The Secure The Grid Minute

“Scud in a Tub?” You don’t need a freighter when you have an American Port

This is Tommy Waller with the Secure The Grid Minute. 

National Security experts have long warned of the risk posed to America by what they nicknamed a “scud in a tub” – which is the prospect of an enemy launching ballistic missiles from commercial freighters.  If this missile was topped with a nuclear warhead and detonated at an altitude of 30KM or higher – it would produce an EMP that could wipe out our electric grid and our civilization. 

The Center for Security Policy recently published an extraordinary report, named “The Perfect Storm,” that highlights how some very dangerous folks have obtained a 35-year lease on the shipping container facilities at one of America’s most critical ports. 

Who are these people?  How about the man who ran Saddam Hussain’s WMD program and designed a miniaturized nuclear warhead for ballistic missiles…and the Russian state-owned firm that exports the Club-K system – a ballistic missile launcher disguised in a commercial shipping container. 

Nope, our enemies don’t need a freighter to attack us.  They have access to Port Canaveral Florida. 

Learn more at SecureFreedom.org   

 

“Come And Take It!” The Saga Of The Vulnerable Texas Electric Grid Continues

This is Tommy Waller with the Secure The Grid Minute. 

On November 2nd 2015 – two years ago yesterday - 23 members of the Texas Congressional Delegation wrote a letter to Governor Abbott lamenting the Federal Government’s inaction to protect the nation’s electric grid, applauding the introduction of grid-protection legislation at the state-level, and urging “continued leadership and rigorous action to protect the electric grid of Texas.”

Not only did the state’s legislature fail to pass that legislation in two consecutive sessions, but Texas Congressman Mac Thornberry and his House Armed Services Committee, recently dismantled the Congressional EMP Commission, scuttling the Free World’s preeminent expertise on EMP.  None of the Congressmen who authored that letter stepped in to save the Commission and Governor Abbott has yet to take action to protect the state’s grid. 

“Come and take it” is a popular slogan in Texas.  Unfortunately, right now it seems to apply to the state’s electric grid. 

Learn more at www.securethegrid.com.

It’s Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month: Time to SAVE THE EMP COMMISSION!

This is Tommy Waller with the Secure The Grid Minute. 

President Trump declared this month – November 2017 – to be Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month.  Perhaps the Congress can embrace this idea and make one of the most urgently needed policy reversals of our time by saving the Congressional EMP Commission. 

At the very same time that North Korea is threatening an EMP attack on the United States, The House Armed Services Committee dismantled this national treasure in their version of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, scuttling the free world’s foremost expertise on EMP and other threats to our nation’s electric grid. 

The Senate Armed Services Committee has a chance to amend the NDAA and reverse this institutional suicide.  If they don’t, we’ll need President Trump to do more than dedicate a calendar month to Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience – we’ll need him to appoint his own PRESIDENTIAL EMP Commission. 

Learn more at www.securethegrid.com.

“Radioactive Catastrophes” Possible at Home, Not Just in North Korea

This is Tommy Waller with the Secure The Grid Minute.  

Recently numerous Asian and European news outlets have reported the collapse of a North Korean tunnel system at the regime’s main nuclear test site, which has apparently killed hundreds of North Koreans.  Chinese and Japanese media fear a massive radioactive leak that could cause an international environmental disaster on the scale of Chernobyl or Fukushima. 

What most people fail to realize is that the prospects for such an environmental catastrophe are not limited to just North Korea.  A pro-longed blackout of the U.S. Electric Grid caused by a nuclear EMP attack could result in our own nuclear power plants suffering similar radioactive releases. 

Once the pumps running the cooling pools housing spent nuclear fuel rods fail and the water rapidly boils away, anything surrounding or downwind from these facilities is at risk.  Kim Jong-Un won’t likely stop his nuclear testing, but will we secure our grid? 

Learn more atwww.securethegrid.com.

Trick Or Treat? Will Puerto Rico Restore Electricity Responsibly?

This is Tommy Waller with the Secure The Grid Minute.  

This Halloween, nearly 70% of Puerto Rico’s citizens continue to live a nightmare without electricity.  Even worse, Whitefish Holdings - the Montana-based company contracted to fix the grid – which had only two employees before the hurricane made landfall – is now being investigated by the FBI and their work has ceased.  Many, no doubt, feel “tricked” by this contract. 

If Puerto Rico wants to prevent the horror story of another prolonged blackout, it needs to reconstitute its grid responsibly by ensuring it contracts companies that will rebuild the grid with assets hardened against ALL HAZARDS, including EMP.  This would “treat” the U.S. Mainland to a proven model that MUST be replicated here too.

Learn more at www.securethegrid.com

The Commercial Sector – and YOUR Employer - Need Electricity

This is Tommy Waller with the Secure The Grid Minute. 

Imagine not having to ever listen to another commercial again. To some, that might be pretty nice.  Next time you hear a commercial, though, think about the Commercial Facilities – one of our 16 critical infrastructures – and how that infrastructure sector would be affected by a prolonged blackout. 

Commercial facilities include stadiums, hotels, shopping malls, offices, and apartment buildings – bringing Americans everything from sports and music to conferences, expos, and a good night’s sleep – all of which would cease to exist without electricity.   What about your own job?  Could your employer stay in business without electricity? 

During your next commercial break, pause to think about this and if you want to learn more about what threatens our electricity – and YOUR job – go to www.securethegrid.com

North Korea Warns Us AGAIN and we’re NOT Prepared!

This is Tommy Waller with the Secure The Grid Minute. 

Yesterday a senior North Korean official told a CNN reporter that North Korea “always brought its words into action," referring to the country’s threat to detonate a Hydrogen Bomb over the Pacific Ocean.  They would likely do this at an altitude of 30Km or higher in order to test the weapon’s electromagnetic pulse (EMP) affects, which could have devastating impact on any technology underneath the blast.  Even if executed over Open Ocean, this could catastrophically damage submarine communication cables, which transmit 90% of international data for the world’s internet. 

If they detonated it over Guam or Hawaii, those islands would lose their electric grids just like Puerto Rico.  President Trump boasted on Sunday that the US was “prepared for anything”….well, unfortunately, we’re anything BUT prepared for EMP and the North Koreans know it. 

Learn more at www.securethegrid.com    

The Chemical Sector NEEDS Electricity

This is Tommy Waller with the Secure The Grid Minute. 

The United States has 16 different critical infrastructures, all of which depend upon electricity.  The Chemical Sector is one of them and through several hundred thousand facilities across the nation, this sector creates more than 70,000 different chemical products that are essential to our modern lives, ranging from construction materials to cleaning supplies, to lifesaving medications. 

These plants employ massive amounts of electricity to accomplish tasks ranging from manufacturing to refrigeration.  As Texas just discovered in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, a protracted blackout causes explosions and toxic chemical releases. 

Let’s Secure The Grid and keep this $800 billion dollar industry going, it’s 800,000 direct workers employed, and our cities safe from harm.  Learn more at SecureTheGrid.com 

New Hampshire’s Incredible Generosity Reminds Us: The Grid MUST NOT go down!

This is Tommy Waller with the Secure The Grid Minute.  

New Hampshire’s citizens and state government deserve serious praise for their generosity in donating 200 tons of food and water to the disaster stricken citizens of Puerto Rico.  These donations would fill 17 tractor trailers and took 189 state employees more than 1500 hours to collect. 

Incredibly, if the power remains off for a year’s time and residents must continue receiving aide, New Hampshire’s incredible effort would only feed 200 people.  That’s right, the average American consumes approximately 5.5lb of food per day, which comes out to just over 1 ton of food per year, which is a daunting number for those preparing to weather a prolonged blackout.  Is that a real prospect for America?  Unfortunately, YES. Learn more at www.securethegrid.com

Frank Gaffney to FERC: Get Creative & Make The Grid Resilient!

This is Tommy Waller with the Secure The Grid Minute.  

Less than one month ago, Department of Energy Secretary Rick Perry took groundbreaking action by directing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to conduct rule-making procedures that would enable electricity generators such as coal fired power plants and nuclear facilities the ability to recover costs associated with storing 90 days-worth of fuel on-site, making them ready to provide electricity to downed utility operators recovering from blackouts.  

While some people criticized Secretary Perry’s directive, particularly those in favor of other sources of power generation, such as renewables and natural gas, Center for Security Policy president Frank Gaffney encouraged FERC to consider methods by which ALL businesses running critical infrastructures could be financially incentivized to build resilience in their operations. 

It’s this type of reality based creative thinking that our nation needs to survive when so much threatens our electric grid.  Read Mr. Gaffney’s comments by viewing his latest Press Release at SecureTheGrid.com