January the 12th we got hit with a massive ice storm. Power was out to 70% of the Springfield metro area! The shop (work) was without power until January 22nd. Some places still don't have power! We were lucky at home. We only lost power for a few hours - late Friday night through early Saturday morning. We were prepared, though. We had the generator set up, the vehicles fueled, lots of extra gas, food, and alcohol.
Many people were not prepared. The area had gas, kerosene, food and candle shortages for several days. The gas stations that had power quickly ran out of gas. I think the whole ordeal was a dress rehearsal for things to come. This country is heading for some difficult times. We ARE going to run out of oil and/or the power grid is going to fail, and the transition is not going to be a smooth one. It has strengthened my desire to build a house. One that is passive solar and doesn't rely on the grid. We all need to be able to survive on our own. We need to wean ourselves from reliance on civilivation as we now know it, because things as we know them may not be so for much longer...