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I’ve been hearing news reports about the heat wave in the eastern states and the enormous suffering people are going through without electricity from the storms that hit the area a week ago. Can you imagine? Day after day with no air-conditioning, no lights, being roasted by unending heat. I just have to say: Geez Louise, why aren’t people getting off the grid in droves now if they possibly can?
The technology is there to do it. Heck, in hot weather, with certain currently available home solar equipment, you could even make money from power companies while you’re sitting in lovely coolness!
And you know these blackouts will happen again and again and again, whether it’s caused by summer thunderstorms, ice storms taking down lines in the winter, too much draw on the grid, some tiny foul up that takes out the whole Eastern Seaboard. I believe I remember that a squirrel accidently touching a transformer did that once years ago.
It’s happened before. It will happen again. People say the only sure things in life are death and taxes. Well, I beg to differ. One has to add power outages.
And that doesn’t even take into consideration terrorism!
I tell you, if I were able to, I’d spend just about anything to get off the grid — at least to the extent of keeping my AC and frig operating no matter what — rather than subject myself to the horror folks are going through in Virginia right now.
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“Day after day with no air-conditioning, no lights, being roasted by unending heat”
Two comments.
1. There are people that are old enough to remeber when houses were not air conditioned and cars were not air conditioned. We sat outside in the shade and drank ice water and ice tea, and when it got too hot, sprayed water from the hose to cool off.
2. Now those that are without electricity know exactly how our service personnel feel in Afghanistan and earlier Iraq. And remeber they were also sleeping on the ground many nights while on patrol.
Sorry, I can’t feel too bad for the ones without electricity given the fact most of them do not give #2 a second thought when they turn their air conditioning on.
Considering many people can’t afford their own personal power source, and also considering the economies of scale, I think a better focus would be on improving the grid to be more robust, which may include more local and personal power sources where appropriate.
RP,
1. Heat kills, and probably did back-when also despite the use of ice tea. It also results in decreased productivity. This is not just a matter of comfort. Also, houses, work places, communities, and cities are now built to rely on air conditioning.
2. I don’t consider “it’s better than Afghanistan” to be an acceptable bar of quality or stability of life. And, in any case, I’d hope the military takes the issue seriously. Also, they don’t recruit many of the aged or very young who are most vulnerable.
AD,
I agree about needing to improve the grid. But the companies will never do it unless forced to do so by law. An actual investment in the infrastructure that they’re responsible for might eat into their profits.
Thanks for the point of view. It’d be great Kay, if perhaps you could point to a list of ways to get off the grid that would be within reach of many? Here, or maybe a second article?
and RP, i love this: “We sat outside in the shade and drank ice water and ice tea, and when it got too hot, sprayed water from the hose to cool off.” That’s poetry to my sense memories. Thanks!
AD. Improving the grid will do not good until people are willing to eliminate trees on their property that wre within falling distance of a power line.
Go into a poor section of town and most likely there will only be a handful of residents that complain and anyone listens when their trees are being cut down.
Go into the upper class neighborhood where trees line each street and one can find someone with a voice that is being listened to when they complain when the power company cuts off one limb, let alone three huge 100 year oak trees that line their street.
The way around trees taking out power lines is underground cable. Maybe it is time for the Obama Administration to take some funding they give to companies going bankrupt in the solar industry and give that to energy companies to move all lines underground. Three things would be accomplished.
1. Beautification of the town.
2. Improved energy grid.
3. Jobs created to move lines underground.
At least the tax payer would benefit from government spending.
As for the heat, most of those doing the most complaining seem to be the ones that are middle class or higher, while the poor who can’t afford air conditioning or the older folks that remeber how to keep cool without it don’t seem to be saying too much.
If you have friend that are old or very young, watch out for them. But in todays environment, most people only look out for themselves and to devil with anyone else.
RP,
In addition to the underground cables idea, you could make it so that one tree falling doesn’t take out power for more than the houses in that immediate area. That’s what I was getting at.
I’m not opposed to burying cables either, when it makes sense. I don’t think there is a single solution, whether it be buried cables (what about earthquakes?) or self sufficiency.
I live in a poor neighborhood and while you are right that people wouldn’t complain it makes no difference because for some reason we always get less attention from the power company. Dive thru and you’ll see cut back trees along lines in nice areas, but not so much on the poor side of town.
People do complain. I sure have. i know other folks who have. They meet enormous obstacles to actually getting heard.
I’ve often spent hours and hours on the internet and phone trying to find someone who will truly help on various issues with out any luck. Things seem to be set up so that we’re automatically shunted to the same old frequently asked questions that didn’t answer the question in the first place.
It’s almost as true for government as for business. Very occasionally one can find some answers with them.