I recently read Lights Out by Ted Koppel, who is a renowned journalist, formerly of ABC News and Nightline. As a newbie homesteader and longtime prep enthusiast, I found this book frightening and enlightening.
Image Source: LIGHTS OUT by Ted Koppel
Ted Koppel discusses the vulnerability of our aging electrical grid to cyberattack, leaving the country exposed to the possibility of blackouts lasting weeks or months. He also explores the government's lack of preparation for an event of this magnitude, and interviews various groups like the Mormons, members of the prepper community, and ranchers in Wyoming.
Overall, I felt Koppel provided an objective, realistic view of the risk to our electrical grid, and an excellent in-depth analysis of the likely outcome. The first part of the book, which covers the risk of cyberattack, is a bit dry and technical at times for my taste, but I found that the rest of the book moved at a faster clip. I strongly recommend anyone that uses and depends on electricity to read this book.
Our little family, while not yet off-grid, is taking some steps to mitigate a potential blackout. We're adding extra water storage, we have plenty of non-refrigerated food, and we can prepare, grow, and put up food without electricity. We have a couple of solar lanterns but need to expand on our lighting options. Once the weather cools down for fall, we'll be re-building our well house and adding our first solar panels and a battery bank.
Thanks for reading! Want to see more?
Check out our main Fluster Farm site!
Fluster Farm on Twitter
Fluster Farm on IG