Thursday, November 24, 2011

"The Great Southwest Blackout" --Vol. II -- low-watt dimwit saga shines bright light on infinite failings of overly-complex systems

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Recent Southwest U.S. Blackout a Tempest in a Teapot Compared to Fallout from Solar Coronal Mass Ejection (CME)


And just wait until a major solar storm or severe space weather causes a weeks- or months-long blackout.  The failure of a back-up generator at a San Diego hospital described below is especially Illuminating ! -->>

Back-ups for the back-ups !

And even redundancy may fail flatly during a regional, national, or hemispheric EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) event.  Got one back-up generator?  Sorry, that won't cut it in an EMP event.

Now, here's the local San Diego blackout updates:

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San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) opens blackout claims process

15 Sept 2011

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/sep/15/san-diego-utility-opens-blackout-claims-process/

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SDG&E [ San Diego Gas & Electric ] Sued by San Diegans;

Local businesses filed a class-action suit against the power company

16 Sept 2011 -- NBC San Diego

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Restaurants-Sue-SDGE-129924153.html

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Scripps Mercy Hospital [ in San Diego ] probed after generator fails

16 Sept 2011 -- San Diego Union-Tribune

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"Scripps Mercy Chula Vista was the only hospital out of 19 in San Diego County to totally lose emergency power during the blackout.  It also is one of just two hospitals in the county with only one emergency generator.  The other is Sharp Coronado Hospital."

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"Gammiere and Tim Collins, Scripps Health corporate vice president for support services, said they will recommend buying a portable generator that could cost $1 million, to station at the Chula Vista hospital.  All five Scripps hospitals also should have an extra fuel pump and hookups for the portable generator, they said."

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http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/sep/16/scripps-mercy-probed-after-generator-fails/

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Outage had roots in Mexico, too;

Transmission official says Yuma [ Arizona ] was not the only problem

16 Sept 2011 -- San Diego Union-Tribune

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/sep/16/outage-had-roots-in-mexico-too/

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POSTED 17 Sept 2011 by:

David A. Palella
Founder
EMP DEFENSE COUNCIL(sm)
[ Electro-Magnetic Pulse Defense Council(sm) ]

San Diego, California
cell: 619-787-5767
email:  dpalella@gmail.com

http://EMP411.blogspot.com

EMP Defense Council -- Preparing for Electro-Magnetic Pulse
http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/3702799/


(1) Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP) Defense Council(C) Founded in San Diego, California on Pearl Harbor Day

http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=695425


(2) The EMP Defense Council(C) Announces the Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP) Priority Hardening List Ranked by Industry Vulnerability, and Proposes a Markets-Based Approach to Addressing Solar or Nuclear EMP Events

http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=708639


(3) EMP Defense Council(SM) Highlights Calculable Risks of Solar Cycle Peak in 2013

http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=784096


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