- 5 weeks ago
Living Off the Grid in the City Podcast. Here I discuss the preparedness advantages for off-gridders when it comes to the climate crisis. It is well documented that many climate events are made worse by the human-caused global warming. Storms are apparently increasing in severity and regularity. They can bring crises to an area, and knock out many grid connected services. It may be convenient, even vital, to be off the grid ahead of a storm. Here I explain why. Likewise, floods are apparently increasing in severity and regularity. They can bring destruction to your area, and disable many grid connected services. It may be advantageous, even vital, to be off the grid ahead of a flood. Here I explain why. Also, droughts are apparently increasing in severity and regularity. They can bring scarcity to your area, and affect many grid connected services, like food distribution. It may be best to be off the grid ahead of a drought. Here I explain why. And, heatwaves are likely increasing in severity and regularity. They can bring disruptions to your area and disable many grid connected services, like power. It may be critical to be off the grid ahead of a heatwave. Here I explain why.
Hector Vladimir 2023, 2025©
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Hector Vladimir 2023, 2025©
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyWqApEqGtc6nd-_C6bkiKnMxLBg7DfgK
http://www.youtube.com/@hbcsolarpvtech
https://www.youtube.com/@HBCSolarPVTechByron
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hectorvladimir
Substack: https://hectorvladimir.substack.com/
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TechTranscript
00:00Climate crisis. Climate events such as floods, droughts, storms, and prolonged extreme temperatures
00:08may affect local and regional goods and services. A tornado may destroy a small town's only
00:14supermarket, cutting the food supply for thousands of people. A flood may close the gas stations of
00:20an entire city, rendering citizens impotent to use their internal combustion engine vehicles.
00:25A drought may impose restrictions on water use and cause local water sources to dry up.
00:32In the context of leaving of the grid, when a climate-related event causes a disruption in
00:38the needs of people, we have a climate crisis. Long-term cyclic climate crisis may trigger mass
00:44migrations from one area to another, potentially causing a temporary or extended overpopulation
00:50crisis in areas receiving climate migrants. Climate-related events may also directly affect
00:57many people's needs and services. For example, a severe storm may knock out electric infrastructure
01:03and service for days to months. And, floods may contaminate the utility water supply for days to
01:09months as well. Furthermore, flood or drought may affect farming and crops of an entire region.
01:15It may be difficult to escape the effects of climate crisis even if you are off the grid.
01:22But, being off the grid may, at least, help you cope with the effects much better. In some cases,
01:29it may help you avoid them altogether. Of course, each climate-related event has different effects
01:35and challenges. And, leaving off the grid may help in different ways depending on the nature of the
01:41event or crisis. So, here we discuss a few crises caused by natural events, which are likely
01:47exacerbated by the climate crisis. Then, we discuss their possible effects and off-grid benefits.
01:56STORMS
01:58Storms come in many types, tropical storms such as hurricanes, typhoons or cyclones, tornadoes,
02:04and winter storms or snow blizzards. This may bring destruction to infrastructure, crops,
02:11structures, and bring direct harm to people, animals, and plants. Also, this may bring other
02:18follow-up crises such as floods, mudslides, lengthy snow cover, or drought. Consequently,
02:25this can bring crop failures, blockage of roads, and contamination of water supply.
02:30As mentioned, storms are thought to be made worse by the effects of climate change,
02:36according to most climate experts. They are made more frequent, and more severe. The heat stored
02:43in the seas and the atmosphere, through global warming, are thought to be major factors contributing
02:48to alarming trends of storm severity. TROPICAL STORMS
02:54Tropical storms may happen in vast areas of the world.
02:57TROPICAL STORMS
02:58Tropical storms generally form and affect areas near the tropics, the vast belt around the widest
03:03diameter of the Earth, the equator, stretching north and south each to about 23 degrees of latitude.
03:10In perspective, the tropics cover from near Havana, Cuba, to Sao Paulo, Brazil.
03:17This belt slowly changes position with the yearly wobble of the Earth,
03:21slowly drifting north then back south once per year.
03:24TROPICAL STORMS
03:25Once formed, tropical storms may wander in any direction, including way outside of the tropics.
03:32TROPICAL STORMS may pack massive power, in the form of rain and wind, with wind speed
03:37ranging from 63 km per hour to 119 km per hour. At this wind speed it is called a hurricane or cyclone.
03:46TROPICAL STORMS
03:47Tropical storms vary in the rainfall they gather. Some may harness and unleash unbelievable amounts of
03:53water in the form of rainfall. Depending on the track and the speed of these storms,
03:58this can bring significant to catastrophic flooding, to be discussed momentarily.
04:02TROPICAL STORMS
04:03Additionally, storms may affect electrical power with damaging winds or floods.
04:09The electrical company may shut down power to affected areas to prevent fires, electrocution,
04:15or other damage to people, electric infrastructure or other property.
04:19TROPICAL STORMS
04:19Electricity outages may last from days to weeks in the aftermath of a storm.
04:24TROPICAL STORMS
04:25Leaving off the grid may insulate you from the effects of power outages,
04:29simply because you may generate your own electricity, using solar or wind energy equipment.
04:35Following a power outage, you may have to deal with less energy, and cut back on your consumption.
04:41Especially so if you are not already 100% of the electrical grid. And,
04:46if only because sunlight or wind may be scarce after a storm.
04:49TROPICAL STORMS
04:50Also, food and water may become scarce in the aftermath of a storm, due to destruction,
04:56debris, flooding, electricity outages, and other factors.
05:02Hurricanes, typhoons or cyclones are stronger types of tropical storms.
05:07And, they can also wander far from the tropics, just like tropical storms.
05:12Hurricanes' wind speeds range from 75 mph and up.
05:17Winds can reach upwards of 200 mph. Which are extremely destructive and can spawn other types
05:23of extremely destructive phenomena like tornadoes. Hurricanes bring the same types of effects as
05:29storms, just more intense, longer lasting, and more severe. For example, hurricane-type storms may
05:36knock out electric power for many weeks in hard-hit areas. At times longer, if the area is remote or
05:43there is little political interest in getting services restored there. I vividly recall the
05:48aftermath of two hurricanes in South Florida, Andrew in 1992, and Katrina in 2005.
05:56They both brought massive electric power outages, food, fuel, and water disruptions,
06:02to vast areas of South Florida. Especially in poor and marginalized areas where many immigrants,
06:08minorities, and low-income residents lived. There, seemingly, help arrived last. And goods,
06:16and services were restored only after other, affluent areas, were restored with services.
06:22I recall being without electricity for over two weeks, in our areas, both in 1992 and 2005.
06:30There, flooding of the fragile infrastructures that supply densely populated areas, heavy.
06:35Dependence on corporate government, and the corporate addiction to profits,
06:39among other factors, likely contributed to the severe energy and the services disruptions I witnessed.
06:46These massive disruptions are often caused by seemingly minor and localized damage,
06:51caused by storms. Some of the costliest hurricanes in history have occurred in recent memory.
06:57Hurricane Katrina in 2005, with $153.8 billion in estimated damages.
07:05Maria, 2017, $109 billion. Sandy, 2012, $67.7 billion. Andrew, 1992, $46.2 billion.
07:18Ike, 2008, $33.3 billion. Ivan, 2004, $26 billion. Wilma, 2005, $23.4 billion.
07:32Rita, 2005, $22.8 billion. Charlie, 2004, $21 billion.
07:41Tornadoes are a type of very destructive and short-lived storm. They are extremely powerful
07:46vortexes of wind that can reach speeds of over 241 kilometers per hour, or 150 miles per hour.
07:55Tornadoes pack a lot of destructive power, over a relatively small area,
07:59because they are generally compact and short-lived. But, some large tornadoes may be over half a mile
08:05wide and travel over 10 miles. Having stored water will benefit the off-grider during and after a storm.
08:12A storm will bring very little change to safely collecting rainwater. Although, during the worst
08:18of the storm, there may be violent and windy rainfall, but, this period should be relatively
08:24short-lived. If you harness water from the body of water, these too may be affected by the storm.
08:31Contamination by dirt, debris, and chemicals is possible since the winds and flooding may carry all
08:37sorts of stuff into ponds, lakes, and rivers. Underground water is probably the safest source,
08:43since contamination, during a storm, is far less likely. If your water filtering equipment remains
08:50intact, groundwater may be used during and after a storm. Having solar photovoltaic equipment for
08:57off-grid electric power sources is surely the optimal way to avoid disruptions of electricity
09:02service during and after a storm. This is especially true in the tropics. Solar energy is quiet, relatively
09:10cheap, when compared to fuel generators. And solar energy is now highly dependable. The tropics are
09:17generally sunny, and renewable charge is plentiful with photovoltaics, especially when using capable
09:23batteries. If you are off the food grid to any degree, it can help you survive, sustain,
09:30and thrive during and after the storm. Stored food will likely play a large role in how you do during
09:36a storm, because the wind damage and possible flooding may have affected your ability to produce
09:41food locally. Survival food storage is an essential part of living off the grid, as you'll see in a
09:47later section. The ability to maintain communication may be among the most notable differences between
09:54those off the grid and those tied to the grid, during and after a storm. Storms may render
10:00utility communication unusable for days to weeks, even cellular. Phone communications may be
10:05interrupted due to damage to cellular phone towers and or stations. After a storm, if you are off the
10:12grid in your communications, you may freely communicate with emergency services and even aid in rescue or
10:18advisory operations. You may communicate with other off-griders, including family and friends,
10:25using end-to-end radio equipment. Also, you may listen to weather and conditions reports,
10:31during or on the aftermath of the storm, and be a source of updated information for those that are
10:36effectively incommunicado. If your neighborhood or community is struck by one or more severe tornadoes,
10:43the destruction and devastation may be overwhelming, even to those off the grid. There may be little else,
10:50of material and technological value, to help you live through the aftermath of damage from a tornado.
10:56However, those that survive the direct impact, will surely benefit from the off-grid lifestyle,
11:02if only through their resourcefulness and efficiency. Most benefits may come from stored goods and self-service.
11:11Floods Storms and heavy rain may usher floods.
11:15A flood may occur even in areas where there has been little or no rain due to the overflowing of a river,
11:22lake or the failure of a dam. Floods are especially destructive and deadly due to the nature of water.
11:29Water can quickly fill every empty space, run with incredible power, and carry even the heaviest
11:35objects by buoyancy. Even a home could be uprooted from its foundation and transported away
11:41by a large flood. People, plants and animals may drown, be injured or killed in the wreckage of a flood.
11:49Many properties will suffer permanent damage when submerged in water during a flood.
11:54Floods may happen often or rarely, depending on your geographic location and many other factors,
12:00such as nearby bodies of water average, yearly amount of rainfall, types of soil and vegetation, etc.
12:07These affect the likelihood and destructiveness of floods. Most experts believe that floods have
12:14become more frequent in recent decades, and studies have shown that to be among the effects of climate
12:20change. Floods can readily bring normal life to a halt. Water, food, electricity, and communications may
12:28all be affected by a flood. Water may become contaminated. Or, access to water may be cut off,
12:35or your movements may be restricted by water, sometimes for a long period.
12:40I recall in the early 2010s, central Georgia received a massive amount of rain,
12:46and some homes were cut off from the outside world by water. They became islands, with the only safe way,
12:54in and out of them being through a boat ride. In such situations, your food and drinking water supply,
13:01and access to medicine and healthcare, may be cut off indefinitely, or at least become difficult.
13:08Damage from storms that bring floods may oftentimes affect electrical and communication services.
13:14During a flooding event, these services are likely turned off for electrical hazard safety,
13:20or to prevent further damage to infrastructure. You may be without electricity or communication services,
13:26from hours to many days after the storm. Leaving off the grid may provide relief and
13:32safety in the event of a flood. Of course, this is dependent on many other factors and how extensively
13:38you are off the grid. Again, stored water and food especially, will surely alleviate any shortages caused
13:46by a flood. If you have access to ground water, a flood may not affect your source. However, your ability
13:53to filter and treat water may be affected if your filtering equipment was flooded. For example,
13:59if you have water treatment equipment in your yard, this area may be flooded, and the equipment may be
14:05damaged. Of course, placing this equipment in high ground would be optimal, but is not always an option.
14:13Food production and distribution will surely be affected by a widespread flood. Food scarcity may
14:19plague your area for long periods. Access to food and medicine may become cut-off, difficult or even
14:25dangerous. Again, off-griders may offset these effects with stored foods and medicines. If you happen to
14:32grow your food and this ability has remained intact during the flood, you may be able to feed yourself and
14:38others in the aftermath of the flood. But, consider that ground-level food production is likely to be
14:44affected by floods. Off-griders will surely benefit from producing their own electricity and communication
14:50services. You may be able to continue producing these, safely, during and after a flood event. Of course,
14:58as long as the energy equipment remains undamaged or not flooded. Solar PV has the advantage that most
15:05equipment can be installed on the roof and apart from extreme flooding. This equipment is likely to
15:11remain out of water and working unless a catastrophic flood occurs. Other energy-producing equipment,
15:18like outdoor fuel generators, battery banks, propane tanks, and wind turbines may be affected
15:24by flooding to various degrees. There may be flooding instances where turning all energy-producing equipment
15:30is necessary for safety. Generally, if it generates electricity and is in contact with water,
15:37it should remain off. As an off-grider you should be prepared to live without electricity for extended
15:43periods. If health conditions require some electricity, the use of stored energy such as
15:49batteries is recommended. Utility communications may be affected by flooding. Telephone poles may have been
15:58knocked out by storm winds or cellular tower or station equipment may be underwater or damaged by the wind.
16:04Here, off-griders may be able to communicate with their end-to-end radio equipment. As there is no need
16:12for utility-owned antennas or stations, radio communication is rarely disrupted by flooding
16:17as equipment and antennas are largely installed well off the ground. Amateur radio operators often
16:23aid in communication efforts during crisis due to this off-grid advantage.
16:28Droughts What is a drought? Droughts are prolonged periods of dry
16:34weather lacking rain. Rain provides a cycle of water from bodies of water and the ground to the air,
16:40then back to the ground. This engine-like process provides vital and countless benefits to all living
16:46things. When this cycle slows, or stalls, there is generally destruction of habitats, many plants die off,
16:54and animals migrate, adapt, or may perish. During a drought, crops could yield low or no fruit,
17:01and water may become scarce and costly. Examples of droughts
17:08Crisis-causing droughts happen all the time, all over the world. Rain patterns change due to many factors,
17:14in the atmosphere and the seas. El Niño and La Niña events, in the Pacific, are examples of how sea events
17:22affect weather in vast areas, even globally. Crisis caused by droughts could be mild or severe,
17:29depending on many factors. Your area may experience a short period of dry weather lasting weeks,
17:35or an excruciating period of no rain and dry weather, lasting months. Here, in Middle Georgia,
17:41droughts are rare, and a few weeks of no rain is very detrimental for the many farming-dependent
17:46communities of the region. So here, for example, a period of three weeks without rain could bring
17:53large losses to some farmers, thus a crisis. Of course, the longer the drought, the larger the
18:00crisis, generally. I recall a period of drought in this area, around 2016, when even mature trees began
18:08to dry up and die. Luckily, I had stored rain water and this helped me keep my many trees,
18:14especially my large pines, alive by irrigating them with the stored rain water.
18:20How can drought affect you? Droughts could affect people on the grid by making utility water scarce,
18:27inconvenient, expensive, and even inaccessible. During droughts your local authorities may demand
18:34you to conserve water, they may demand higher prices for water service, or both. Demands to conserve
18:41water are usually made for residential users, perhaps so that commercial and farming users can
18:46keep on trucking with their high water use. I know, first hand, that these farming industries are
18:52protected by the government, and they use most of the fresh water. Further, they are given a priority
18:59because they are considered producers for municipalities. As a side note, I suspect that
19:05risk has a lot to do with this government protection. Furthermore, many municipalities have private water
19:12service companies, which are looking to make a profit from their service. So, any threat to their
19:19bottom line will be offset, likely by gouging service prices. This practice is well documented.
19:27Lastly, droughts may impact those living in poverty, and in remote areas the most. And those living in
19:34areas of conflict, even more severely. To summarize, as many municipalities may be easily overwhelmed by
19:41climate events, I believe that everyone, especially those in dire situations, may benefit greatly from
19:48being off the utility water grid. How does leaving off the grid help during a drought?
19:55Water. During a drought, off-griders may keep their water use unabated. They may use their reserves or
20:03continue to extract and use ground water. They generally would not need to follow any restrictions
20:09on utility water, simply because they would not be connected to or would not be using utility water.
20:16An example may be, if off-griders depend on a body of water or the rain for their water source,
20:22during a drought, the body of water may be running low or even drying up. In such case, off-griders would
20:29need to depend on stored water until the rain returns. This may be accomplished in several ways.
20:35Without delving into much details, water access, transport, and storage technologies would be
20:41employed. Water sources to be tapped include ground, rain, or body of water sources. Details on these methods
20:50and technologies are to be included on part 2 of this book.
20:56Food. A drought may affect fresh food supplies because your area's crops may be flooded and fail.
21:03This is especially true if you depend on local food products.
21:07Villages, tribes, and remote towns may have this dependency. During a drought, you may benefit from
21:14leaving off the grid, especially if you produce a significant portion of your food,
21:19and your producing ability has not been impacted by the drought. For example, if you have stored
21:25water for irrigation, and if you use groundwater, whose supply was not impacted by the drought.
21:32Again, rural and remote areas may be more affected by droughts, since larger cities may import much of
21:38their food supplies from many places. If the drought affects a very large area, the food prices will likely
21:46hike, especially in the areas supplied by the affected farms. Those off the grid may save money and even
21:53provide foodstuffs to themselves and others as much as possible. Details on how this is possible are
22:00discussed elsewhere. Utility Electric. A drought may affect utility electrical power production,
22:08especially if your region depends on hydroelectric energy, which generally use dams.
22:13The water level on the reservoir of the dam may be too low to generate enough electricity for the
22:18area of service, and rolling brownouts or blackouts may be scheduled to offset this energy shortage.
22:25Of course, off-griders may bypass these outages, if they do not rely on utility electricity.
22:32A drought generally helps with solar energy, as there is generally more available sunlight and less
22:37cloud cover during droughts. Wind turbines may not be affected by droughts, although they may,
22:43if winds become low or scarce. Those using other alternative energy technologies will surely benefit
22:50in the same manner, during and after droughts. Fire hazard. Naturally, droughts may bring a higher risk of
22:58fires, both wild and human cost. Lack of moisture contributes to more dry and combustible materials,
23:06ready to burn in the forests and towns. Of course, uncontrolled fires may threaten human and animal life,
23:13and create a local or even regional crisis. Destruction of all sorts of utility infrastructure,
23:20industrial infrastructure, farming land and its infrastructure, and homes,
23:25may all be affected by and contribute to the crisis. Shortages of utility water, electricity,
23:32food, and access to communication may arise in the aftermath of fires.
23:37Those living off the grid may benefit greatly by their lower or non-dependence on the utilities,
23:43food, or fossil fuels. Additionally, fires may block access to many goods and services
23:49for indefinite amounts of time, by blocking roads, bridges, or otherwise shutting down transportation.
23:56As you may expect by now, stored water, food, and energy may serve the off-grider greatly during this time.
24:05Heat waves. What is a heat wave?
24:09Heat waves are prolonged periods of intense and unusual atmospheric and water-high temperatures.
24:15If inhabitants of an area are not accustomed to experience high temperatures,
24:20such as in a heat wave, they may suffer, become ill, and sometimes perish.
24:26Examples of dangerous heat waves. There are heat waves occurring in many areas of the world,
24:32even in normally temperate zones like the far north and south regions of America,
24:37North Europe, North Asia, and Oceania. Higher-than-normal temperatures also often occur within the tropics.
24:45Crisis-causing heat waves are too many to list here. But notable ones include,
24:50the European heat wave of 2003, the Siberian heat wave in July of 2020, and the Argentinian heat wave
24:57of December of 2022. Many of the larger known heat waves are catastrophic, discussed later,
25:04while smaller crisis-causing heat waves often go unreported.
25:09How can heat waves affect you? Heat waves may affect water availability because of drought conditions,
25:15which may accompany the heat wave. Bodies of water may run low or dry. For this, food may be affected by
25:23heat waves due to its impact on water and air temperature for crops and farming. Great tide
25:29utilities may be affected, as mostly all of them depend on utility water, electricity, and communications.
25:37These utilities may be sourced in hydroelectric plants, which may struggle to keep up with demand due to
25:43low water level in their reservoirs. Heat waves may especially impact the electrical utilities,
25:50because energy use may likely surge, as the pampered, hungry people use large amounts of energy using
25:55their air conditioners and more, for longer periods. As a result, there may be brownouts or blackouts,
26:02exposing many to temperatures which may be unbearable for the very young, the old, the unprepared,
26:08or the dumb and fragile. Furthermore, the scarcity of water and food may also impact water and food
26:15prices. And those near or under poverty may suffer a range of problems due to inaccessibility. It may
26:22impact the overall economy, from labor shortages, power outages, to commercial and industrial closures.
26:28This topic on preparedness and climate crisis will continue on the next episode. Look for it very
26:37soon. Thank you.
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