October Snow

Power back last night.We managed well because we have good winter camping gear, including LED lanterns, propane stove, ventless propane tent heater (enough to keep one room warm), and lots of stored potable water (well--no power, no water) and dried foods.Fortunately, it didn't get cold enough to threaten the plumbing. I'm installing a drain and drain hose in the basement this weekend so we can clear all water when this happens again mid-winter and the pipes threaten to freeze. Nearly all my neighbors have emergency generators, most of them illegally and unsafely wired.We've spent almost two weeks out of the past two months without power. I'm calculating the savings in electricity and oil, searching for a silver lining.

Be sure to let your grandchildren know how cheerfully you gambled with their patrimony.

Most of our damage in CT came from trees.The state has massively reforested since the 18th and 19th century clearings for agriculture. Since the native tribes frequently burned off hunting ground understories, outside cities the state is probably more heavily forested than at any time since the arrival of homo sapiens.The past few GOP state administrations progressively (sic) cut state and utility budgets for tree trimming and removal on utility rights-of-way, largely to dodge the clear necessity of raising taxes and/or rates. Much of our once-productive infrastructure is crumbling for the same reason. A Democratic governor has raised taxes slightly on the wealthy (and nearly everyone else)--unfortunately, the neglect continued so long even the larger budget will probably be inadequate. Line crews are at about a third of the staffing level of a few decades ago: we have to import out-of-state contractors to restore service, spending many times the expense of regular maintenance. It's good for private corporations, though.This scenario is, of course, a standard neo-conservative tactic: cut taxes on the wealthy and corporate to starve government and fracture services to prove government doesn't work so that people will support further cuts favoring the wealthy and the corporate. Then when things get so bad a Democrat takes office, smear them as tax-and-spend liberals for trying to restore the commonweal--and demand to know why they can't repair a decade of neglect in one year.Works pretty well. I'm glad I'm old, because I weary of it.Our especially prolonged outage this time around was partly due to large transmissions lines being taken down by older (100-150') trees that were outside the high-tension corridor rights-of-way established among less mature forests.I'm a certified tree hugger, but that classic New England flavor of roads winding through a tunnel of trees is a recipe for disaster.

That's an excellent idea, frako. I'll look into it.

My oil furnace has electronic ignition. Whatever source I supply will have to handle that, the hot water impeller, and the four zone thermostats and valves. I think the oil line is gravity fed. I installed a high efficiency electronically controlled motor last year; I think its power demands are small.I'm pretty sure there is a single line to the furnace from the panel for everything. A simple switch or some bypass wiring should do the trick.The solution is practical for emergency use, I think. I'll check the amps at the panel--even if I need a deep cycle marine battery, it's a cheaper and greener solution then a gas or diesel generator: no CO, no tanks of gas or diesel, easy setup and maintenance. I could always add a charge controller and solar panel later which would let me recharge the furnace battery and my LED lanterns.I really appreciate the idea. I'll let you know how it goes.Edited by Omnivorous, : No reason given.

Resist.

As Percy suggested, we've got lots of behind.Take a tour of Europe, then come to the U.S.--ride our trains, drive our roads, shake with fear on our bridges and observe our crumbling cities.You'll think you've traveled into the past.

Detroit R U.S.

How relatively Christian of you.

Even your secular claims are nonsense.Rail remains the most cost-effective means of moving freight in the U.S.Can you provide some contrary evidence? Or do you just "believe"?