Preparing Now and Talking to People

Tim Ralston has left a new comment on the "Survival Planning - Inflation Likely to Drive Food Prices Up" post,...When it comes to emergency preparedness, most people I talk to think that nothing will ever happen to them - so why should I bother? It drives me NUTS - but I know I am not nuts. As a father of 3 small children, I have always tried to protect and provide for all their immediate and future necessities.

We have grown up in the age of consumerism and take for granted that there will always be food on the shelves. But in this economy, it will only take a small natural disaster, declaration of hyper-inflation, a truckers strike or possibly a shortage of water or gas to empty the stores shelves within hours. Just look what happened in Boston! Read it here: http://survivalist-hub.blogspot.com/

Now, I can sleep in peace! I love having the peace of mind, the feeling of being empowered-- that my family and I are covered with the necessary emergency food, and survival supplies for the next 20 years at TODAYS prices for what ever comes our way.

Tim sounds like he has a good understanding of what he faces. Many more people need to get on board and quickly. A trip yesterday to the grocery store revealed that many commodities are way up in price, especially vegetables. Fuel is up in my area 22 cents in two weeks. The Fed wants to infuse more cash,...that's a nice way of saying "printing more money", and is pushing the Government to pass another stimulus bill. Spending ourselves into prosperity doesn't work for families,...it's not going to work for this Country.

Always wanted to keep this site apolitical despite my conservative views,...but the cliff we are heading for is nasty. If you watch Glenn Beck, you'll hear him say "Buy clothes, buy food, buy gold and silver." Hell even George Soros, who is a billionaire and makes his living bankrupting countries and pushing a one world government is buying Gold like mad.

We need to do something each and everyday. Yesterday for me was restocking the pantry for immediate use foods. Today I bought some more "AA" LED lanterns,...it is hard to beat a portablel solar power to 12v battery to AA/AAA battery charger and power inverter for small power needs. I think AA/AAA batterys are going to be so important. I use them for flashlights, radios, lanterns, and scanners and cannoot do without them. I also bought a couple more 8x10 foot green tarps - which I'll spray with a light brown vinyl paint, and I bought some small packaged thermal underwear kits for our emergency extra clothing kit bags.

Back to Tim's comment: Yes, it is aggravating to try and tell people about the need to prep. And yes, a lot of them will think you are nuts, but you never know you try and talk to them. I talk to people for several reasons: 1 - get them to prepare for their own good and 2 - the better they are prepared, the lesser burden they will be on me, my family and my survival group.

I talked to a guy just two days ago and was surprised that he said words to the effect "that I was thinking about what I would do if everything crapped out. I have plenty of guns, but not alot of food." So I wrote down a couple websites for him to go to and gave him a copy of "Patriots",..in fact, what brought the conversation up was that he picked up "Patriots" from a chair and asked what this book was about. I'll give him a copy of "One Second After" to read once he returns "Patriots".

Anyway, this is my rant for the day.

Again,...Survival is a Team Sport

It seems that I have been doing nothing but talking to people this week about indicators of a coming collapse, e.g..gas and precious metal prices on the rise; higher prices in commodities, e.g..foods and clothing; terrible national debt and a lame duck congress not understanding the People’s demands to a halt in spending; Glenn Beck on Television telling people to stockpile food and buy gold; and a host of other doom and gloom reports.

It was surprising to discover that most of these people have put some thought into what would they do in a bonafide collapse. In each and every case I tried to get as much of their concept for Surviving a collapse as they would or could tell me. Some have thought about a collapse and not just only how that would suck, but what would they do. Others told me concepts to the effect that “I’ll pack up my family and move”.

Okay, fair enough – packing up and moving. But to where? How will you ensure you will have the vehicle and fuel in order to travel? Where are you doing to go? Is your location really better (safer) for your Survival chances than where you are now? What you going to do for food? For Security?

And with that question,….security,…..brings me to my point that Survival is going to be a team sport. Much more like football than badminton. By yourself and even with a small family, you are only going to simply survive.

I think the purpose for Survival preparation is to be prepared mentally, physically, equipment wise, with material, exploiting technology and planning wise, ....not only to only survive but to have some quality of life. Basically, to replicate a small community, albeit with a different prioritization on concerns.

Best case scenario is that you are able to put together a competent Survival group consisting of well matched members with all on the same sheet of music when it comes to goals and objectives, moral beliefs, maybe even religious beliefs. Of course, if you do this well before the storm you will be much better off.

You will undoubtedly at some point in a collapse survival situation be faced with the decision to integrate (or not) other people, who could be friends, neighbors, family or total strangers. Tough call to make. Even tougher if it is your neighbor who failed to return tools he borrowed. Seriously, what do you do if you are just 2 or three of you and then your brother in law and his wife plus four children wants to hole up with you? What if it the same brother in law who failed to prepare despite repeated conversations from you to him? What if it is your elderly neighbor who is extremely opposite your political spectrum and lets you know if all the time? How about guys from work who you have been talking to for over a year on their need to prepare?

Even though you need a team to survive, and if you don’t believe this then think about all the tasks you will have to do each day not to mention providing security for the group, you will have to be prepared for the inter team squabbles and jealousies, small disputes that if not corrected then and there they could become big disputes that could tear away the glue holding the group together.

This survival group therefore will require a method of governing. From simply a “Boss” to a council type arrangement. Have the rules and concept of operationalizing Survival decided and set ahead of time.

Survival Prep - Water and Reader Comments

UrbanSurvivalSkills.com received an e-mail from a reader concerning his water plan...... Hey UrbanMan, I’m writing to tell you about the latest things I’m doing to prep in case someone else thought it is a good idea.

Water is my biggest concern, because if they shut off the city water, we’ll all be goners in a matter of days unless we have stored water. So I have a water service bring in sealed water containers for my water dispenser. I used to get the five gallon jugs, but recently found out they have 2.5 gallon jugs, with handles. So in case I have to Bug Out I can carry these much more easily and load them into my Toyota Tacoma 4x4. The bottled water is supposed to last at least six months, so I have ten 2.5 gallon jugs on hand. I go through 2 jugs a week, so I always have at least 8 jugs or 20 gallons hand. Each week I get two jugs delivered, so I just put the new ones at the end of the row. I am thinking about expanding my water supply to 6 or 8 more jugs – what do you think?

I have a checklist on the frig for my girlfriend who is kind off into prepping since it got her a new pair of fashionable hiking boots and some 5.11 pants, but the checklist says what to do if there is an emergency. Number 1 on my checklist is to lock the deadbolts on the doors and fill the bathtub with water. BTW, I have been linking survival prep and teaching my girlfriend some things as we watch the new show Walking Dead on TV. Have you seen Walking Dead and what do you think about it?

I figure we can get 50 gallons in the tub, plus the 20 gallons on hand so we could live for about 30-35 days off of this supply.

Another thing I bought was a folding game carrier, like a wheelbarrow but uses a bicycle wheel. This is used by hunters to bring the animals they killed out of the wild. My use will be to use it if and when the situation to go foraging for stuff is okay. I can push or pull 260 lbs on this game carrier and have a sack of bungee cords to lock things down that I “find”.

What do you think about all this and my preps? I like your site. Jeff.

UrbanMan replies: Hey Jeff, thanks for taking the time writing to me. I know who you got my e-mail address from if your city was correct. Anyway, absolutely water is a necessity. You are correct in thinking that about 70 gallons would last 2 people 30 days – if you use it very wisely. You should immediately go to a water-less human waste system, like a bag and a bucket and use minimal water for cleaning as well as for sponge baths – but you could do it. What are you plans if/when you run out of water? You water supply needs to also last for the duration of your Bug Out travel. That travel may have to be done on foot. Hard to carry more than one jug in your hand as yopur other hand needs to carry a rifle. Best case, both hands are free. But I have traveled on foot, overland carrying 5 gallon jugs and it can be done. The good thing is that you can rapidly drop it and run with a much lighter load. Ensure you have smaller Camel Baks and canteens for your Bug Out bags and use water from sources external to your personal kit when on the move.

Good idea having a checklist for emergency tasks on your refrigerator door. The checklist may also include who to call and what your immediate need items from the local store are if you are fortunate enough to make a run.

Space is usually a problem for urban dwellers. I have a buddy who stacks dehydrated food and cases of water, then covers them with a blanket for a coffee table and end tables. My wife would kill me if I did that, but it may be an option for you,…maybe you can bribe your girlfriend with a survival knife or new Bug Out Bag.

The television show, The Walking Dead, is how not to do things. Zombie movies are entertaining, but you would have to substitute human gangs for the zombies to approach what you may see for real. Again, how not to do things,…no stored food, no survival kit or gear, lack of weapons and ammunition. The Survivor base camp on top of hill near a quarry is a bad idea, especially if you cannot defend it. Being close to a water source is generally a good idea, but realize it will attract other people, some of whom may NOT have a high regard for your life.

The folding game carrier seems like a good idea. I like to receive these little Survival Equipment tips from time to time,…always seems like people are thinking. Be safe Jeff.

CBRNE Threat - Blister Agents

UrbanSurvivalSkills.com is continuing on with posts on Survival Threats posed by Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive (CBRNE).

For the record, we don't believe that foreign sponsored or terrorist executed CBRNE attacks on this country would be wide spread, but they would severely degrade the U.S. Government's capabilities for emergency management across the board (maybe that's a good thing?) as well as put local or regional infrastructures down for the count,...possibly a long count. But I do not envision most of us in the Survivalist community have to live through and/or operate in a CBRNE type environment. Least I hope not, but still want to be knowledgeable about the threat.

Blister Agents

A blister agent (also known as a vesicant) is a chemical compound that causes severe skin, eye and mucous membrane pain and (severe) irritation. Blister agents are named for their ability to cause severe chemical burns, resulting in large, painful water blisters on the bodies of those affected. Although these compounds have been employed on occasion for medical purposes, their most common use is as chemical warfare agents.

Most blister agents fall into one of three groups:

Sulfur mustards – A family of sulfur-based agents, including the so-called "mustard gas".

Nitrogen mustards – A family of agents similar to the sulfur mustards, but based on nitrogen instead of sulfur.

Lewisite – An early blister agent that was developed, but not used during World War I. It was effectively rendered obsolete with the development of British anti-Lewisite in the 1940s.

Occasionally, phosgene oxime (heard of phosgene gas?) is included among the blister agents.

Effects of blister agents can be devastating. Exposure to a chemical weaponized blister agents can cause a number of life-threatening symptoms, including:

Severe skin, eye and mucosal (mucous membrane) pain and irritation.

Large fluid filled blisters on the skin that heal slowly and may become infected.

Excessive tearing of the eyes, conjunctivitis (perpetual puss in the eyes), and damage of the cornea(s).

Respiratory distress, from mild to extreme with damage to your airway and lungs.

All blister agents currently known are heavier than air, and are readily absorbed through the eyes, lungs, and skin. Effects of the mustard agents are typically delayed: exposure to vapors becomes evident in 4 to 6 hours, and skin exposure in 2 to 48 hours. The effects of Lewisite are immediate.

Weaponized Chemical Warfare Blister agents, include these:

Blister Ethyldichloroarsine (ED)
Methyldichloroarsine (MD)
Phenyldichloroarsine (PD)
Lewisite (L)
Sulfur mustard gas (HD, H, HT, HL and HQ)
Nitrogen mustard (HN1, HN2, HN3)