Why has so little critical infrastructure protection passed congress? I just don’t get it. I mean, I understand why Congress is struggling on health care and tax reform. The reds and the blues have different opinions and different philosophies and apparently nobody wants to compromise. I get that. It’s the same on a lot…
Category: Mike’s Blog
Michael Mabee, author of “The Civil Defense Book” blogs on critical infrastructure protection and threats, community preparedness and civil defense. Follow Mike’s blog for updates.
EMP Commission Reports, Testimony and Articles
The EMP Commission’s Untimely Demise The Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack (the “EMP Commission”) was established on October 30, 2000 by Public Law 106–398, Title XIV. It was allowed to “sunset” on September 30, 2017. As of this writing, the EMP Commission’s website is down and their reports…
Dr. Peter Vincent Pry: Why Isn’t the Government Listening to Him?
Why we should listen to Dr. Peter Vincent Pry Dr. Peter Vincent Pry has impressive credentials. He served for 10 years with the as an Intelligence Officer with the Central Intelligence Agency responsible for analyzing Soviet and Russian nuclear strategy. He served on the staff of the on the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), and…
Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Maria were both “best case scenarios”
We have always had hurricanes. We always will. In one very important way, Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Maria were both best case scenarios. Prior to Hurricane Katrina hitting New Orleans in 2005, we knew that the levy system was only built to handle a category 3 hurricane. And prior to Hurricane Maria hitting Puerto Rico,…
The Civil Defense Book – Second Edition Available!!
The second edition of The Civil Defense Book is out and available on Amazon! Updated and expanded with new material, this is the only plan available for communities to survive when they are on their own. According to the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security in 2017, millions of Americans—perhaps the majority of the population—would…
Blackout: What we learn from electric grid failures
What we learn from history is that we do not learn from history I’ve always loved this quote from Benjamin Disraeli. But it occurs to me that perhaps what is more dangerous than not learning from history, is learning from history. What most Americans have learned from their experiences with blackouts is…
Arizona EMP Law Is An Important First Step
Arizona EMP Law A new law signed by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer on April 25, 2014 will require the Arizona Division of Emergency Management (ADEM) to prepare the citizens of Arizona for an electromagnetic pulse (EMP): The division shall develop preparedness recommendations for the public regarding the type and quantity of supplies, including food, water…
Civil Defense: Why We Need a Congressional Resolution
Civil Defense: Why We Need It Here are two undisputed facts: FACT: The electric grid is extremely vulnerable to a variety of natural and man-made threats. FACT: A long-term loss of the electric grid would be catastrophic for the U.S. Everything depends on the electric grid. Food, water, fuel, sanitation, medical services, the economy and…
The GRID Act is reintroduced in the House and Senate
Grid Reliability and Infrastructure Defense Act (GRID Act) Reintroduced The GRID Act is back on the table. Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) and Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) introduced the Grid Reliability and Infrastructure Defense Act (GRID Act) in the both the House (H.R. 4298) and Senate (S. 2158) on March 26, 2014. “Unless we act now,…
Community Preparedness: Is Your Town Prepared for a Long Term Blackout?
Congress thinks we need a community preparedness “civil defense” plan for a long term electric grid outage. So why doesn’t your town have one? “Seven U.S. government departments and agencies have now concluded that if our national electric grid is not upgraded to ensure its continuity in the event of a massive solar event —…