People are too soft these days. With energy getting more expensive, infrastructure getting older and a population of hundreds of millions leading lives of comfort undreamed of form centuries the inevitable decline in service is sending the weak into a panic. CNN is hysterically reporting an increase in blackouts as part of a push to build the so-called “Smartgrid” because if we don’t, people will have to face summer without air conditioning. You know, like almost all of us did growing up?

Experts on the nation’s electricity system point to a frighteningly steep increase in non-disaster-related outages affecting at least 50,000 consumers.

During the past two decades, such blackouts have increased 124 percent — up from 41 blackouts between 1991 and 1995, to 92 between 2001 and 2005, according to research at the University of Minnesota.

In the most recently analyzed data available, utilities reported 36 such outages in 2006 alone.

“It’s hard to imagine how anyone could believe that — in the United States — we should learn to cope with blackouts,” said University of Minnesota Professor Massoud Amin, a leading expert on the U.S. electricity grid.

Yes professor, it’s hard to believe that America doesn’t crap out free electricity to everyone who demands it using fairy dust powered generators. The good professor goes on to insist we spend billions (we don’t have) on a “smart grid” system which won’t work. The smart grid scam is known to be nothing more than an attempt by the government, in collusion with utility companies, to begin rationing of energy based on political dictates. The smart grid system will “save” electricity by increasing rolling brownouts, which themselves have claimed lives when instituted, like this recent case in Philadelphia:

PHILADELPHIA – Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers is defending his department’s response to a fatal fire that killed a 12 year old autistic boy.

Neighbors say the closest fire station, Engine 57, was closed when the fire erupted Saturday night because of the city’s “rolling brownouts.” Fire department records indicate firefighters arrived on the scene three minutes after receiving the call. But there are reports the first responder to arrive was actually a battalion chief in an SUV. A fire truck from Engine 68 didn’t arrive until several minutes later. That station is just over a mile away from where the fire was burning on South 55th Street.

The closest station was closed due to planned brownouts.

But that’s not really the point. I don’t think you have a “right” to electricity, and I don’t think we can do anything about coming energy shortages. The problem with all of this is that sans electricity much of our population has no idea how to survive. Think about that for a moment.

Most people in 21st century America cannot survive with what is basically a convenience.

When rolling brownouts make it impossible to store meat long term what will people do? When a blackout hits NYC and lasts a week what happens? I was in NYC for the 2003 blackout and crime actually decreased, because today’s criminals are afraid of the dark. But once they get acclimated what will happen.

We shouldn’t need electricity to survive, but many of us do. The majority of Americans can’t live without refrigeration, cars (which will stop running when there’s no power to pump gas) a direct life line to police and a host of other things, including air conditioning. When I grew up Air Conditioners were something only the rich had, now Americans think they will die without them.

America will collapse because we lack the strength to keep it going. Our weakness has set into motion events which we have no hope of preventing, and no ability to live through. This is why you need to prepare now, for the collapse that’s coming because one day very soon millions of Americans are going to wake up and panic when their comfortable lifestyles have vanished forever.