Responding effectively to emergencies, from short power outages on up to natural disasters lasting weeks or months, is almost always a result of preparation. With a little forethought, know-how, and advance planning, makers with a DIY and community mindset are fantastically positioned to help themselves and others in extreme situations.

In this issue of Make: , get a crash course in emergency prep with our HUGE maker's survival guide filled with projects and resources that you can get started with today. Next, MacGyver creator Lee Zlotoff explains how a maker mindset can help you manage when a crisis seems overwhelming. Get an overview of how the growing Internet of Production helps communities respond faster and cheaper to disasters with locally-sourced resources and rapid manufacturing. Then, build a solar-powered lamp out of a soda bottle that's both decorative and resourceful. And, learn how to "lnuke-proof" your ride from EMPs with superfast surge suppression.

Plus, 55 projects you can build, including:

• Build a light-up kaleidoscope using wireless LEDs
• Make an easy solar-powered phone charger
• Twist bamboo to make a Japanese shiorido garden gate
• Make a weather station using battery-free perpetual computing
• Halloween projects: Smoking skull mask, edible eyeballs, spooky costumes, and more!