Will Trump roll back Biden’s electric-only lunacy?

There is a charmingly dated promotional video from the 1950s entitled “Westinghouse All Electric House” (in color, no less!) extolling the benefits of a home powered entirely by electricity. Heating, lighting, cooking, temperature control, appliances, entertainment – by golly, this house has it all. According to the narrator, “A new concept in living – with the feel of the future – is here today in this Westinghouse Total Electric Home.” You can watch the video here (it’s about 12 minutes in length):

Compared to older homes, an all-electric house must have been an exciting novelty in the 1950s. Just think! No lighting a wood cookstove to cook a meal, no filling kerosene lamps to see at night, no messing with natural gas or propane for heating or cooking, no silly clotheslines or hand-washing dishes or other tiresome chores. Just press a button and voilà: Electricity does it for you.

Well, the future is here. The makers of this promotional film would be thrilled to see so many of today’s homes entirely dependent on electricity, with no wood or natural gas or propane cluttering up the sleek, modern lines and awesome efficiency we often take for granted.

There’s just one problem: An all-electric home is, well, all electric. What happens when the power goes out? That’s the massive elephant in the room no one ever wants to admit could happen, even today.

When the power goes out in an all-electric home, it means you’re sitting in a cold dark house with no way to see, stay warm, wash, cook food, or otherwise enjoy any comforts. Welcome to Total Electric Living, where your safety and comfort are entirely out of your control.

I enjoy electricity just as much as the next person. I’m grateful for electric lamps, an electric refrigerator, an electric washing machine, an electricity-powered laptop and endless other modern conveniences. But – especially as the power grid in our little corner of rural Idaho seems particularly fragile – we would be foolish to depend on these items to the exclusion of non-electric backups, particularly in winter.

And that’s where the American people are clashing with the government. Millions of people recognize either the superiority of propane appliances and non-electric alternatives to modern conveniences, or they require backups in the event of a long-term power outage. But if the Biden administration had its way, those options would cease to exist.

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From its beginning, Joe Biden has been on a vendetta against anything non-electric, everything from kitchen appliances to ICE vehicles. As a last-gasp gift to the American people, for example, Biden is busy banning many gas-powered water heaters.

But those dealing with the bitterly cold polar vortex in the northeast understand the need for propane or wood heat to supplement electric heat. Yet these are the options the outgoing administration would have us phase out. (Apparently Trump is considering an executive order to shield gas-powered appliances from regulatory efforts aimed at phasing them out.)

Even the website Electric Dwellings admits the big weakness of electric homes: “If everything in your home is powered by electricity, nothing will work during a blackout unless you have backup measures in place,” it notes. “That’s one advantage that some gas appliances have. For example, a gas cooktop can still work when the power is out, and gas hot water heaters typically use a piezoelectric igniter that works by simply pressing a button. … The difference between blackouts that are a mild inconvenience and ones that are major life disruptions that can result in property damage (think failed sump pumps) or health risks (such as having very young or elderly trapped in the cold) is important when it comes to deciding whether you need to plan for backup power, rethink electrification, or simply deal with the occasional blackout.”

The same applies to electric vehicles. The times people need them most – such as evacuating before a natural disaster, including the massive wildfires Los Angeles is facing at the moment – requires a reliable, dependable vehicle not dependent on electric recharging stations that not only take hours to charge, but may not even be available if the region has cut power in an attempt to mitigate the disaster. (To be fair, gas stations won’t work under those conditions either.)

Over the past decade, various specialists have pointed out the weakness and vulnerability of America’s electrical grid. Nationally, the grid is interconnected to a startling degree. Cascading power failures from such small triggers as a single tree falling on a critical line are well documented. Throw in such potential calamities as a massive solar flare or an EMP from an enemy nation (and America has many enemies) and you’re looking at the potential for an unprecedented disaster.

Folks, I’m here to tell you it’s no laughing matter to lose electricity in a modern home and in our modern society, particularly in urban areas. Everything depends on electricity. Everything. The interconnectivity that exists in today’s society is complex beyond belief. Even if you yourself are off-grid (congratulations!), no one else is. All food deliveries, all medical care (and supplies), all sanitation, water and other critical services – all depend upon electricity.

If a grid-down situation ever happens for whatever reason, we won’t be reverting to the 1800s. The oopsy-daisy notion that America without power will merely return us to a jolly pioneer lifestyle is naïve, idealistic and immature. This is why it’s theorized 90% of Americans would die in the aftermath of a grid-down situation. Most people are not capable of surviving.

Still, striving for security in the face of power outages is wise. Right now some friends in Maine are experiencing bitter, bitter cold temperatures and high winds due to the polar vortex afflicting the region. They’re holing up, unable even to walk the dogs because of the weather conditions. But if the power fails, they’ll be fine. That’s because they have stored water, a woodstove, kerosene lamps and plenty of food. We should all be this prepared.

Bottom line, everyone should consider the “three is two, two is one” rule of thumb when it comes to vital necessities such as heating and lighting when the power goes out. It’s one thing to have backups in place. It’s another for the government to phase out those backups.

Let’s see what the Trump administration brings forth.