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Globalization meltdown: When half of India loses electricity, time for lessons on going local
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Leroy N. Soetoro
Aug 1, 2012, 1:14:49 PM8/1/12
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http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2012/0731/When-half-
of-India-loses-electricity-time-for-lessons-on-going-local
Countries that rely on a national infrastructure for basic needs � from
electricity to roads to food � can take a lesson from India�s massive
power outages. A big, complex system must have resiliency built into it
from scratch � all the better to absorb disruption and recover from
hardship.
On Tuesday, India�s electricity grid failed 600 million people, or half
its population. And it was the second day of big blackouts. And they were
on a scale that shows once again that centralized energy systems � while
perhaps efficient and cost-effective � can be vulnerable to a cascade of
unforeseen small mistakes.
The United States experienced a massive blackout in 2003 when some 45
million people in the Northeast and Midwest were in the dark for hours.
The trigger was a few overgrown trees hitting power lines on a hot summer
day.
India is still probing the cause of its blackouts � perhaps not enough
water in hydroelectric dams or state governments taking more than their
share of power. Whatever the reason, such a disruption in a nation�s basic
supplies would occur less often if such systems were decentralized into
networks of local, smaller suppliers � similar to how the Internet is
structured.
Resiliency in systems is much like in people. The ability to bounce back
depends on having deep connections to others, such as family, friends, or
those who hold similar moral views. Collaboration with a diversity of
sources creates a better capacity to absorb shocks.
One reason for the 2008 financial crisis in the US was a high dependency
on a few large banks that were all involved in the same, complex business
of trading in dubious home mortgages. Few people really know how that
system worked or how vulnerable it was. Regulators were caught unaware.
A greater reliance on smaller banks and more diversity in financial
investments might have lessened the impact of the bursting of the housing-
market bubble. Even Sandy Weill, the former chief executive who built
Citigroup into a global financial institution, now favors banks that won�t
�risk the taxpayer dollars� and that aren�t �too big to fail.�
Nations with big electric utilities rely on a model begun in 1882 by
Thomas Edison. Today, the US has about 6,000 power plants that require
450,000 miles of transmission lines. Entire regions can go dark at a
moment�s notice. Former Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson says the US is
�a superpower with a third-world grid.�
It�s a top-down, complex system vulnerable to bad weather, cyberattacks,
solar flares, and human mistakes. And the US will need to spend about $75
billion a year to upgrade it for future electricity needs, according to a
2011 report from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Otherwise, the
report states, a �combination of aging equipment and capacity bottlenecks�
will lead to �a greater incidence of electricity interruptions.�
And a new report called �Powering America�s Energy Resilience� from the
Center for National Policy finds: �Disruptive risks to the critical
foundations of US national power and prosperity are likely to grow in
frequency and intensity in the 21st Century.� The report suggests that the
US rethink the role of infrastructure in supporting daily life.
India�s blackouts point to the need for a new kind of resiliency in power
supplies, one that relies on local, self-contained energy producers tied
together by microgrids. Many US cities are trying this approach,
especially with �green� energy such as solar. Much like the �local
economy� and �local food� movements, perhaps nations can also move toward
�local energy� as a way to ensure reliability.
--
Obama's black racist USAG appointee.
Eric Holder, racist black United States Attorney General drops voter
intimidation charges against the Black Panthers, "You are about to be
ruled by the black man, cracker!"
Eric Holder, prejudiced black United States Attorney General settles the
hate crime debate, "Whites Not Protected by Hate Crime Laws."
Nancy Pelosi, Democrat criminal, accessory before and after the fact, to
former House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel of New
York's million dollar tax evasion.
Barack Obama and Eric Holder, committed treason by knowingly and
deliberately arming enemies of the United States of America through
Operation Fast and Furious. Complicit in the murder of Federal employees
during the execution of their duties.
--- Posted via news://freenews.netfront.net/ - Complaints to ne...@netfront.net ---
of-India-loses-electricity-time-for-lessons-on-going-local
Countries that rely on a national infrastructure for basic needs � from
electricity to roads to food � can take a lesson from India�s massive
power outages. A big, complex system must have resiliency built into it
from scratch � all the better to absorb disruption and recover from
hardship.
On Tuesday, India�s electricity grid failed 600 million people, or half
its population. And it was the second day of big blackouts. And they were
on a scale that shows once again that centralized energy systems � while
perhaps efficient and cost-effective � can be vulnerable to a cascade of
unforeseen small mistakes.
The United States experienced a massive blackout in 2003 when some 45
million people in the Northeast and Midwest were in the dark for hours.
The trigger was a few overgrown trees hitting power lines on a hot summer
day.
India is still probing the cause of its blackouts � perhaps not enough
water in hydroelectric dams or state governments taking more than their
share of power. Whatever the reason, such a disruption in a nation�s basic
supplies would occur less often if such systems were decentralized into
networks of local, smaller suppliers � similar to how the Internet is
structured.
Resiliency in systems is much like in people. The ability to bounce back
depends on having deep connections to others, such as family, friends, or
those who hold similar moral views. Collaboration with a diversity of
sources creates a better capacity to absorb shocks.
One reason for the 2008 financial crisis in the US was a high dependency
on a few large banks that were all involved in the same, complex business
of trading in dubious home mortgages. Few people really know how that
system worked or how vulnerable it was. Regulators were caught unaware.
A greater reliance on smaller banks and more diversity in financial
investments might have lessened the impact of the bursting of the housing-
market bubble. Even Sandy Weill, the former chief executive who built
Citigroup into a global financial institution, now favors banks that won�t
�risk the taxpayer dollars� and that aren�t �too big to fail.�
Nations with big electric utilities rely on a model begun in 1882 by
Thomas Edison. Today, the US has about 6,000 power plants that require
450,000 miles of transmission lines. Entire regions can go dark at a
moment�s notice. Former Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson says the US is
�a superpower with a third-world grid.�
It�s a top-down, complex system vulnerable to bad weather, cyberattacks,
solar flares, and human mistakes. And the US will need to spend about $75
billion a year to upgrade it for future electricity needs, according to a
2011 report from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Otherwise, the
report states, a �combination of aging equipment and capacity bottlenecks�
will lead to �a greater incidence of electricity interruptions.�
And a new report called �Powering America�s Energy Resilience� from the
Center for National Policy finds: �Disruptive risks to the critical
foundations of US national power and prosperity are likely to grow in
frequency and intensity in the 21st Century.� The report suggests that the
US rethink the role of infrastructure in supporting daily life.
India�s blackouts point to the need for a new kind of resiliency in power
supplies, one that relies on local, self-contained energy producers tied
together by microgrids. Many US cities are trying this approach,
especially with �green� energy such as solar. Much like the �local
economy� and �local food� movements, perhaps nations can also move toward
�local energy� as a way to ensure reliability.
--
Obama's black racist USAG appointee.
Eric Holder, racist black United States Attorney General drops voter
intimidation charges against the Black Panthers, "You are about to be
ruled by the black man, cracker!"
Eric Holder, prejudiced black United States Attorney General settles the
hate crime debate, "Whites Not Protected by Hate Crime Laws."
Nancy Pelosi, Democrat criminal, accessory before and after the fact, to
former House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel of New
York's million dollar tax evasion.
Barack Obama and Eric Holder, committed treason by knowingly and
deliberately arming enemies of the United States of America through
Operation Fast and Furious. Complicit in the murder of Federal employees
during the execution of their duties.
--- Posted via news://freenews.netfront.net/ - Complaints to ne...@netfront.net ---
Ramon F Herrera
Aug 1, 2012, 1:36:11 PM8/1/12
to
It is funny how you attempt to use the electrical failure in India
(not quite the US!!) to justify your obvious racism and not-so-obvious
-but present- rejection of capitalism.
You far right winger people are a riot...
-Ramon
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