We
survived because towns and zones within towns were connected via the now
maligned patchwork of electricity delivery. Some people lost their power while
others did not. We were able to survive with the help and kindness of those who
still had electricity and the Red Cross.
The
situation in the northeast this time, even with lower winds is quite different
because many people are connected to the Smart Grid. Touted as a revolutionary
way of replacing the old and antiquated patchwork of electricity delivery, the
Smart Grid is a sitting duck to any cyber attack, solar flare, or EMP attack.
Under the Smart Grid, we were told that areas could be shut off, protected from
power surges, or potential disasters. It did not seem to work as well as
promised. Utilities in Ohio, Virginia, and Maryland described damage to their
power grids as catastrophic.”
We
were lucky that we did not lose power in our area - our cables were buried
underground. We were also lucky because we do not have Smart Meters yet. Electricity
was not shut off by the Mother Ship from a remote location.
In
spite of our vehement protests, the state utilities are hurrying the process to
connect everyone to Smart Meters because it is cheaper for the power companies
to shut off electricity during peak usage such as summertime heat or wintertime
cold spells than to build new and expensive storage facilities for electricity.
Utilities do not care if we suffer adverse health effects from Smart Meter
radiation pulsing in our homes 24/7, or that they spy on customers, use and
sell our information to third parties, our private daily living patterns, and
invade our privacy without a warrant.
The
Washington Post was quick to connect the heat wave and thunderstorms to climate
change warming caused by human activity without offering any scientific proof. “As
the intensity of the heat wave, without reservation, was a key factor in the
destructiveness of this “derecho” event – it raises the question about the
possible role of manmade climate warming.” Washington Post was referring to elevated
greenhouse gases having caused “this rare, extraordinary event.”
I
do not know how rare and extraordinary straight-line winds are in northern
Virginia and Washington, D.C., but in the south, they are common. I could not
help but wonder about the fad of using Spanish words in meteorology. I could have
sworn that English was one of the more descriptive languages in the world.
On
July 3, 2012, Washington Post had two separate articles in different sections
of the paper, “Hot Enough for You? Extreme Weather: the harbinger of climate
change” and “Concern about the climate change declines.”
A
Washington Post-Stanford University poll cited revealed that only 18 percent of
Americans name global warming as the number one threat. Could those polled be
the same subjects as in Jay Leno’s basic knowledge interviewees who think
America has 57 states?
“Still
don’t believe in climate change? Then you are deep in denial or delirious from
the heat. As I write this, the nation’s capital and its suburbs are in
post-apocalypse mode,” says Eugene Robinson. I must have missed this apocalypse
although I live in the same area. (Washington Post, “Hot Enough for You,” July
3, 2012)
I
do believe in climate change however, based on real science, I believe that it
is not caused by human activity and it has occurred throughout history even in
times when human activity on an industrial scale was non-existent.
Spring
was the hottest on record, Robinson claims. In reality, it was quite cold in
the D.C. area, Maryland, and Virginia until this heat wave hit. Many varieties
of flowers and shrubs are flowering now. They normally bloom in March or April.
Picking
and choosing data from NASA to support the global warming bogus claim will not
convince me that I need to destroy my standard of living just because some
individuals with an agenda to gain from my misery and from selectively used manufactured
scientific data demand so.
Newt
Gingrich tweeted about the D.C. weather related events that it was a “mild taste
of what an electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) attack would do.”
During
the Virginia thunderstorm, 911 emergency service failed for 48 hours, and, because
on Monday, millions were still without power, federal workers were allowed to
take unscheduled leave. Eighty-five
percent of customers lost power and several people were killed by falling
trees. Governor McDonnell declared state of emergency in Virginia and brought
in the National Guard to help restore power and remove debris. Some customers,
who had purchased natural gas generators for emergencies but did not test them
for A/C use, were shocked when the generators caught fire.
It
was painfully evident that nobody in the area was/is prepared for a potential
disaster from a powerful storm, much less a solar flare, cyber attack, or an
electro-magnetic pulse.
Pepco
utility customers were extremely frustrated with their service. They were
promised to have electricity by next Friday. Dominion Power in Virginia stated
that 90-95 percent of customers would be restored to the grid by Thursday.
Baltimore Gas and Electric repaired lines to 66 percent of customers by Monday
afternoon.
It
was interesting to witness on Saturday, the morning after the thunderstorm, how
paralyzed the traffic and life in general were because stoplights were out on
major roads and some businesses did not have power. Some groceries stores had
electricity but their pharmacies were off-line because one down store linked to
the grid took everybody else down. Prescriptions could not be filled. Cash
registers were dark, people could not buy food because nobody knows anymore how
to add and subtract without the help of a calculator. Inventories of food and
merchandise are set up electronically. If the grid fries, our entire life comes
to a halt and chaos rules. My favorite description would be “pandelirium.”
I
went to a different grocery store today, three days after the thunderstorm, and
they had some electricity, their freezers were out of commission, food was
rotting, it did not smell very nice, it was very hot inside, and the people
were acting like a mob possessed by the primal instinct of survival.
I
am with Newt on this one, if 60-80 mph winds have caused so much havoc to our
nation’s capital and its surrounding suburbs and states, are we really prepared
for the massive, across the country, total power loss of a Smart Grid in the
event of a solar flare, cyber attack, or an EMP? Images of “Mad Max” (the
movie) of an apocalyptic world run through my head.
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