c/collapse · by fake_meows@sopuli.xyz · 4d

What if America Went Completely Dark? [Longform]

“We came up with some very astounding numbers,” Wellinghoff said. “If you knock out nine total substations among three grids, you can black out the entire United States.” At some point, though, the authorities would have to tell the public: The power won’t be restored for a very long time. "

16 points · 3 comments · view on lemmy.world

3 Comments

fake_meows@sopuli.xyz · 7 pts · 4d (1 reply)

Disabling nine substations simultaneously might be beyond the reach of a domestic terror group, but it is well within the capabilities of a state actor. For years, intelligence analysts have warned that the grid represents an inviting “attack surface” for adversaries including China, North Korea, Russia and Iran. Already, China has been caught installing a software backdoor in a large power transformer being shipped to a federal utility in Colorado. The Pentagon has warned that the Chinese could target critical infrastructure specifically to “undermine the will of the U.S. public.”

Durkovich worries that our enemies will feel newly emboldened to consider substations a valid target. “The United States is actually normalizing attacking critical infrastructure within Venezuela and Iran,” she said. Just this month, Iran was linked to recent sabotage of water systems in several states. The grid could be an even bigger prize for the right adversary: Without an army or a fleet of bombers or a nuke, you could cripple the United States for years

PagPag@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 4d

This has always been a threat vector, even before the us fell into this fascist state. We’re too busy working on our own demise to be concerned with it however.

Massive blackouts in metropolitan areas across the country simultaneously and for over a week duration would cause a collapse.

I’m insulated, but just slightly…completely off grid power and water but it would just make me a target as things descended into chaos.

jumping_redditor@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 4d

isn't that just the pathetic 48 states?