Preparing for the Eventuality

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[RollickHooper]

No I agree completely, that "preparing for the eventuality" must include being ready, and unafraid, to die. <p></p><i></i>

[petron]

manxkat - <br><br>Thanks for this. Reading "Crossing the Rubicon" now and enjoy Ruppert's site too. <br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>In practical terms, I'm stocking up on lots of stuff that I expect will be difficult to find (soap, hydrogen pyroxide, baking soda, razors, etc.).<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>These are the things that I was wondering about. I think it's important to have some of these basics around and I'll have to come up with my own list of "basics".<br><br>Briefly thought about solar but never took the next step into it. Perhaps I should.<br><br>Thanks for your advice.<!--EZCODE EMOTICON START >D --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/grin.gif ALT=" >D"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> Hope I never need it! <p></p><i></i>

[GDN01]

Hi Petron - I have thought about this thread the last few days as the devastation from Katrina has continued. I've wondered if this might be the cataclysmic event that will send this nation into an economic crisis. It's happening in southeast Louisiana as communities are completely wiped out - no jobs, no homes, no food, no electricity, no water. And now nearby town are suffering from the influx of all the evacuees. <p></p><i></i>

[petron]

GDN01 - This is exactly what I am concerned about: nationwide chaos. <br><br>The main reason for me to post this thread was to see if anyone has plans if our infrastructure "goes tits up". <br><br>What do you do when you have no electricity for long periods of time? <br><br>What do you do when you can't heat your house or you can't cook your food because of the loss of natural gas being pumped into your home?<br><br>What do you do when the local grocery store is closed indefinitely? <br><br>Scares the hell out of me and I am watching my nightmare scenario on TV happen in LA and Miss. (Fuckin' useless authorities make me soooo made.) <p></p><i></i>

[manxkat]

I share your concerns, petron and GDN01. I've been doing lots of preparations and have some solutions and resources to share. These will help in the short-term. In the long run, if there is no infrastructure for delivery of goods and services, then the answers must come from local solutions (local agriculture, etc.).<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Water:</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>1. If you have a well, buy a hand pump. <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.simplepump.com" target="top">Simple Pump</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> is a great solution because you can have it installed concurrently with your electric pump.<br>2. If you don't have a well, consider buying some large containers -- 15 gal or more -- and use them to collect rain water. You can purify the water with chlorine (buy that at a pool and spa store), or purification tablets. You can buy water filters in various forms to get the chlorine and microbes out. Here's a supplier in Florida that I ordered plastic drums (and other supplies) from: <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.EmergencyResources.com" target="top">Emergency Resources</a><!--EZCODE LINK END-->.<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Electricity:</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>1. Solar PV panels and batteries, if you can afford this route, will keep your basics going at home (no a/c though, but fluorescent lights, small appliances).<br>2. There are numerous tools and devices you can purchase that require no electricity. <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.lehmans.com" target="top">Lehman's</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> and <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.realgoods.com" target="top">RealGoods</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> are excellent sources.<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Food:</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>1. Stock up on canned goods of all kinds from the grocery store -- especially canned chicken, kidney beans, vegetables. Also get rice and other dry goods that have a decent shelf life.<br>2. Order wheat and dry goods from suppliers who specialize in this. My favorite is <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.waltonfeed.com" target="top">Walton Feed</a><!--EZCODE LINK END-->.<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Cooking:</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>1. Outdoor brick barbeque or grill -- wood for fuel.<br>2. <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.energyfederation.org/consumer/default.php/cPath/1289_1244" target="top">Sun Oven</a><!--EZCODE LINK END-->. <br>3. Wood stove in winter. Outdoor wood stove in summer. <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.lehmans.com/jump.jsp?itemID=697&itemType=CATEGORY&iMainCat=696&iSubCat=697&show48=1" target="top">Cast iron cookware and dutch ovens</a><!--EZCODE LINK END-->.<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Heating:</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>1. Wood stove, if you own your own home. <br>2. Portable kerosene heater, if you have access to kerosene or can store it in a tank (for example, if you have a tank outside your home for oil heat). Obviously, this is a short-term solution in the event that kerosene becomes unavailable.<br>3. Extra blankets and warm clothing for colder climates.<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Transportation:</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>1. Bicycles -- with baskets for holding goods.<br>2. Your own two feet -- but, get a rolling cart of some kind to make it easier to transport goods.<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Money:</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>1. Keep some cash on hand.<br>2. Purchase precious metals as a hedge against inflation. <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://cmi-gold-silver.com/" target="top">CMI Gold & Silver</a><!--EZCODE LINK END-->.<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Books</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> on topics that you could need reference to, from medical information to cooking to survival how-tos:<br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.lehmans.com" target="top">Lehman's</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.waltonfeed.com" target="top">Walton Feed</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.fromthewilderness.com" target="top">From The Wilderness</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.inthewake.org/" target="top">In The Wake</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> (free downloadable booklet)<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Misc:</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>Stock up on razor blades, batteries, hydrogen pyroxide, baking soda, medicines, prescriptions, other things that could be hard to get but necessary.<br><br>Hope this helps!<br> <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=manxkat@rigorousintuition>manxkat</A> at: 9/9/05 2:13 pm<br></i>

[GDN01]

Here's what I learned from being there to help a few days.<br><br>Don't waste your money on a generator. You have to have gasoline to run the thing. Figure out how to live with no electricity and no batteries. Or have so much stockpiled that it's worth it. <br><br>Water. Water. Water.<br><br>Hygeine. Figure out how and where you will go to the bathroom. <br><br>If you depend on medicines of any sort - insulin, etc. Stockpile it.<br><br>Form small groups who will help each other. People on their own are vulnerable.<br><br>If you live somewhere that you could freeze to death in the winter, stockpile wood.<br><br>If you are going to depend on home grown food sources, start growing now. Don't think you will be able to plant a garden in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. People in survival mode can't do that sort of thing initially. Be prepared to survive for at least 3 months on your own. <br><br>Cash on hand is important. Some areas had stores that had opened but could only do cash transactions. <br><br>Stockpile some gasoline so you can get out of the area affected - if it is a disaster contained to a certain region. A full tank of gas in your car may not be enough. And know that gas goes bad pretty quick - you need to treat it to keep it stored.<br><br>This is for short term survival. I can't get beyond that right now. <p></p><i></i>

[nashvillebrook]

what an interesting topic. i come at it from the standpoint of living in a semi-urban, quasi-inner city environment. your neightbors are your friends. your little street and school and library are your community. i think the crisis in NOLA really underscores the need to "be at home" on your street. we aren't little islands onto ourselves.<br><br>i've "done steadies" for the kids in the neighborhood; cried with them when my dog escaped; and wept waiting in line to vote with them. i adore my neighborhood and my only goal right now is to cultivate life here. <br><br>since college i've worked on a "community development" idea i have loosely called "homeboy" which outlines a suburban tribal approach to living (social theory gradate work). we live in cities and have to meet any upcoming challenginges on this turf.<br><br>so it's a kind of "stone soup" approach. we are good at some things (my husband brews beer and plays music; i cook and organize) our friends and neighbors are hopfully good at others. i hope to keep our little tribe together with love, shared tools and shared labor. i can't pretend to have everything i would need -- nor would i want to live that way, especially after seeing the fallout from NOLA. <br><br>having said that, the main thing i will be working on is getting a wood-burning stove in the house, hubby and i are both allergic to the damn things, so it's a hard sell, but it's something i feel strongly about. we have natural gas right now and i can easily imagine a disruption in that service before winter is over. <br><br>other things: i am building cold cases for my raised beds. we traded in a less-reasonable car for a hybrid. we are getting out of debt WHILE i stay at home working on home economics -- plus my writing and paintiing, etc. no more dual income for us. maybe i should be out hoarding money, but i can't do it. it just feels way more important to reduce, reuse, recycle, and REDUCE some more. i'm very lucky to be able to be doing this and i am trying to make myself useful by mentoring and taking kids after school. just once or twice a week now -- but it's important to me that these avenues stay open. not sure why. it's just something i'm drawn to do. <br><br>getting a 3-month supply of medicines will be challenging. i have chronic pain -- long story -- and i am basically house-ridden. i have a lot to offer in terms of getting along in life, but my health/body is pretty damn fragile. if i were to loose my glasses (or break them) i would be FUCKED. if i were to get off of my pain med schedule, i would be fucked. i have migraines that make life really challenging -- tons of shit -- we'd be fucked if we didn't have access to healthcare/medicine/etc. <br><br>someone mentioned living every day as if it were your last -- i'm totallly there with you! i live at the whim of society. many of us do. may we never need these things we talk about here. may we all live long, happy lives with dogs and grandkids.<br><br>this is not america. <p></p><i></i>