Life WITHOUT the power grid

We now enjoy the benefits of electric lighting, powered by electricity delivered to our homes through the national power grid, giving no more thought to lighting than it takes to flip a switch or write a check to pay the monthly electric bill. Few realize the grid is very fragile: a few years ago a tree fell in the mountains, touched several high voltage lines, and the ripple effect took out the power to 9 western states. In January, 2000, someone sabotaged a single transmission tower in central Oregon by simply cutting a guy wire support, and when the tower fell parts of three states lost electricity. The power grid intertie works both ways! It can feed power from one part of the country to another, but if one segment goes down, it can pull the entire system down with it.

Imagine the scenario if a group of dedicated terrorists made a concerted effort to sabotage the grid - no electricity for a long time. But far worse is planned. Spetznaz troops were actually caught several years ago on top of Hoover Dam. Alexander Lunov has stated that Russian backpack nukes are already buried on American soil -- and targeted for Grand Coulee on the Columbia River and Hoover on the Colorado, among other infrastructure targets. Recent reports say that Osama bin Laden has purchased 20 of the Russian backpack nukes, some of them already on American soil. The Chinese military has published articles on how they would target America's infrastructure PRIOR to any conflict. By any measure, our electrical grid is a fragile, far flung target -- a tempting target for any terrorists, and one relatively easy to take out.

It is therefore entirely prudent to plan on living without electricity provided by the national power grid.

How would you cope with a loss of electrical power and natural gas?  Could you heat your home and cook meals independently of "the system" while not managing to attract unwanted attention to yourself? 

It is possible for you to be self reliant in cooking and at least marginal heating if you have a good kerosene wick type cook stove -- and a supply of kerosene, of course. As little as 10 gallons of kerosene would provide months of use for cooking.

Will a kerosene cook stove heat a whole house up to 70 degrees F. when it is really freezing outside?  Not a chance. Never happen. But a kerosene stove is enough to keep you out of a government shelter and safe in your own home!

It doesn't matter what the emergency...a kerosene stove is marvelous insurance against almost any type of disaster. For more information on kerosene stoves, click on "Kerosene heaters and stoves."

  Please read the "Preparations" section of this web site to know what other preparations you should take so you will be ready to provide for your own family without relying on government handouts -- IF available.

Can you live in hard times without a kerosene cook stove? Certainly. Wood cook stoves were used extensively up until fairly recent times. But did you ever try to cook on a wood stove inside a home in the summer?  Not fun at all, which was why my grandmother (and many others) had large screened porches with wood cook stoves for summer use. Wood stoves also advertise your presence and preparations with their smoke plumes! Why attract attention when it is not necessary? 

For the cost of one evening out on the town, every homeowner could have a kerosene stove that could cook meals, boil water for washing, AND do double duty as a small, safe space heater - very cheap insurance for the hard times to come.

Pax,

Miles Stair

 

------------------

Site Index