Article here about the TX power crisis.
Failure to prepare is preparing to fail, and an awful lot of people remain clueless through no fault of anyone else but themselves. The ones who survive the outages are given an opportunity to mend their ways and prepare for the next outage or other disaster. But too many won't. Darwin Award types.
It isn't as if TX has never had debilitating weather issues, and this was totally out of the blue. And yet we see long lines for food handouts or at the grocery stores, which of course all utilize just-in-time stocking strategies for economic reasons. The Great TP Crisis of 2020 is lost on these people. That was a very benign dress rehearsal for a real shortage crisis.
Power outage?
-- Battery LED lanterns, lots of extra batteries for all devices.
-- Ways to stay warm with your own body heat. Space blankets cost about a buck and do surprisingly well. Everyone should have a few of these around, along with plenty of blankets, sleeping bags, winter clothing. Dress in layers. There is zero excuse for people freezing to death unless they live alone and have cognitive issues. Even people who can't afford a generator or make a fire (apartment-dwellers for example) have no excuse for freezing. Except their own stupidity.
-- If possible, have an alternate heat source such as a fireplace or a gas stove.
-- Drinking water of course should always be kept available; say a week's worth for every person in the household. (Water heaters are a readily-available supply of 40 gallons or so. Filter that water with coffee filters, at least; and a tabletop ceramic water filter system etc. should be part of preps anyway.)
-- Food. Buy healthy stuff that you can eat without heating up, or have an alternate way of doing so such as a campfire or grill.
The most important factor is the will to make it through. Suffering can be reduced a lot, and death to near zero. Prevention/preparation always beats cure, yet with every natural disaster we see giant herds of people expecting someone else to save them. None of this is difficult; people just have to do it. That's what is so frustrating.
It's about how to prioritize time and money. Instead of eating expensive and unhealthy junk food--save money, buy healthier food you prepare yourself and spend a couple of bucks on space blankets.
I know I am preaching to the choir here, mostly. And doing a little venting as well. It seems like 3/4 of the population think that if they are watching their favorite Netflix show while stuffing their faces with chips, life is good. What could possibly go wrong?
The Greek storyteller Aesop lived from 620 - 564 BC; one of his stories was about the industrious ant and the lazy grasshopper. So you can see this problem is endemic in human nature.
Failure to prepare is preparing to fail, and an awful lot of people remain clueless through no fault of anyone else but themselves. The ones who survive the outages are given an opportunity to mend their ways and prepare for the next outage or other disaster. But too many won't. Darwin Award types.
It isn't as if TX has never had debilitating weather issues, and this was totally out of the blue. And yet we see long lines for food handouts or at the grocery stores, which of course all utilize just-in-time stocking strategies for economic reasons. The Great TP Crisis of 2020 is lost on these people. That was a very benign dress rehearsal for a real shortage crisis.
Power outage?
-- Battery LED lanterns, lots of extra batteries for all devices.
-- Ways to stay warm with your own body heat. Space blankets cost about a buck and do surprisingly well. Everyone should have a few of these around, along with plenty of blankets, sleeping bags, winter clothing. Dress in layers. There is zero excuse for people freezing to death unless they live alone and have cognitive issues. Even people who can't afford a generator or make a fire (apartment-dwellers for example) have no excuse for freezing. Except their own stupidity.
-- If possible, have an alternate heat source such as a fireplace or a gas stove.
-- Drinking water of course should always be kept available; say a week's worth for every person in the household. (Water heaters are a readily-available supply of 40 gallons or so. Filter that water with coffee filters, at least; and a tabletop ceramic water filter system etc. should be part of preps anyway.)
-- Food. Buy healthy stuff that you can eat without heating up, or have an alternate way of doing so such as a campfire or grill.
The most important factor is the will to make it through. Suffering can be reduced a lot, and death to near zero. Prevention/preparation always beats cure, yet with every natural disaster we see giant herds of people expecting someone else to save them. None of this is difficult; people just have to do it. That's what is so frustrating.
It's about how to prioritize time and money. Instead of eating expensive and unhealthy junk food--save money, buy healthier food you prepare yourself and spend a couple of bucks on space blankets.
I know I am preaching to the choir here, mostly. And doing a little venting as well. It seems like 3/4 of the population think that if they are watching their favorite Netflix show while stuffing their faces with chips, life is good. What could possibly go wrong?
The Greek storyteller Aesop lived from 620 - 564 BC; one of his stories was about the industrious ant and the lazy grasshopper. So you can see this problem is endemic in human nature.