National Risk Register/National Resilience Update - Nothing new to us.

[Woody girl]

Ah, the Religion of Progress...............



There's technological progress, economic progress and social progress. They move together.............

- Social progress: it's not the level of tolerance that's changed, it's the taboos are different.

I would argue that the peak of tolerance was about 25 years ago when campaigns for core social inequality were won. However, a new intolerance rose from the ashes of the successful campaigns..... if you don't agree with the predominant social narrative, you are an evil person these days. Gone are the days when one could have civilised disagreement. Social media seems to be a big driver- polarising views. Disagreement has become very tribal. Instead of shaming out-of-wedlock birth, we "cancel" those who won't believe that a person can turn into a cat...... or won't entertain the suggestion that if you import 10m more people, you might just need to deal with the requirement for more infrastructure otherwise you get problems..... etc etc etc same intolerance, different taboos.

- Economic progress seems to be about "growth" which is not possible on a planet with finite resources. "Growth" being about consuming more and more. Culture teaches people to want things NOW rather than save up and wait for it. Success judged by how much "stuff" is accumulated, or the type of stuff (e.g. car type/brand). There is the idea (started by Jack Welch) that business must do anything to maximise shareholder growth irrespective of the damage caused- and so we have offshoring and loss of local jobs, an aircraft manufacturer hiding quality issues, and exploitation of people to produce this high-consumption lifestyle that is sold (and mostly believed) as being desirable.

- Technological progress. Some good stuff, but also a lot of incremental and me-too updates. Quite a few downsides which are not really topics we are allowed to talk about. We get what we are given- works for the people selling it but maybe not all the users. Not much discussion of whether an "update" really is a benefit for the end user. Often the costs are hidden- e.g. we don't see the waste from refining rare earth metals as that's on the other side of the world, we are just glad we don't have exhaust fumes in our town (moving from ICE to EV in this case). We don't ask whether the technology is addressing the problem or finding a problem to solve, often by generating desire for something we didn't know we wanted/needed (because actually- we didn't/don't).


Overall....... the speed and demands of life increase, everything is more fragile, the local environment is noisier and angrier, social connections are impacted. Many folks won't notice for a while as they are insulated by their stuff and social status, but others do realise. Some realise sooner- like @Woody girl - and are in effect the canaries in the coal mine.

I follow the writings of John Michael Greer, some very thought provoking stuff, and based on the idea that we have effectively adopted "progress" as a religion to replace Christianity. (He is seen by some as a bit controversial as he correctly predicted that Trump would beat Clinton- in some eyes this made him a supporter of Trump, when in fact he just studied the ACTUAL social vibes and made predictions from what was really going on rather than the wishful thinking media reports).

His novel "Retrotopia" is an interesting read. As are some of his non-fiction works e.g. "The Long Descent: A users guide to the end of the world." He is not a catastrophist, rather he looks at history and how empires fell to predict how western civilisation might end up (spoiler: it's a gradual crumble as demands outrun available resources, not a sudden bang). He also has an interesting blog- Ecosophia.

GC

I've never been called a canary before! Tweet tweet. Thank you.

 

[Falstaff]

Just coming back to the original thread.... To avoid Spanish/Portugal type electricity grid crashes, NESO has been given legal authority to instigate rolling periodic 3hr blackouts, at 8hrs notice without now having to wait for government approval.

Seems perfectly sensible to me given the chaotic alternative, I'm surprised they can even give 8hrs notice.

What a lot of EV owners may not realise, is that they can also separately control the fixed EV chargers that cars connect to. This enables a) on/off or throttled charging and b) actually draw power from the vehicles batteries back to the grid. Enacted into law and mandatory specifications a while back.

This drawdown on vehicles batteries is part of the Govt's power contingency and demand planning. It assumes widespread EV adoption and thereby reserve national/local grid power capacity. (Courtesy of the Right Honorable Member Milliband).

The original legislation made dry reading, (binned it now), but I was surprised when some lesser MP confirmed it on Radio 4, and quoted projected available capacity per EV household/housing area.

 

[GeraldTheBonsai]

What a lot of EV owners may not realise, is that they can also separately control the fixed EV chargers that cars connect to. This enables a) on/off or throttled charging and b) actually draw power from the vehicles batteries back to the grid. Enacted into law and mandatory specifications a while back.

Not quite. This is misinterpreting Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) regulations. All new home and workplace chargers must be "smart". In the UK, V2G functionality became mandatory for new commercial and workplace chargers over 22kW. For residential homes, it is entirely optional and voluntary. You can override it.

But none the less, giving NESO the ability to just implement rolling blackouts with 8 hours notice is somewhat concerning. It's in todays Guardian, (which may or may not be a good thing)..

Millions in Great Britain could face emergency power cuts at short notice

Exclusive: Grid operator Neso can now respond with rolling blackouts as last resort without need for government powers

www.theguardian.com

 

[Pattree]

Been there, Done that fifty years ago.
We didn’t have any way of recalling TV that we missed then either.

Rolling blackouts won’t be as black as in 1978/9

It’s a bloody nuisance but it’s manageable. Invest in thermal flasks and pots for working homecoming. Folk here know that you can cook in those too. I was living in an all electric flat at the time.
Supper wrapped in a duvet!

I imagine that dialysers will now have battery back up.
Hospitals and airports were excluded if I remember.

There is a lot of rechargeable stuff about too that there wasn’t in the winter of discontent.

 

[GreyCat]

Not quite. This is misinterpreting Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) regulations. All new home and workplace chargers must be "smart". In the UK, V2G functionality became mandatory for new commercial and workplace chargers over 22kW. For residential homes, it is entirely optional and voluntary. You can override it.

But none the less, giving NESO the ability to just implement rolling blackouts with 8 hours notice is somewhat concerning. It's in todays Guardian, (which may or may not be a good thing)..

Millions in Great Britain could face emergency power cuts at short notice

Exclusive: Grid operator Neso can now respond with rolling blackouts as last resort without need for government powers

www.theguardian.com

This is old news i'm afraid. The legislation has been there for a while. It popped up to the top of the news a couple or so years ago after a tight spot (grid wise) one winter, on that occasion it was coal power stations going full chat that saved the day...... an option we no longer have.....

It informed certain choices I made with refurbing the new place. Having a source of grid independent heating plus the ability to use Starlink off a power station for comms is part of it. I take the view that its a matter of when this happens not if, just needs the holds in the cheese to line up given the way the grid is going......

It does feel more like the 1970s every day, at least those of us with some 1970's equipment t (coal fires?) Will be able to keep warm if it happens in the winter!

GC

 

[Falstaff]

. All new home and workplace chargers must be "smart". For residential homes, it is entirely optional and voluntary. You can override it.

You are clearly much more up on this than I am, but it didn't read as if it was optional or voluntary, or over-ridable by the householder without techie help.
I suspect installers & suppliers are unlikely to offer that, and would prefer to install more expensive high tech ones and also be falling in line with Govt. wishes.

"on that occasion it was coal power stations going full chat that saved the day...." - I remember that! I have always made sure I have an independent heating source, and fuel for it.

 

[Grebby]

There is now way anyone can force my car to discharge to the grid. There is also no way that anyone can control my EV charger without my login details.

 

[Pattree]

Can someone remind me of the name of that incredible man who taught us lock picking at the recent summer Moot.

He is a professional social hacker and said, in conversation:

There are two kinds of business in the world: those that have been hacked by the Chinese and those who don’t know that they have been hacked by the Chinese.

I do not believe that any passworded system it’s safe from a government level attack.

However I still use passwords systems and would do so for an ev charger if I had an ev.

I believe in air buffers and brass padlocks to delay a hacker.
I believe that my lack of significance will also delay hacker interest.

 

[Woody girl]

That's why im as off grid as i can be..1970 style. They can switch off my electric, but i have a multifuel stove, so heating ,though hard work shifting coal logs and ashes is not too big a deal. I have my little jackery, and a lifesaver cube.. so water and lights have been upgraded to a degree. I have wool bedding, duvet, underquilt and pillows, plus blankets. Double glazing loft and wall insulation. I'm in a better position than in the 70's to be honest, and tho much younger, fit and able back then, I can still cope.
New shelves coming this week for food storage of cans. Been buying two extra cans each week for months. Still not a big stash, but enough to keep me fed, one meal a day, plus porridge each morning for about 2 months.
Camping gas has been bought, and I have quite a few of differenttypes for different stoves,, plus a trangia and fuel.
Plenty of herbal teas and honey. Just in case I can't get milk or sugar.
Presently knitting a woollen vest. I have plenty of wool socks, winter boots, thermal underwear, and
Feeling fairly confident on coping with what might be thrown at us this winter.
I'm on a minimum pension, under £90 a week, so it's possible for anyone to get sorted if they have a mind to.
I'm also making panic packs for neighbours who havnt prepared, tho it's minimal, tea lights and holders, e xtra socks hats and gloves, and a litre of water...the rest is up to them.
My best friend has a sawyer minni, rechargeable light, good small power bank, extra batteries head torch, water storage bottles, kindling, sleeping bag, and there is a basic food pack of she needs it.


I'll always help her, as she has often helped me.
Other than getting a bigger solar back up, which is out of reach atm, im quietly confident in my preps and ability to cope..