Inside 43215: Building Blocks
EMERGENCY 411
Last week’s electricity emergency was not fun. It was not like the good ol’ days; it was not like camping.
It was more like… like being plunged into some vile prehistoric state where there are no traffic signals, washing machines or hair dryers.
This must never happen again. Never ever. For those of us who wish to avoid another similar emergency, there are two options.
Option Number One: Install Solar Panels
This actually seems doable. Some Web sites suggest that solar panels can be installed for a few thousand dollars. Those particular panels will fuel one small toaster oven. Sadly, it looks like household-fueling will require a bigger initial investment: well over $50G.
Option Number Two:
You knew this was coming: move downtown. When compared to the rest of the city, the downtown was barely grazed. Rich Close, President of the Downtown Residents Association, has a theory, “I believe with most of the infrastructure underground, that was our saving grace. And more than likely with having all the government buildings and large corporations downtown, we could be on a power grid that has some type of back-up.”
Downtown Columbus: We have the power.
September 23rd, 2008 at 7:59 am
I have lived at 110 N. 3rd St. for 4 1/2 years and have never even as much as had my digital alarm clock flicker from a power outage! I had a co-worker from Westerville bring his ill son to my place last Sunday night when the power went out, so that his feeding machine could have power. There are more reasons than just the conveniences to have a reliable power source.
I also never lost internet service!
September 23rd, 2008 at 10:21 am
I thought about the solar panels plan during the outages as well. The only flaw I saw in that plan was that something would need to be done with them DURING the storm… they’d be just as (if not more) susceptible to being hit by falling branches and the like as power lines, and possibly harder to fix. Other than that, the idea of independent energy creation at the household level was very appealing.
September 23rd, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Get a gas generator.
September 25th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Cleve, I’m visiting San Francisco right now and it isn’t hard to see the purpose behind your vision for downtown Columbus. Density is the key to everything.
Density breeds variety, creativity and energy. Density makes the case for effective and comprehensive mass transit options. Density creates the economic energy to make small business and entrepreneurship possible and sustainable.
The middle-of-the-country rust belt problem of attracting and retaining talent is solved by making downtown more dense… and building the infrastructure to support that density.
Anyway, I’m staying next to the San Francisco Museum of Craft + Design and noticed on the way back last night that there is a completely solar powered large lighting display out front with details about the purpose and method. Introducing solar doesn’t have to be radical. It can be functional, aesthetic, or just fun. Maybe it is time to stop calling these kinds of things ‘alternative’ and start calling them ‘complementary’ or ’supplementary’ (or both).
Re: Gas generators… If we ever are really plunged into an extended period where services and utilities are shut down and survival becomes a real concern. There is going to be mayhem. We’re animals and survival is our number one instinct. An outage of a few days is one thing- but recognize that many grocers lost product and closed up shop for a few days. An extended period, say, of 9 months with no power with no end in sight would essentially shut down life as we know it.
In such a doomsday scenario where the stores are empty, lawlessness prevails, and packs are roaming the streets looking for survival by any means (or worse… wanton violence and such for sport) – folks might just be following the sounds of those generators to pay you a visit.
Solar power is silent.