Thursday, May 17, 2012

Daily Briefing For Thursday, May 17, 2012

You Have To Bug Out, Right?

John the Banker posed a question to me last night which I'm surprised I haven't thought to address before now.  If you live in an urban or suburban area, must you leave those areas for a more rural area to maximize your ability to live comfortably during some sort of extended crisis?

Notwithstanding the fine writings of Jim Rawles on this subject, other authors have reached different conclusions.  History is complete with stories of how millions of people have survived in urban and suburban areas during times of crisis.  I highly recommend Ragnar's Urban Survival as a good overview on the challenges and advantages of sheltering in place in a suburban or urban environment during an emergency. 

Bugging out means you have a place to go.  Having a place to go means you have a place worth going to.  Having a place worth going to means you've spent significant resources - time and money - creating a safe location, stocked with food and other supplies, where everything is in good working order.  Spending significant resources means you'll have fewer resources to spend on other necessities in life. 

I would challenge you to think about the need to bug out when the time comes.  I would submit if you do a thorough analysis, many of us will find we can shelter in place in our homes with more success than we realize.


Solar Technology Up, Prices Down

Regardless of whether you intend to bug out or shelter in place, you can count on your solar energy preparations costing you less.  During the short breaks between CNBC's breathless coverage of the Facebook IPO today, their website ran this story discussing the fact that a) solar panels today are more efficient and b) cheaper, thanks to advances in technology.  Solar will continue to grow in popularity.  I'm hoping Jerid can help me learn how to use my solar power system this summer.  (It's fallen $50 in price since I bought it last year.)

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