Category: Current Events

“An EMP has very real potential for crippling much of our electrical grid instantaneously. Not only would that immediately throw the social order into chaos, but the timeline to repair and restart the grid in most estimated scenarios would take months to a year or more.”

“There is no part of the U.S. government that has the legal powers to order them to protect the grid. This is unusual, because in the case of every other critical infrastructure, there’s an agency in the U.S. government that can require them to take actions for public safety. For example, the Food & Drug Administration can order certain medicines kept off shelves to protect the public safety. … The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission doesn’t have those legal powers or authorities.”

(http://slashdot.org/story/295243)

“A decade-old oil leak where an offshore platform toppled during a hurricane could continue spilling crude into the Gulf of Mexico for a century or more if left unchecked”

(http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ed1962fa84434fadb9747ebc98388c2f/apnewsbreak-us-says-gulf-oil-spill-could-last-100-years)