Incident spotlights security vulnerability of centralized energy production and distribution
This country is amidst a fundamental cross-roads when it comes to energy development. Many, including those in Washington, are straddling a dirty green line, a compromise of wildlife habitat and public lands to facilitate Salazar’s ambitious “moon shot” – the expeditious development of centralized renewable energy and transmission lines.
I’ve been delivering the need for a line in the green sand, concluding that a landscape and wildlife habitat carved by an energy development marketed as “green” is still a denuded landscape and precluded wildlife habitat.
But frequent visitors to this forum may note that Ralph has also been pointing to another vulnerability in re-developing our energy grid in the same centralized fashion as before. He’s been pointing to the inherent vulnerability of centralized production and distribution of power to disruption – whether it be from domestic, natural, or foreign threats :
Electrical Grid In U.S. Penetrated by Spies – Washington Post
An idea about better solutions ?
Let’s support ideas that promote conservation – stop using so much !
Let’s support putting renewable energy generation technologies where the damage of development is already done – including on roof-tops and as close to the energy’s point of use as is possible. We have the technology to produce energy on our homes and in our back-yards – doing so is:
- more efficient (don’t need to generate as much)
- makes us more aware of the energy that we do use (more prone to conserve)
- keeps money spent on energy in local communities with local jobs
- significantly reduces energy productions’ impact to wildlife habitat
- makes individuals and local communities more economically secure and defended against volatile price fluctuation
- Better secures our nation from targeted disruptions – whether malicious like terrorism, war, Enron etc. – or in the event of natural disaster like earthquakes, hurricanes, freezes, etc.
Comments
Yes, I think that makes perfect sense. The more centralized and dependent on mega-transmission lines an energy grid is, the LESS defensible it is. And the MORE goes out with some kind of security breach.