Dr. Chris Ellis

Let me explain exactly why every new subdivision in America looks like the top photo, because the math is wild. A mature tree increases a home's value by 7 to 19 percent. On a $400,000 house, that's $28,000 to $76,000. A single shade tree produces the cooling equivalent of ten room-size air conditioners running 20 hours a day. One tree on the west side of a house cuts energy bills by 12 percent within 15 years. The bottom photo is worth more, costs less to live in, and sells faster. This has been documented by the University of Washington, Clemson, Michigan State, and the USDA. The data is not in dispute. Removing those trees saves the builder roughly $5,000 per lot. Concrete trucks need twice the dripline radius of every standing tree. Utility trenches need flat ground. A bulldozer flattens 200 lots in an afternoon. Preserving trees adds weeks and thousands per home. So the developer pockets $5,000 in savings and the buyer eats $50,000 in lost value for the next two decades. The person making the decision and the person paying for it have never been in the same room. The Woodlands, Texas is the proof of what happens when they are. George Mitchell bought 28,000 acres of Houston timberland in 1974 and preserved 28% as permanent green space. He forced McDonald's to build behind the tree canopy. That McDonald's became one of the highest-volume locations in Texas. The first office building, designed to reflect the surrounding forest so you couldn't see it from the street, leased completely. The Woodlands median home price today: $615,000. Katy, a comparable Houston suburb that clear-cut: $375,000. Named #1 community to live in America two years running. Fifty years of data. The trees are worth more than removing them saves. Developers clear-cut anyway because they sell the house once and leave. You live in it for 30 years.

Feeling anxious, stressed, or out of control? It doesn't have to be that way. Resilience is a mindset. Learn how others have seized their agency and how you can not just live - but thrive. My new book is now available Resilient Citizens: The People, Perils, and Politics of Modern Preparedness. Find out more at resilientcitizens.com From war zones to wildfires, pandemics to power outages, the threats we face today seem bigger, scarier, and more unrelenting than ever before. Why, then, does society take a critical view of those who prepare for the worst while hoping for the best? Why do so many people write them off as crazy, conspiracy-minded “doomsday preppers”? In Resilient Citizens, Army officer and disaster expert Dr. Chris Ellis challenges the myths, dismisses the fearmongering, and takes a much-needed, long-overdue scholarly look not just at prepper culture in America, but our overall social, physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual health. This isn’t another doomsday prepper guide or government-endorsed emergency brochure. It’s a deep dive into the people, perils, and politics of preparedness—from ranchers in the Rockies to policymakers globally—and a call to action for those who refuse to outsource their safety to luck or bureaucracy. Unpacking thousands of hours of research, Dr. Ellis will help you— § Learn the traits and strategies of those best equipped to survive and thrive amid disaster. § Understand the psychological roadblocks that keep people stuck in denial or helplessness. § Discover how different belief systems, subcultures, and nations approach long-term resilience. § Debunk popular myths about “preppers” and discover the truth behind America’s growing culture of preparedness. § Examine the historical and political roots of America’s preparedness paradox. § Reveal the number one resilience item every household must own. Whether you’re a concerned parent, a curious skeptic, or a seasoned survivalist, Resilient Citizens will challenge your assumptions and inspire you to think bigger, prepare smarter, and ensure your own survival in a chaotic world and uncertain future.

🚨Under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, ranchers can’t sell their own beef across state lines without USDA inspection — full stop. It doesn’t matter how well you know the rancher or how locally it was processed. That label that reads “NOT FOR SALE” means exactly what it says. As @breeauna9 put it: ‘So not only can I not process it myself… I have to enter into an agreement with JBS, Cargill, or Tyson.’ Which raises a fair question: is this actually about food safety, or does it just funnel independent producers into the arms of a handful of meat-packing giants?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ @RMConservative

We need to have a national conversation on resilience. Here is my latest on The Blaze. theblaze.com/return/how-ame…