Sandy’s Lessons and EMP

A presidential task force reported yesterday about lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy.  The main one seems to be that we must make our electric grid and other critical infrastructure more resilient.

True.  But it’s not enough to add robustness against the ravages of deadly storms like Sandy to the systems we rely upon for access to things like food, water, fuel and medicine. The grid also has to survive electromagnetic pulses, or EMP.

The main difference between the two is that it may take years to get the power back on after an EMP event – not days or weeks.  And many of us won’t make it.

Let’s take the lessons of Sandy to heart to secure not just communities, but the nation as a whole.  There isn’t a moment to waste.