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FROM THE DESK
A generator killed a family of four in Texas during the 2021 freeze. Not the cold. Not the power outage. Carbon monoxide from a generator running in the garage with the door closed. They did the right thing buying a generator. They just didn't know about the invisible gas that comes with it. CO kills roughly 430 Americans per year. Almost all of those deaths are preventable.
Here's what I've got this week.
THE BRIEF
Carbon Monoxide: The Preparedness Hazard Nobody Discusses
Carbon monoxide is odorless, colorless, and lethal. It's produced by anything that burns fuel: generators, camp stoves, propane heaters, charcoal grills, kerosene heaters, and vehicles. Every year during power outages, people die from CO poisoning because they bring these devices indoors or run them in enclosed spaces.
The rule is absolute: never operate fuel-burning equipment indoors, in a garage (even with the door open), or near windows or air intakes. Generators go outside, 20+ feet from the house, with the exhaust pointed away from openings. Propane heaters require ventilation (cracked window in the room, CO detector running). Camp stoves and grills are outdoor-only devices.
CO detectors save lives. Every floor of your home and every sleeping area needs one. Battery-operated or battery-backup models work during outages when you're most likely to be using fuel-burning equipment. Test monthly. Replace every 5 to 7 years. The sensor degrades over time even if the battery is good.
Symptoms of CO exposure mimic flu: headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion, weakness. The difference is that everyone in the house gets sick simultaneously. If multiple people feel ill at the same time and a fuel-burning device is operating, evacuate immediately, call 911, and get to fresh air.
For preparedness, the irony is that the equipment designed to help during outages (generators, heaters, camp stoves) is the equipment most likely to produce CO. Every piece of fuel-burning gear in your preparedness plan needs a corresponding CO safety protocol.
ONE THING THIS WEEK
Test your CO detectors. If you don't have one, buy one today.
Press the test button on every CO detector in your home. If it doesn't respond, replace the battery. If it's older than 7 years, replace the unit. If you don't have one, a battery-operated CO detector costs $20 to $30.
ON THE RADAR
China Enters Taiping Island’s Restricted Waters for the First Time — A Reminder of What’s Really at Stake
On June 11, two Chinese government vessels, patrol ship Sansha Zhifa 301 and supply ship Sansha 2, entered restricted waters around Taiwan’s Taiping Island in the South China Sea for the first time on record. They stayed 15 minutes before Taiwan’s Coast Guard expelled them. China called it routine. Taiwan called it a sovereignty violation.
Here’s the bigger picture: The South China Sea and Taiwan Strait carry an estimated $3.4 trillion in trade annually, roughly one-third of all global shipping. A conflict that closes these waters would do to electronics and consumer goods what Iran’s Hormuz closure did to oil: overnight strangulation of global supply chains. Hormuz is the world’s energy chokepoint. The Taiwan Strait is the world’s electronics chokepoint. Both now sit in active dispute zones.
Then there are the chips. TSMC, Taiwan’s semiconductor giant, controls roughly 70% of the global foundry market. Every iPhone, every AI server, and every advanced weapons system runs on chips made almost exclusively in Taiwan right now. The most advanced nodes (2nm) are produced only in Taiwan at 90,000–100,000 wafers per month, both fabs completely sold out. TSMC’s Arizona facility is producing 4nm chips today but won’t reach 3nm until 2027 or 2nm until 2029. Even by 2030, Taiwan is projected to hold roughly 70% of sub-2nm production capacity. Whoever controls access to Taiwan controls the supply chain for the world’s electronics.
LESSON FROM: JOSHUA ENYART
Joshua Enyart covers fire management extensively in Surviving the Wild, including the critical of ventilation when burning anything in or near an enclosed space. His military training reinforced that combustion products are always present where fire is, and in enclosed spaces, those products accumulate to dangerous levels faster than most people realize.
Enyart's civilian application: if you can smell exhaust or smoke, you have inadequate ventilation. But CO is odorless, so you can have lethal concentrations without any smell at all. The detector is your only warning. Treat it as essential equipment for any scenario where fuel is burned.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
Trump Declares Iran Peace Deal “Now Complete” — Strait of Hormuz to Reopen
President Trump announced today that a U.S.–Iran peace agreement is “now complete,” ending a conflict that shut down one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints. Under the deal, Iran will immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow passage through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil and gas flows — while the United States lifts its naval blockade of Iranian ports. An official signing ceremony is expected in Switzerland on June 19. G7 leaders are meeting June 15 to discuss long-term protocols for keeping the Strait open.
Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
WHAT I'M TESTING
Kidde Nighthawk CO Detector (Battery Operated)
This is a standalone, battery-operated CO detector that works during power outages, which is exactly when you need it most. Digital display shows CO levels in parts per million. Alarm sounds at levels above 30 PPM (prolonged exposure) or immediately at high concentrations. About $34.
Budget alternative: Any UL-listed battery-operated CO detector ($15 to $20). The brand matters less than having one that works during outages.
OVERRATED / UNDERRATED
Overrated: "CO-safe" generators. Some newer generators have CO shutoff features, which is excellent. But they still produce CO. The shutoff is a backup, not permission to run them in enclosed spaces.
Underrated: The 20-foot rule. Running a generator 20 feet from the house with exhaust pointing away from all openings is the simplest CO prevention measure. Measure it once. Mark the spot. That's where the generator goes. Every time.
THE LINK DUMP
CDC: Carbon Monoxide Poisoning — Comprehensive prevention and response guidance.
CPSC: Generator Safety — Consumer Product Safety Commission guidelines.
Ready.gov: Generator Safety — Federal guidance on safe generator operation.
Grokipedia: Carbon Monoxide — Background on CO chemistry and toxicology.
NFPA: CO Alarms — National Fire Protection Association standards for CO detection.
NEXT ISSUE
Building a prep inventory with free tools. How to track everything you have, what's expiring, and what needs replacing without spending a dime on software.
PS: That Texas family's generator was in the garage, 10 feet from their bedroom. A CO detector would have alarmed. Twenty feet of distance would have prevented the exposure entirely. $25 and 20 feet. That's what separates a safe outage from a fatal one.
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