Lights Out
Electricity is an amazing tool but, we are totally dependent upon it. I’ve been lucky where I live, the power rarely fails. However, a few years ago I awoke to a very cold house. The electricity had gone out during a nighttime snowstorm. Fortunately, my wife and I were prepared with plenty of stored food, a woodstove for heating and cooking, and a hand pump on our well. It did get cold as the fire in the stove burned down in the night but, we had plenty of blankets. We were fine, but not everyone had prepared. Thankfully, the outage only lasted five days. Imagine life without power for a month or longer. Would you survive?
Grid Down, Power Up is an hour-long documentary that asks the question, what would happen if our aging power grid failed? The film is directed by David Tice, produced by Patrea Patrick and Matthew Witchell, and narrated by actor Dennis Quaid.
I first heard of Grid Down, Power Up when Dennis Quaid appeared on Fox News to promote the production. I made a note to see the film and I’m glad I did. The documentary focuses on the critical areas of the power grid that might fail or be attacked by our adversaries. There are many vulnerabilities; hurricanes, winter storms, tornadoes, terrorism, cyberattacks, and more. The website for the movie tells us, “Grid failure is a real and imminent threat, a devastatingly deadly occurrence leading to life-threatening shortages of heat, food, and water. If protective measures are not taken, we will experience catastrophic failures leaving citizens in states of starvation, death, destruction, and darkness for months. Reports released from Texas’ 3-day ‘snowmageddon’ indicate a minimum death toll of 246, with some estimates climbing as high as 702.”
While speaking on Fox News, Dennis Quaid said, “Just 30 days without electricity, it would take us back to 1880. You wouldn’t be able to get gas. You wouldn’t be able to get food. The police would have to stay home and care for their own families.” But perhaps the most frightening vulnerability is either natural or manmade electromagnetic pulse (EMP). Various sources have advised that an EMP could shut the grid down for a year or more and result in millions of deaths. With nuclear-capable adversaries such as China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia the likelihood of an EMP attack is more of a when than an if.
Grid Down, Power Up does more than show the problem. This documentary also offers solutions and ways that individuals can get involved and help fix the problems. Every family should be aware of this problem and take steps to prepare.
Currently, the only place to see Grid Down, Power Up is on the website. Originally, viewing the movie cost about nineteen dollars, but a pay-it-forward program allows recent visitors to view it for free. Click on the link and see if you can be one of them.
Have you experienced a multiple-day power outage? Were you prepared? Does the prospect of a grid-down situation concern you? Let us know in the comment section below.
