Protect Yourself: Survival Without Power

Courtesy of the PBSnewshour

Hey Folks,

Today I wanted to bring to light something that is largely unaddressed and in most cases not even recognized as a threat. And that is the vulnerability of the Power Grid.

Now what would you do in a situation where the lights went out? I can tell you what I would do, in most cases the lights are only out for at the most a few hours and that means I would avoid opening my refrigerator door so my food doesn't spoil. If this happen at night I have some flash-lights and candles that I could use until the lights came back on sometime soon.

Candle light from pixabay

Pretty simple, right?...

What would you do if the lights went out and stayed off? Not just for a few hours, but permanently out.

This is a question that most people avoid asking because the answer isn't real good. In fact the answer to that question is down right scary.

However it is a very real possible. Our entire civilization depends on the constant access to electricity and a complete power outage through the utility grid would jeopardize everything we take for granted in today's world.

So I would like to bring to light some real possibilities of the threats to our power grid.

First Threat:

In 2008, a report was made to "Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack" by the Congressional EMP Commission. This government commission assess the likelihood of a EMP from a nuclear weapon detonated in the Earth's upper atmosphere and the damage it was cause to the power grid infrastructure.

Power lines from pixabay

The commissions conclusion of such attack is that the American people are vulnerable and unprepared. The damage would be devastating and long term.

Second Threat:

Cyber Security from pixabay

In 2007 the world was witnessed to the very first computer virus that effect actual real world facility. The Stuxnet is a virus that actively attack the Programmable Logic Controllers and was use in a nuclear facility in Iran. This virus led to the failures of critical parts of the facility and forced the power plant to shutdown.

In recent weeks here in the United States we had issues with some of our social media sites becoming unavailable due to a hacking issues. Here's a link to the NYtimes article.

Even on the west coast where I live we have been having issues with our Department of Motor vehicles (DMV) computer systems going down statewide. This is just for paying registration and insurance fees and it's created almost complete havoc. Link to local news KRON 4 facebook post.

According to Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defense in 2012 gave talk about Cybersecurity and said,

"We know that foreign cyber actors are probing America's critical
infrastructure networks."
Leon Panetta Remarks by Secretary Panetta on Cybersecurity to the Business Executives for National Security, New York City

Third Threat:

Imagine that you wake up one morning to notice an enormous blinding light coming from the edge of our sun but only for a few minutes. That night you witnessed the amazing display of green, purple, blue and even red auroras that you have ever seen. Even more amazing is you didn't even know that the auroras appeared this far south.

This is the description that witnesses to the 1859 Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) known as the Carrington Event. It was a large release of plasma by a solar flares and eruptions that resemble sunspots.

Sun Flares from pixabay

These solar flares were geomagnetic and the solar event interacted with auroras and effectively took down the "internet" or power grid of that time. The Telegraph system.

Our power grid and dependency on technology is extremely sensitive to electro-magnetic influences. A CME occurring today would take out most of satellites in orbit, damage beyond repair the transformers and sub-station of the power grid and leave the world much similar to how it was in 1859.

PROTECT YOURSELF!

In any type of catastrophic situation you may need to think outside the box for long term survival. Here are some tips I can give you to help your chances.

• Find a gathering point for you and your family. Make sure you have it for all places: Home, Work and schools
• Have flashlights and candles readily available for use.
• Have a fire extinguisher and small wrench to turn off you natural gas line to your home.
• Store at least a weeks worth of non-perishable food in your home and a first-aid kit.
• Keep at least 5 gallons of gasoline for the running of vehicles.

Remember this event could damage the power grid long term and you need to have a plan in place to help your chances of survival.

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All right, you all are GREAT and I thank you for reading my post. It is my pleasure to share and help educate.

Please leave your comments and share any additional information you may have on this subject.

... And of course Stay Safe!

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Resources:

PBSnewshour

Candle light

Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack

Power lines

Cyber Security

NYtimes articale on possible hacker attack

Leon Panetta Transcript of conference on cyber security

Sun Flares

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Additional Information:

North American Bulk Power System
A combined review and report by the US Department of Energy and NERC

Societal and Economic Impacts of Severe Space Weather Events
A report from the National Academy of Sciences

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Hi I'm Josh Fischbach I live in the Yosemite area and work in the Environmental Industry. I'm interested in health, better living and Sci-Fi. (TNG RULES!).