FEMA does not need to come up with "new" ideas on how we all can help prepare our communities before disaster strikes, as an organization from the past has already "paved the way" to success on this topic.  Unfortunately, it was pretty much disbanded in the early 80s at the end of the Cold War.  This organization was a non-military organization called Civil Defense.

The Civil Defense program was highly successful during World War 2 with educating, communicating and preparing civilians for times of emergency in various ways through school education, adult education, radio programs, newspaper articles, pamphlets and word of mouth.  At the time it was very respectful to be part of the Civil Defense program and very unAmerican of any civilian to not either be involved with Civil Defense or know what to do in times of emergency.

After WWII came the Cold War with the threats that at any time and any place the US could be hit with an atomic or nuclear attack.  Again the Civil Defense program came through and educated the general public on what an atomic or nuclear attack was, the dangers of it and preparing for it.  Although there was some claims of spreading fear, most people took the advice of Civil Defense rather seriously.

So why do we need to come up with something new when Civil Defense worked not only once in our nation's history, but twice?  Civil Defense was very very successful with educating the public not only on air attacks, atomic bombs and nuclear bombs but also in the end also touched on natural disasters.  The Civil Defense methods were the best for communication, information, education and empowering citizens to be self-accountable and self-responsible in times of emergency and to prepare for such times.  While we have DHS, FEMA, CEM and First Responders, these do not adequately educate the public like the Civil Defense program did. 

Currently there are five problems with today's society regarding "emergencies":

1.  Lack of motivation on the matter such as "It will never happen here..."

2.  Lack of easily accessible information such as the information on the CDC, FEMA, DHS are not standardized and sometimes very hard to search for and the pamphlets that are on the web are not very informative and very basic.  Additionally only certain topics are addressed.  And the few that are rather detailed are over 100 pages long.  Do I really have to print out 100 pages of information found online just incase?

3.  Lack of proper attitude and beliefs of conspiracies such as "It's all fear mongering!", "They're just crazy 'end of the world' people." or "It's a way to round us all up in FEMA camps!"

4.  Lack of reality on the matter and lack of self-dependence in an emergency such as "The Federal Government will help us so why do I need to spend my money!"

5.  Lack of funds to purchase self-reliance items such as water bottles/jugs, extra canned food, long term storage food, flashlights, rechargeable batteries, solar powered battery charger, extra clothing, backpacks/luggage, etc.

Through Civil Defense programs all of the five above problems could be addressed on city block levels (who can you trust better than your neighbor?), city levels (without Mayor or City Council involvement), regional levels (again, who can you trust better than your neighbor?), and on state levels (it's our state, we're all in this together!)  on a standardized level initially however, tweaked for locations.  (i.e.  You need more water stored if you live in the desert versus in the South)  And all of this done with citizens who volunteer together for the good of all.

Marketing programs would include a "National Preparedness Day", radio and TV commercials such as "What if?" or "Do you know what to do?" in various emergency situations.    There could be a city to city  "Preparedness Day", informational commercials and shows, handouts and pamphlets.  In our age of technology videos on  YouTube could be easily seem with links to downloadable pamphlets citizens could print out. 

Today, unlike in World War II, more people do not sit in front of the TV or radio so the old style "sirens" could be brought back, along with a notification system not only like the EBS, but also for all wireless and internet providers with the ultimate goal of ALL citizens being advised.

One of the main problems I find across the multiple "prep" agencies from the Federal level all the way down to the city is lack of standardization on information or even availability of information.  In my state, Nevada, "State Law, specifically NRS 239C.250, the emergency response plans of political subdivisions of the State, including the city of Las Vegas, are deemed confidential and; therefore, are not made available for public distribution."  [Directly quoted from the City of Las Vegas, Office of Emergency Management document entitled "Emergency Operations Plans" (Emergency Operations Plans)]  Hence, the Office of Emergency Management in Nevada is USELESS when it comes to educating the public on such matters. 

Why do we need to come up with something new when the past has taught us the greatest lessons of the power of the people coming together for a common cause?  If there is any time in our country's  history where we need something to bring us all back together, no matter what race, religion, or political party we follow this could be it.  Imagine the power of people actually talking about how to not only help themselves in times of emergency, but how to help each other.  Civil Defense did this in the past along with educating the civilians of the United States on what to do in an emergency.  Perhaps our "Greatest Generation" can continue to teach us to be a wise nation.  Let our elders with experience from the darkest days of our nation's history speak to the new generation and prepare them for things they have never experienced (and hope to never experience) in their lives with their wisdom and strength of the Civil Defense.