I could be wrong, and hope I am, but the mighty push for the electrification of everything (see earlier post) will probably cause some grid failures like we’ve never experienced before. We’re used to occasional outages of a couple days, but some experts are warning about the possibility of outages that last weeks or months! I wrote about that last week: “In case you think there’s no danger of an extensive blackout, here’s a report from the experts at ferv.gov that know all about it, with all their source papers - read the whole thing here.”
The danger should decrease in a few years, after enough time for the grid to catch up with the demand that’s outpaced it, but there will still be a danger of solar flares and terrorist attacks on the grid. The more we electrify everything, the more painful outages will be.
So think about that. No heat, except for wood stoves. (even gas and oil furnaces rely on electric controls and fan) Frozen pipes. No water. No gas refills. No refrigerated food. No stores; No online info, shopping, or email. No cellphone communication. No credit cards. No banking. No way to recharge anything, unless you have your own private solar system or wind turbine.
If it’s cold
Be very careful if using propane heaters. Every year, some people die from carbon monoxide poisoning. You have to have some ventilation. Don’t go to sleep with a propane heater on. Even hunters have died in their tents. Also be careful with candles and lanterns – you don’t want the house to catch on fire.
Shut your water off and drain off the pressure if you want to save a big plumber’s bill later, and water damage from pipes flooding the house when the weather warms up.
Have enough blankets and warm clothing for yourself and for your loved ones, and watch over elderly folks who live alone – check to see if they’re alright. Some people might move in together to more easily share the things they have and to combine their efforts. These decisions about moving should be made while you still have gas in the car for transportation, unless you’re in walking distance.
Water
Have some extra drinking water on hand. Consider a rain barrel. You can boil water to kill germs, but that takes fuel, so a water filter is good to have.
Food
You can live quite a while without food, but if you want to be able to help others, you need to keep your strength up. Take inventory of canned and dry foods and have enough on hand to last for a while. Freeze-dried meals are especially good because they are so easy to prepare – all you have to do is boil some water. You’ll need a propane or butane gas stove and spare fuel - easily found at your local outdoor store.
Financial
Banks don’t deal much in cash any more. Almost all transactions are digital. Credit cards won’t work. Checks will not be processed. So while the grid is down, it will come down to the basics. Cash will be valuable for private dealings or stores found open. You may have something your neighbor needs, and your neighbor may have something you need. You can use cash, silver or gold coins, barter, trade, loan, or, if your neighbor is poor, you can simply give.
Bitcoin, by the way, won’t work while the internet is down. Gold coins will.
Spare time
We may find a lot of spare time, and maybe that’s not so bad – to slow down. Do you have some real books to read? (not ebooks; not audio books; real hold-in-your-hand books) The most important book to have is a good bible faithfully translated in modern language so you can understand it better.
Faith
If you’re a Christian, you already have the faith to put all your trust in God. He will never leave you. In what we might think of as the ‘worst case’ scenario, ie., death, it’s not really a worst case, because we know heaven is where we’re going – not because of anything we have done or deserve, but because we believe and trust Jesus.
Even if you’re not a Christian, it’s never too late – maybe you’re like the prodigal son – the Father will welcome you with open arms. A crisis could turn out to be a good thing for you, if it gives you time to think about getting right with God. Your past doesn’t matter – the time for salvation is Now.