According to Time.com:
The attack could come when we’re most vulnerable — a blistering hot July afternoon or a freezing cold January night. Suddenly, vast sections of the U.S. power grid go black. The lights go out, air-conditioning (or heating) shuts down.
Once it becomes clear that this is no temporary brownout, the public begins to panic. At the power utilities, engineers can’t understand why the network shut off, and can’t get it to start up again.
It’s hours before the truth emerges: a terrorist group (or a hostile country, or some evil-genius hacker) has broken into the computer networks that control the power grid, bringing the U.S. to its knees.
Read the full article at Time.com:
Power Grid
- The article describe of hackers taken control of the utility power grid had actually portrayed in the blockbuster movie “Die Hard 4.0″ is generally “NOT GOING TO HAPPEN” which points towards fiction.
However, on the contrary I believe it may happen in our life time not by some cyber hacker but a more simple sohphicated method using the EMP (electromagnetic pulse) or NNEMP (Non-nuclear electromagnetic pulse) near power plants.
EMP caused by a nuclear device exploding above any power plant will not destroy all infrastructure but instead creating a huge electromagnetic wave that can virtually “overload” all circuits that are not protected by Faraday’s cage.
The idea is some hackers may be able to get their hands on certain NNEMP device and try it near any power plant with remote control activation via internet far away from ground zero.
The blackout may be temporary for this type of attack as any electronics can be replaced and repaired easily and the most the down time can be just weeks.
The worst case scenario is the source of fuel that power the generators of the power plant…if it’s the same of fossil fuel such as natural gas or crude oil…we are in a big trouble in the near future.
The choke point still points to the narrow straits of Hormuz where 40% of the world oil supply passes through this strait, conveniently IRAN happens to be in artillery range of these super oil tankers and very very vulnerable to their air to naval missiles.
The recent article about Israel thinking of striking Iran may be the “beginning” of global energy crisis and permanent black out in majority of the world that uses crude oil or natural gas as feed stock for their electricity power generation or face extreme inflation of OIL PRICES that may sky rocket to above $200 per barrel.
However, Israel President dismissed the talk about striking IRAN and downplay the tension like a musician artist stroking the tighten strings of the guitar.
So, back to how vulnerable is the power grid? We will never know…when the time comes you will find out about it via that insane heat or extreme cold that you will be feeling.
Things that indicate the electric grid had gone down
- The insane heat in your house
- Your toilet bowl freeze up
- Your taps stops flowing from the national water treatment plants.
- Traffic lights gone
- Cell phone, iPod, iPhone, PSP and all electronics stops charging
- Internet connection disrupted
- Television no longer on standby but it’s off.
- Microwave Died.
- Total darkness not even street lamp, you can’t see your five fingers.
- Loud noise from neighbors screaming or shouting
- Police sirens or Ambulance sirens everywhere.
The above is just the beginning signals of a total blackout, if it’s permanent…you will get more symptoms such as chaos of lootings & mass crimes commited by ordinary folks just to surivive the crisis.
If there are no gun laws, the streets will become a war zone….if there are gun laws…the streets will be a knife zones.
The rest just watch movies such as “Die Hard 4.0″, “Mad Max 2 & 3″ and the book “The Road” to get the feel of what it will be like.
We are vulnerable regardless what you think but to me, everyday is a blessing and by knowing the end might be near….we will be better appreciative of every hour we are alive in this world…
Make your day the best day of your life and be prepared for any kinds of emergency that may occur in our life time.
God Bless.
