Almost all Virginia residents have electricity again, and the heat wave has eased off at least for now. As we catch our breath and thank our respective deities, it’s time for a couple of reality checks.
FIRST: About our community’s ability to weather an emergency. We’ve just been given a practice run. How many people do you know who went without running water for days? How many bags of ice did it take to keep your food from spoiling? Did you, like many others (including me), take temporary cooling refuge at a mall or movie theater?
10 things the recent D.C. power outage taught us about a real, large-scale collapse
SECOND: About the dramatic effects of global warming. The U.S. has set more than 40,000 hot temperature records in 2012. Scientists expect severe wind- and thunderstorms to increase. And we’ve just seen how vulnerable the power grid is when heavy storms hit.
This U.S. Summer is “What Global Warming Looks Like”
FINALLY: Thinking and talking about these things just isn’t enough. Sherry Ackerman at Transition Voice recently shared a list of actions we should be taking now to ensure our resilience. How many of these things are you already working on? How can all of us in the local Transition movement help each other?
