by Jim Saemann, AB3RA

THE SURVIVAL NET had its third meeting on Sunday, January 13, at 9 PM Eastern Time on 3983 kHz. We had an in-depth discussion about aquaponic gardening and keeping warm in a crisis. Aquaponics involves having a vegetable garden connected to a fish pond. The fish produce waste which fertilizes the vegetables. Water from the fish pond is filtered through the garden and returned to the pond. The result is high quality organic food, year round, without weeds, chemicals, etc.

Listen: Survival Net 1/13″]

One of the subtopics discussed was the very real possibility of a world wide hunger crisis due to drought and dust-bowl type conditions in many agricultural areas. The food shortage, combined with currency manipulation and devaluation, could lead to massive food inflation and possibly even riots. The importance of emergency food supplies, as well as sustainable personal agriculture, cannot be overestimated. Does anyone really want to rely on FEMA for their food?

Keeping warm was discussed on two levels — personal warmth and household warmth. We discussed cold weather sleeping bags, several types of hand/body warmers, clothing, and the effects of extreme cold on one’s psyche and thinking skills. We also discussed various methods for heating and insulating your home in the event of a crisis. Safety was stressed in particular, with warnings about CO and fire prevention.

Our first week we developed a list of all the topics we would like to discuss. Then in Week 2 we discussed water storage and purification as well as emergency food supplies such as freeze dried food.

In Week 4 (January 20) we are going to discuss a very timely topic — home security and weapons. This is sure to be a topic many of you have opinions on and we want to hear from everybody.

So remember — the Survival Net meets every Sunday evening at 9 PM Eastern Time on 3.983 MHz [with possible QSY to avoid causing interference — Ed.]. As net controller, I am in the process of installing a 600 Watt amplifier to boost my signal. As I write this, I’m having a technical glitch with my antenna tuner but hope to get that resolved in a day or two.

Thanks to everyone for their support so far. The Survival Net is an important offshoot from the Liberty Net and I am committed to making this a great, useful net for everyone.