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For the last 3 days my power has been out due to a freak storm that only lasted minutes due to the excessive heat heare in Annapolis, Maryland.
I just heard from my relatives in West Virginia, they are without
electricity and may not get it back until Sunday. They are also
low on gas supplies and have no power to pump the gas they do have
out of the tank.
In the United States there are millions without electricity.
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I am really surprised that a tank of compressed air with a regulator attached isn't part of the system. The compressed air could work in place of the electric motor to pump the gas in a natural disaster situation. Either that or a battery backup would work as well. This would save many lives if rapid evacuation should become necessary.
With such stifling heat, pedaling a bike to work could be deadly. And in many cases, there is no job to go to, most workplaces are in the dark too.
I am fortunate that I don't live back East. Without A/C I would end up among the body count. Heat makes me extremely ill very fast. For me, fever and high blood pressure are caused by heat. I grew up in Los Angeles and NEVER got used to the heat. In 1978 my health was going downhill due to heat intolerence and at age 25 I moved to the SF Bay Area. Had I stayed in LA, I probably would have not reached even age 40.
Scott
I would also point out riding a bike is out of the question
as mahy roads are impassable, due to downed trees, downed
power lines. If you see a wire down you have to assume it
live.
Compressed air tanks can only provide power for a short time - a few hours at most. Same thing with battery backup power supplies (unless you have a Russian diesel-powered submarine in your backyard with fully charged batteries - it can provide power to an average home for several weeks...). My bank of battery backup power supplies can provide power for about 3 to 6 hours if I shut everything down except for a few essentials.
The gas- and diesel-fueled generators that you can get at hardware stores can provide power for up to one day on a full tank.
I grew up in Romania, which has a climate quite similar with the East Coast, though not so humid. Then I lived in Denmark for quite a long time and got used to the oceanic, west wind-driven weather patterns. I have difficulty coping with the heat too because of my body's mass-to-area ratio - a lot of mass generating a lot of heat with not enough area to dissipate it.
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A Linux Longhair