Posted on 11/30/2012 10:08:24 PM PST by Kartographer
Some people believe that we are hurtling towards physical disaster with our delicate electrical grid. Just how that disaster might occur is open for debate, but we need only look at major power outages over the last few years to see how precarious our grasp on electricity is. It isn’t a matter of “if” the lights will go out, but a matter of “when”.
Severe weather has given the grid a walloping over the past few years. For example, three years ago, parts of Kentucky, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia and Missouri suffered through 3 weeks sans power after a record-setting ice storm. Last summer, people in the Washington, DC metropolitan area were without power for a week during a heat wave as the result of a severe thunderstorm accompanied by high winds. And most recently, of course, we have witnessed the plight of the victims of Hurricane Sandy as they have struggled to function in the most populated area in the United States without electricity and running water, all while attempting to clean up the detritus of the massive storm.
Mother Nature could have other tricks up her sleeve with the possibility of a solar flare-related coronal mass ejection that could cause not only outages but irreparable damage to items powered by electricity. Many countries have developed EMP (electromagnetic pulse) weapons that could perpetrate the same type of damage.
Yet another grim possibility is that as the economy continues to degrade, more and more people simply won’t be able to afford to keep the electricity on in their homes.
(Excerpt) Read more at shtfplan.com ...
Thank you.
“head lamps that will produce gentle, consistent light for 100 hours and more, on a single AA battery”
Can you tell me the brand and/or vendor for these? We’ve purchased a few of those baseball caps with LED lights under the visors. They’re perfect for outages lasting a few hours, but we aren’t sure how long they’d last in a true emergency situation. A kick-ass head lamp with long-lasting power would be a good addition. Thanks!
Streamlight makes some pretty good headlamps.
Do you have a bank of deep cycle batteries wired together that you recharge with the solar? Just wondering.
Gaze in awe at the beauty of the stars...Check supplies/ammo and makes sure weapons are all GTG.
I have a steam generator that I will power by burning the desiccated bodies of Democrats.
“I’ve never lost gas pressure, both in town or out.”
We did in Denver. Once electric goes out the gas lines still ely on generators to provide pressure. After about 12 hours the gas pressure dropped off.
We purchased solar yard lights years ago that use AA NiCads. During power outages we go out and bring in a few of the detachable lights and simply set them on top of the lamp shades. Lighting is dimmer that normal AC wattage yet lasts all night if needed.
Set em back outside in the morning to recharge.
Added feature is we keep a few AA powered radios and flashlights that we use same NiCad batteries in. Swap out and press on with life ....
We have multiple sources of light as backups but the same concept can be accomplished by making sun jars and keeping them on a windowsill during the day etc...
Ours are about six years old now or older and the little LED’s still provide plenty of light to live and work with.
Just what we do...
I’ve never seen a system that used electric generators for boosting gas pressure, that would seem to be highly dangerous.
I got caught in that storm, in Louisville. Had to evacuate my family, including the animals, to a price-gouging hotel for four days until the power was restored.
My tagline for months afterward was "Obama Dozed, While People Froze".
“You’re welcome to Tech Support, my name Peggy...”
Actually, they ride in LTD's and BMW's.
Have you seen any of them try to walk with their pants around their knees?
Dude, I'm in the market for roughly the same thing. Ping me when you get a bite?
Obama's EPA is setting up this same scenario in large parts of the country with its jihad on coal. Coal plants that supply more than half of the electricity in the US are being shut down by the EPA and there is no reliable replacement. Wind power is simply unreliable ...you cannot depend on the wind blowing just right to get their maximum production when there is peak demand. The same weather fronts that bring the cold snaps and heat waves that spike demand also can idle wind turbines. Nuclear power development has been stymied in the US for more than four decades and environmental groups are blocking new gas turbine plants, fracking that will increase natural gas production and any new large scale hydro plants. Large areas of the US are extremely vulnerable to blackouts and that danger is getting worse as the EPA shuts down more coal plants.
I hate that. I have a hard time trying to figure how much to to lead them. LOL.
I will light the standby oil lamps. Find my flashlight - I’m good to go. If its dark and winter I will start my generator and have lights and heat. I will turn off the lights and go back to bed. (Guns always locked and loaded).
If it is daytime and summer time I will sit on my front porch and drink a cold beer and plan my next activity..
Our gasoline supply will last about two weeks - food and water about month.
Now that I think about it I need more food, water and gasoline. (...and beer). Ammos good.
It's time.
What a lot of people don’t know is that those rolling blackouts also left a lot of New Mexico without natural gas! Right in the middle of winter. If I was to install a generator I think I’d have to go with natural gas one, but this incident is a great example of two things everyone needs know, first there is no ‘one size fits all’ in prepping and two just how dependent and interdependent we are on the electrical grid.
http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/environment/gas-and-electricity-affected-by-weather
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2668118/posts
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