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Nation still in dark about power needs
Associated Press via the Seattle Times ^ | Thursday, August 14, 2008 | Mark Williams

Posted on 08/14/2008 8:39:54 AM PDT by businessprofessor

Five years after the worst blackout in North American history, the country's largest power providers say the problems that turned out the lights on 50 million people have largely been resolved, but they fear that larger, systemic issues could soon lead to even bigger and more damaging outages.

(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government
KEYWORDS: blackouts; energy; powergeneration; powergrid
There are some interesting comments by energy executives about the cancellation of coal plants and the difficulty of nuclear plant approval. If the rats get their way on energy and the environment, an energy meltdown is coming.
1 posted on 08/14/2008 8:39:54 AM PDT by businessprofessor
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To: businessprofessor

I am glad my home is self-powered, with no need for the grid.


2 posted on 08/14/2008 8:41:22 AM PDT by Righter-than-Rush
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To: Righter-than-Rush
I am glad my home is self-powered, with no need for the grid.

Do not think that an energy meltdown would not impact you. You may be off the grid, but you still depend on goods and services that are on the grid.

3 posted on 08/14/2008 8:44:25 AM PDT by businessprofessor
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To: Righter-than-Rush
I am glad my home is self-powered, with no need for the grid.

In a nation where maybe two candy bars in the pantry qualify for disaster planning, you'll need a lot more than that my FRiend!
4 posted on 08/14/2008 8:48:21 AM PDT by Issaquahking (Obama, Jimmy Carter 's act II. Different name, same game.....)
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To: businessprofessor

I suspect at some critical point...where we’ve reached the 95 percent point of what we can produce...we will come up with a list of the folks who use three times the amount of power of a normal average American family. We’ll send these folks a friendly letter where we detail that we are limiting them to this three times level...and NO more.

The “Al Gores” of America...all 250,000 of them...who consume vast amounts of power to heat their pools and run all kinds 24-hour saunas....will suddenly ask why? I recall reading last year of a guy in Arizona building a 4,500 square foot home in Tucson...and kept thinking it’ll have to be cooled and the guy has to burn at least five times what a average family would burn on power.

The same story is true on malls and stores. Consider that before the mid-1960s....most major stores in America did not have AC units. The same solution will occur to these people. And even the federal buildings around the nation...will eventually fall into this same solution.

This is precisely what the environmentalists created with this entire strategy. They know that by not challenging via the court system the halt for nuke power construction...we are simply building this bridge to a eventual limit for citizens.

Face it...the nation survived for easily 150 years without AC, and we could do so today if we had to. The same is true with heated pools and vast freezers in the garage.


5 posted on 08/14/2008 8:53:11 AM PDT by pepsionice
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To: pepsionice

We survived a lot longer than 150 years without environmentalists.
There’s a backlash coming against them,(& their media & Congressional stooges) and THEY will one day be an endangered species.
Americans will not stand for being FORCED to go “black” in order to be “green”.
We have the means, and the NEED, to expand our energy capabilities.
Do we have the WILL?


6 posted on 08/14/2008 9:17:35 AM PDT by 95 Bravo ("Freedom is not free.")
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To: Righter-than-Rush

I keep thinking how self-sufficient I was living in the country, growing my own food, getting meat from the cows we farmed, not having to lock my doors at night. This was the mid 70s...no gas shortage, we had well water, whatever we needed.

I think I should ditch this cosmopolitan living and head back to the farm.


7 posted on 08/14/2008 9:35:42 AM PDT by hoe_cake ("Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself." MTwain)
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To: what_not2007
I think I should ditch this cosmopolitan living and head back to the farm.

You may be followed by 300 million others if the rats prevail. Country living will never be the same!

8 posted on 08/14/2008 9:43:45 AM PDT by businessprofessor
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To: businessprofessor

“You may be followed by 300 million others... .”

How many of those 300 million can survive without modern conveniences?

How many know how to build a fire even?


9 posted on 08/14/2008 9:46:07 AM PDT by hoe_cake ("Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself." MTwain)
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To: what_not2007
How many of those 300 million can survive without modern conveniences? How many know how to build a fire even?

I suspect that not many have those knowledge and skills. I guess they will learn on the job. The rat plan will lead to drastic reductions in consumption so I do not see any alternative to more basic living.

10 posted on 08/14/2008 10:00:53 AM PDT by businessprofessor
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To: businessprofessor

AFter 9/11 I wondered if it would be necessary to leave the city and move into the hills. I swear I plotted this move. Take my children with me.

I still think about it. I can’t build a fire without a fire source (not real keen on rubbing two sticks together), and I don’t know that I could catch an animal and roast it on a spit, but do believe I have enough knowledge to forage for berries and other edible foods.

Meanwhile, my citified friends would roll over and die, pitifully spoiled that they are.


11 posted on 08/14/2008 10:10:45 AM PDT by hoe_cake ("Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself." MTwain)
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To: businessprofessor
What happens when we plug in our 1,000,000 electric cars? We cannot get to work, well anywhere, and we can not keep the economy running on wind mills for each car (unless we can push start them)
12 posted on 08/14/2008 10:18:31 AM PDT by BillT (God said it, that settles it whether I believe it or not! (Bible rules))
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To: BillT
We cannot get to work, well anywhere, and we can not keep the economy running on wind mills for each car (unless we can push start them).

I never thought about the push start. What a brilliant idea! Barack Obama should seize on it. It is a great idea to promote both energy conservation and personal fitness. When you combine the push start with a tire guage, you have a start of a real energy policy. I bet we could create lots of green jobs for instructors to teach the push start.

13 posted on 08/14/2008 10:25:27 AM PDT by businessprofessor
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To: businessprofessor
Big trouble is in the wind. (No T. Boone Pickens pun intended.)

What is the cost of the Democrat "No Domestic Energy Policy?"

All of that puts the U.S. in a position that war for oil or
complete economic collapse will be our only choices.
You can't frustrate every source of domestic energy
without consequences. Our enemies will blackmail us
to the extent that we are vulnerable to blackmail.

The Democrats are leading us into a real war for oil.
A war we won't have the energy to fight.

14 posted on 08/14/2008 12:11:18 PM PDT by TigersEye (Berlin '36 ... Olympics for murdering regimes. ... Beijing '08)
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To: what_not2007
what_not2007 said: "How many of those 300 million can survive without modern conveniences?

The better question may be: "How many of those 300 million will survive by taking what they want from those unable to defend themselves?"

If you are unprepared to defend what you have from those 300 million, then you are unprepared.

15 posted on 08/14/2008 12:21:24 PM PDT by William Tell (RKBA for California (rkba.members.sonic.net) - Volunteer by contacting Dave at rkba@sonic.net)
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