Question: Urban Survival

Q:

We live in a city of about 25,000 and in the winter what would be the best way for us to heat our home, or a room or two in mid-winter (a sustainable method, long term) to keep from freezing.  I was considering putting a small wood stove, really small like a large suitcase in the kitchen and running a pipe right out the window, putting an insert with a sheet metal center area and having the pipe go about 6 feet past the house.  Then burn green wood or whatever i could find, feeling the shortness of the pipe would make it easier to clean.

What would you suggest for long term survival in our urban environment?

What type of food would be the best for long term survival?  MRE's, dehydrated or what?

A:

As for heating, I have a wood stove and mine is rated to 30 below 0. However, when it gets really cold, a wood stove may only heat one or two rooms. It also takes a lot of wood, in your area, if it were your only heat source; you might burn 5 cords per winter. That is not really a problem, you just need to understand how much it is going to use and plan accordingly. You can get small wood stove, and you can run them out of a window, just make sure that your flue pipe extends above the roof line for proper ventilation. I think that wood is the best option for long term survival heat, because wood is the only fuel that will be available long term in a disaster. Propane and Natural gas will eventually run out with no chance of resupply. I live in a rural area, so I have easy access to wood for free, in your case, you might need to network a little and find people that have dead trees that they need to get rid of. As for flue cleaning, make sure you get some flue cleaning logs, and burn them in the stove periodically if you can. You can get some now and save them for later. They will make flue cleaning much easier and you won't need to clean the flue as often.

As for survival in an urban area, the best thing you can do is get out now and move to a more rural area. If that is not realistic, which it is not for most, you will have to do the best that you can. In a long-term disaster, in an urban area, you will be competing for more limited resources with more people. The best thing that you can do is get what you need now so that you don't have a need to be out on the street when everyone else is out looking for supplies. If you are going to hold up in the city, there is a very high chance that you house will be burglarized, vandalized, and looted, as is the case in most large disasters. In this case you will either have to hide and risk losing your supplies or fight, so I would suggest arming yourself and keeping a large supply of ammunition on hand. I think that it is better to avoid fighting if you can, but I think that it will be hard to hide in an urban environment. You may want to think about bugging out of the city, which will require you to have a destination in mind, and a way to get there with your supplies. Having an older car or truck that is pre-electronic and can withstand a solar flare or EMP attack is also a good idea. I keep an old 80's model diesel truck at my farm just in case.

In terms of food for long term survival, dehydrated food is very good and has a very long shelf life, up to 20 years, but it is also very expensive. Canned beans have a long shelf life, up to 10 years, and can be eaten right out of the can or mixed with rice. Just make sure you have a manual can opener. I keep rice and other grains in sealed mylar bags with oxygen absorbers, which will have a multi-year shelf life. Rice is the best grain to keep in my opinion, because it is inexpensive, compact for storage and doubles in size when cooked, can be stored for a long time, provides calories and protein, and can be cooked or will absorb water overnight if no heat is available. MRE's are good for travel, but are expensive and don't have the shelf life that some people think they do. Although an MRE will last for 5 to 10 years under the right conditions, it can also go bad in a matter of weeks if kept in a hot car.

Just remember, the best plan is the one you do.

-Richard