10 years after blackout the grid still isn’t safe.

I saw this and I thought it merited comment:

The U.S. electrical grid is better managed and more flexible a decade after its largest blackout but remains vulnerable to increasingly extreme weather, cybersecurity threats, and stress caused by shifts in where and how power is produced.

Many worry the grid isn’t fully prepared for the new and emerging challenges, even though an analysis conducted for The Associated Press shows maintenance spending has steadily increased since North America’s largest blackout.

“This job of reliability is kind of impossible, in the sense that there’s just so many things that could happen that it’s hard to be sure that you’re covering all the bases,” said William Booth, a senior electricity adviser with the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

via 10 years after blackout, U.S. grid faces new threats | The Detroit News.

Which is precisely why I have links to websites like Survival Reality.  For years Survivalists, and preppers were dismissed as wackadoodles. Nowadays, with the electrical grid being suspect to terrorist attacks, cyber attacks, natural disasters, and weather being brought on either because of weather cycles or man-made climate change; the wackadoodles are not seen as so crazy anymore.

The article goes to say that the grid is much more safe now. But, I just do not buy it. If it is so safe, then why is it every time a major storm blows through somewhere, the power goes out? It is because the grid itself is just as unsafe as it was before.

I realize that not everyone can afford to live “off the grid,” as it is quite expensive to do so. However, some simple planning in advance can prevent troubles down the road. Something as simple as a battery-powered flashlight and a decent cooler and even bottled water, can be quite helpful during a power outage. It is simply a matter of common sense, something that seems to be in short supply today.

Good Reading: Building a “Go-To-Hell” Bag

Interesting in getting into being a prepper? This might help you out:

Go Bag or Go-To-Hell Bag?

I mention this because it is a distinction I make in my own mind when preparing a go-bag. The article I wrote on Bear Creek about how to prepare a go-bag was for a disaster preparedness scenario geared towards animal owners and family preparedness in the event of a local natural or man-made disaster of low to moderate proportions. The general idea is that you’re making a plan and a bag to help you implement that plan. It’s a bag for a few days, with basic necessities you’ll likely need along the way. That is a “go-bag” – you know where you’re going and you’re preparing for that eventuality.

The other side of the coin is the “Go-To-Hell” bag, which I’ll shorten to GTH Bag for the purposes of this post. (primarily because I’m already tired of hyphenating).

Maybe it’s because I was a boy scout and the motto “Be Prepared” has never left me. I’m the type that like to be prepared for any eventuality, any scenario, and any emergency. Regardless of why you might want to build one, a GTH bag is just that.. you’re packed as if you’re marching into Hell and have no idea what you’ll be facing, how long you’ll be facing it, and whether or not it will end any time in the near future.

via Building a “Go-To-Hell” Bag | Eight Minutes of Fame.

For what it is worth, that blog is ran by Tommy Jordan, who got really famous, really quick for shooting his daughter’s laptop up, because she went and got smart on Facebook. Some good ideas there, go read the rest.

Good job Tommy! 😀