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.
You might want to check out The Big Belch – a graphic novel about the environment and corporate greed that is kind of like Dr. Strangelove meets BP with drawings.
Big Belch Graphic Novel Youtube channel
The Big Belch Blog