting is collecting runoff from the rain. The most common way to do this is using the roof of a house.
Rain usually collects in the gutters and you can transfer the water into a storage container.
With many parts of the world facing droughts, rainwater harvesting is becoming popular.
Many states in the U.S. encourage people to collect rainwater by giving them a tax credit.
Rainwater can be used for farming, washing, and even drinking if it’s properly treated.
By harvesting rainwater, you can become less dependent on someone else providing you with water.
Legality:
In the U.S., there are no federal laws or restrictions when it comes to harvesting rainwater. Generally, most states support rainwater harvesting.
That said, state laws differ on rainwater.
Some restrict the place you can collect and some limit how much you can collect.
The thinking behind restrictions is that states don’t want to disrupt the flow of rainwater into bodies of water.
So, check your local laws before harvesting rainwater.
Why you should harvest rainwater:
The biggest benefit to harvesting rainwater is that it can help you be self-sufficient, with a secondary source of safe drinking water.
Whether you are off the grid or facing water restrictions, you can depend less on a utility company.
Also, since rainwater is not chlorinated it’s better for plants and gardens. You can use rainwater as a primary water source or save it for emergency use.
Basically, anywhere you can use tap water you could use rainwater. From outdoors to indoors.
Can you drink rainwater?
The CDC advises that rainwater is not safe to drink. It’s not as pure as most people would assume.
The thing is rainwater hits the roof that can have contaminants such as bird droppings. Even smoke in the air could contaminate rainwater.
There are tons of ways that rainwater could carry viruses, bacteria, and parasites.
With all that said, it doesn’t mean you can’t take steps to make rainwater safe for consumption
But to make it safe, you need to treat the water. You’ll want to filter the water to remove debris, then purify the water from contaminants.
Best methods:
As I mentioned, you can collect rainwater by putting a barrel under your gutter downspouts.
There are also plenty of specifically designed containers for collecting rainwater. Consider the Enviro Rain Barrel or the Suncast Rain Barrel.
You can even find entire home systems, such as a dry system.
This uses a larger storage container that is usually away from the house. But you would need to design your gutter system to flow to the container.
A third method is called a wet system. This connects collection pipes to the downspouts. The pipes are then diverted to an underground storage tank.
The rainwater you collect can serve plenty of functions such as watering your garden.
Or, with proper filtration and purification, you can drink the rainwater in a disaster situation.
Regardless of your main source of water, there is always the possibility that it will become compromised.
Rain water collection is a great way to build an alternate source of water that can be accessed in an emergency.
