rwbow1969
Get Wiffit
I like it when I hear people say "I'll just bug-out to the west, out in the mountains and live off the land." Good luck with that, remember all of us "Fudds" live out here.
Lights Out by Ted Koppel brought up a point I hadn't considered... even if we could buy replacement transformers (the really BIG ones), there is no way to transport them in a timely manner to many of the locations where they will be needed due to subsequent housing and construction, lack of railways, and other physical impediments.
I'm a navy vet and have been an it specialist for a government contractor working on classified programs for 18 years. A grid failure, either from cyber attack, EMP, solar flare, or natural disaster scares the crap out of me. It's what I prep for. How serious is the threat? Years ago the Air Force shut down the Cheyene Mountain NORAD complex saying there wasn't a threat of nuclear war and it was too expensive to maintain. This summer they quietly began moving back in to it, citing EMP as the reason they needed to be protected under a mountain.
I stockpile as much solar powered gear as I can, as well as rechargeable batteries. They won't all survive an EMP but they will a cyber attack or natural disaster.
Something to consider is that if the grid goes down and three nights later you have lights on inside your house, you are going to be a prime target for the have-nots...
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In winter, at least, the issue of food spoilage isn't as bad. Imagine how bad things would get in major cities if the grid failed in the middle of a July or August heat wave. Every fridge and freezer would have to get dumped out after 24 hours, and all that food would have to be collected immediately and disposed of before it became a biohazard. You can safely assume that's not going to happen, and that means decay and disease won't be far behind. One freezer full of decaying meat is a horrific event you'll never forget - I can't imagine what millions of them all going bad at once would be like.
Judge Jeanine Pirro hosted a show on this subject. One expert said, some of the larger transforms in the grid there is not backup for and would take China or Japan to build on maybe six months.
It is sad, very sad that there has not been a mandate or law passed that EVERY new construction, either residential, commercial or industrial, must included in the design, either solar panels covering 70% of available/open roof structures or wind turbines on the property. In DC alone, in 2014 there were 13,277 permits for new home construction. This is one area that Big Brother should intervene, if they weren't being corrupted by oil/coal/natural gas special interest groups.
Build a Faraday Cage. Your microwave might work for the smaller stuff if grounded properly.
With the average cost of a solar power system between $15k~$30k, do you really want the government to tack that (as a mandate) onto the cost of your home? Are you a green socialist or something?
I like it when I hear people say "I'll just bug-out to the west, out in the mountains and live off the land." Good luck with that, remember all of us "Fudds" live out here.
People tend to forgets few things. Sure our power grid is crap. But it wouldn't stay down for long. That being said, what you should have concerns is that any day, the Sun can release waves and it would effect the whole planet. They think it would be a world wide EMP. Now that should worry you. This thing about about someone doing it, not so much. Few days, maybe a week or so.. Heck I didn't have power for 10 days because of a hurricane....
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Give me a quick run down on how this happens
People tend to forgets few things. Sure our power grid is crap. But it wouldn't stay down for long. That being said, what you should have concerns is that any day, the Sun can release waves and it would effect the whole planet. They think it would be a world wide EMP. Now that should worry you. This thing about about someone doing it, not so much. Few days, maybe a week or so.. Heck I didn't have power for 10 days because of a hurricane....
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Both are excellent scenario-based narratives. Scary.
Anything controlled by a computer that isn't totally isolated can be hacked.
And that assumes that China would be willing to build and sell them to us. There's no guarantee about that. Or, maybe they would have a vested interest in BEING the attacker... not only could they topple our country, they could profit by selling us the replacement parts.
Lights Out by Ted Koppel brought up a point I hadn't considered... even if we could buy replacement transformers (the really BIG ones), there is no way to transport them in a timely manner to many of the locations where they will be needed due to subsequent housing and construction, lack of railways, and other physical impediments.
Buying old microwaves to use as Faraday cages is like buying junked cars to use as greenhouses.
ANY metal container with a tight-fitting metal lid is JUST AS GOOD IF NOT BETTER at being a de facto Faraday cage, as a microwave oven.
Find a galvanized metal trash can with a lid. Boom, done.
Give me a quick run down on how this happens
This is great advice. I also download and print as many resources as I can. It's amazing what you can find online.Another thing I do to prepare for a long term grid outage is buy books. Today if something breaks, or I need to learn how to do something I do what we all do - I consult the Google. But without teh intarwebs we won't be able to do that anymore. How do I learn how sharpen the blade on a crosscut saw or know when to plant a certain vegetable or how to tan the hide of that deer I just shot if I can't Google it? I've got a few shelves filled with books that show how to do all of these and more. Cooking, plumbing, mechanics, hunting and fishing, gardening, carpentry, etc. Get some books that show you how to do things without electricity and tuck them away, just in case. My prepper library is filled with books on skills from the stone age to today.